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Arts & Entertainment

Swissvale Resident Leads Pittsburgh Slow Art Event

Pittsburgh Slow Art to be held Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Carnegie Museum of Art.

A global art movement is coming to Pittsburgh thanks to the efforts of  Swissvale resident Barb Richardson.

Slow Art is a worldwide event happening this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. It will be held in more than 90 different cities and is taking place on every continent except Antarctica. Pittsburgh Slow Art will be held at the Carnegie Museum of Art.

It all started in 2009 after a study showed that, on average, people spend just eight seconds viewing each piece of art when visiting a museum. Museum goers didn’t take it all in, and, more times than not, just left the museum feeling tired.

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Slow Art is trying to change that fact one day at a time. Although each location’s event varies as they are able to choose the pieces they wish to review, the concept remains the same; to teach people how to not just look at art, but to really pick apart and dive into what is in front of them.

It was this concept that captured the attention of Richardson. Upon hearing about Slow Art and seeing that there were no events planned in Pittsburgh, she contacted them directly and inquired about being the host for Pittsburgh. Ever since, she has been the Pittsburgh host and is already planning for the third annual Slow Art event next year.

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For this year’s event, Richardson has preselected a number of pieces for participants to stop, look at and review. Various questions are posed by Richardson in an effort to make people not just see the art that lies before them, but to really appreciate it and read into it on a deeper level.

After viewing all of the selected pieces, the group will come together and reflect on what they liked, what they didn’t like and what they took away from the pieces.

Pamela Temko was one of the participants at the first Pittsburgh Slow Art event.

“It was a great new way to look at art. I was able to slow down and take my time and enjoy my time at the museum," she said. "I'm looking forward to Slow Art 2011. I cannot wait to see what I will be exploring this time.”

Temko’s reaction is just what Richardson was hoping for as she notes that, “after getting through the event and going through discussions, that the next time they go to the museum, they will pick a piece and take a fine tune look at it.”

For more information visit http://slowartcarnegie2011.eventbrite.com/.

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