Among the many self-reflection tools, one that is accessible to all of us is the observation exercise, however, living busy lives, it´s difficult to take the time to observe and reflect.
As part of the Master Program – IMHL, we did an observation exercise in an art gallery that I am sharing in this post so that you can adapt and also use as a self-reflection tool.
We visited a very special art gallery, located in the Old Montreal, more precisely in Saint-Hélène Street. The art gallery “AVMOR Collection” has a history that made me intrigued and curious even before the observation of the artworks.
Avmor is the name of a Canadian company, now situated in Laval, Quebec and founded by Mr. Avrum Morrow.
According to the book, The Avmor Collection *, Mr. Morrow has always valued the positive influence of art on life. He is fascinated by the inventiveness and creativity of the artists and encouraged a large number of professional and amateur artists to create paintings, drawings, and photographs on Saint-Hélène Street.
The artworks were collected without judgmental trial. Mr. Morrow was interested in the interpretations that Avmor Company Building, located on Saint-Hélène Street, would evoke on the artists, young, experienced, famous or unknown.
The collection was built over 40 years and the art gallery shows how the same work of art can be seen in many different and exclusive ways.
On the visit to Avmor Collection, after listening briefly to the history of the collection, we were invited to look at the many artworks to choose the one that attracted our attention mostly.
In the observation exercise, I looked at the chosen artwork for about 5 minutes. In addition to the general features, I looked for the details and was attentive to the thoughts that came to my mind during the observation. Other images, correlations, and even feelings were evoked.
It was interesting to identify which characteristics of the artwork seemed to be more relevant in my point of view, the colors that I liked most and the textures that attracted my special attention.
After the observation of the artwork, the next step was to correlate the highlights that I observed in the artwork and my way of seeing life, manage work and relationships.
After the reflection, we chose a colleague to share our perceptions about the artwork. We described the artwork in our unique way and then, showed to the colleague.
The observation and reflection of an artwork allow us to identify feelings, and perceptions that reflect the moment we live and the way we relate to the world. Our eyes select the details and our mind gives them meaning. The opportunity of sharing our reflections and listening to other´s reflections complete the experience.
The exercise reinforced my knowledge of some of my characteristics and allowed me to reflect on some others that are usually hidden from my own perception on a daily basis.
Dear Reader, do you know or practice observation exercises? Share with us.
* The AVMOR Collection La Collection AVMOR, ISBN O-9682946-2-6, published on April 3, 2004, by AVMOR ART AND CULTURAL FOUNDATION
photo credit – jonycunha on VisualHunt/CC BY-SA
I just love this collection of writings and now will forward the link to the blog to prospective IMHL applicants! The way the blog is written portrays the learning in the program through an important perspective and one we can’t really communicate in the traditional ways.
Thank you very much for your supportive comment. I feel glad that you are enjoying the Blog. The writings express my learning experience provided by IMHL. The Program invites us to bring our contexts and allow us to merge knowledge in our contexts what result in the learning experience.
Hi Eliane,
A really well written piece. I enjoyed reading your experiences and thoughts regarding our visit to the Avmor reflection. Thank you also for reminding me of the experience we all shared at the visit.
Thank you, Jeremy!