Watching Videos At Art Exhibitions

 I don’t know about you but I find videos in art galleries make me very tired indeed. I’m not sure exactly why this could be.

I was at an exhibition showcasing artwork depicting St Francis of Assisi. Not that I go out of my way seeking religious art in particular but it sounded moderately interesting… and it was free. 

The chapel at my school had a figure of him there so he was one Christian saint I was more knowledgable about.

The exhibition itself was well curated. Showcasing the Saint’s life and his miracles. There’s something about religious art that has an effect on me. Perhaps it’s the nostalgic tie to a childhood of being brought up in a Christian environment in school with all the hymn singing and prayers. 

Or perhaps the art itself is reflecting the reverence of the artists for their subject matter and that has an effect on the observer. 

I’m not completely confident that putting in care and precision to a piece of work is a reflection of the artist’s reverence for what they are depicting. It may be that it is just reflecting the artist’s care for their own work. In the case of religious art, however, I guess it is likely to be a mix of both.

At the end of the exhibition there was a screen showing clips from different films exploring the topic of Saint Francis. I was exhausted. I couldn’t watch them all - I had to move along.

I’ve had this feeling a number of times. At a recent Alice Neel exhibition, a William Kentridge one and at a digital art exhibition at 180 Strand (where perhaps it was more the sheer number and length of the abstract videos that wore me down).

Maybe it’s because often these videos are at the very end of an exhibition. So at that point I’m mentally out the door and in the shop - perusing the postcards.

The videos are also often set up in dark rooms with little stools. That would certainly make me feel a little sleepy, messing with my circadian rhythm.

When I go to my next art exhibition I doubt, however, that I’ll change my behaviour. I’d never bypass a video completely to save myself from sudden tiredness for fear of missing out on something interesting. I should know though when to move along before I get too comfortable on my little stool and fall asleep entirely.