Evesdropping at the National Gallery of Art

A recent visit to the National Gallery of Art in D.C. afforded me the opportunity to view some of the most striking and important paintings in the world, as well as an opportunity to eavesdrop and people-watch.  Some die-hard aesthetes might gasp to know that I can easily spend long moments with my back to world-famous paintings by Rembrandt or Picasso, choosing instead to surreptitiously observe what I call “art in action”—the attitudes, poses, and behavior of visitors in the gallery.  “Wannabe Connoisseur” and “Tourista Mama” are sources of endless amusement, while “Highschool Field Trip, #37” tends to depress me with its celebration of banality and barbarism.  One of my all-time favorite subjects is “Dreamy Girl with Journal.”  If you’ve been in an art museum, you know the subject I’m referring to.  Young, usually between the ages of 16 to 24, unaccompanied, and dressed alternatively in chic-hipster or artsy-bohemian, these girls sit and fill their notebooks with curious and rapid-fire reflections on the artwork hanging in the gallery.  I have yet to be personally acquainted with one of these subjects so, no doubt, my interest is largely due to the fact that the contents of the journals remain a complete mystery to me, allowing me to float a variety of interpretations, ranging from amusing to terrifying.