In 2017, my grandma and I visited Paris; armed with only our love for art, and the high expectations Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris gave us. We spent days exploring galleries, exhibitions and the district of Montmartre (home to the illustrious modern art scene of Paris during 1900-1910). However, I began to wonder why it is that so many people visit these places? Was it educational? Perhaps a love for art? Or, maybe, it was a way to withdraw from participation in the real world?
No matter where I visit, I’ll always seek out a museum or an art gallery; whether it’s the Surridge Gallery in Exeter or The MET in New York, I’ll make them my priority. There’s something captivating about paintings, even sculptures. In my mind, they give us the opportunity to escape our everyday lives; a little piece of freedom. The limitations of how a piece of art is interpreted, and where it can lead us, is in one’s own mind. As well as escapism, I believe art offers us intellectual stimulation. With surrealist work from the likes of Dali, to the modern art displayed in The Tate today, these pieces require us to interpret them and find a way in which we can relate to them. In fact, in 1992, Falk and Dierking claimed that social recreation and education were two main motivators behind people visiting galleries.
An Artist’s Perspective
I wondered whether artists paint for escapism, the same way that admirers of art sit in galleries for prolonged hours. Does the process of creating differ from getting lost in a finished piece? Or is the creation simply a mode upon which one is able to leave the here and now? Upon asking her these questions, local artist Ellie Eveleigh revealed to me that the process of recreating memories is both visually and nostalgically beautiful. Furthermore, Eveleigh commented that;
“Painting provides me with the escapism I sometimes need from today’s world, because it reminds me that there’s still beauty out there. So it reminds me I’ve been lucky enough to have lived in those moments. [Painting] allows me to transfer those moments onto a canvas, so others can sometimes escape the world too… Especially during our months in lockdown”.
As Pablo Picasso once said, “art is the elimination of the unnecessary“. In my mind, this quote supports the notion that art plays a key role in the concept of escapism; regardless of whether you’re an artist or an admirer. So, when you next need a breather, recall Picasso’s wise words!
Further Reading:
‘Escaping to the Gallery’: Understanding the Motivations of Visitors to Galleries- Alix Slater (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/nvsm.282).