Look With New Eyes! More Than Looking!

Noticing. Thinking. Feeling.

When I first started using the phrase “look with new eyes,” I referred to art and museums. Noticing new things. Paying attention in different ways. Focusing on details we don’t usually pay attention to.

Over time, I’ve expanded my initial perspective beyond looking, to include how I think about things and how I respond to things.

A few days ago, my daughter was in town and we decided to take a hike. I live in Western North Carolina, a region filled with all types of trails: through the woods, past waterfalls, up rocky slopes, and on to open balds. We picked a trail I hadn’t been on before. It was a bit of a drippy day but it wasn’t as hot as many of the days we’ve had this summer. For those that might know it, the trail is Bearwallow in Gerton.

I like doing new things! I like feeling strong! I like being outdoors! I like being with my daughter!

The trail is only about two miles there and back, ending on a grassy open meadow with 360 degree views. And there are cows! Sounded fun! I found out later that the cows are there because the trail is on a working farm. The family that owns it has a conservation easement allowing both private farming and public hiking to occur.

The trail up is very much up! Across rock steps and log steps, with a fair amount of mud due to this summer’s continual rain, packaged with the drippiness of the day. As we climbed up the trail, we saw large cows, lush ferns, picturesque lichen, gigantic rocks, and a tree hit by lightning.

When we got to the top, it was closed in by fog. No 360 degree views. I like to think that even in my wiser years (I hate saying “older”), I’m still growing and changing. A few years ago, I might have considered the limited foggy view a negative, the indication of an unsuccessful hike. But I looked with new eyes and it was lovely!

First we came upon a large thistle bush. (My mom used to own an antique shop called Sign of the Thistle, so seeing that was fun!) Then we heard muffled voices coming through the fog from others already up on the bald. Next we saw a cow, then two more, then 20 more, and one was a mother cow with her calf. And before we went back down the trail, we happened upon a whole field of thistle bushes along with several kinds of wildflowers. There was no view into the distance. Not even a close view. Yet all of it felt delightfully otherworldly and mysterious due to the fog.

As I looked with new eyes, I found myself feeling curious and charmed by the fog, the misty images, and even by the lack of a view. I could hold on to a sense of accomplishment for doing the hike in spite of what I might in the past have considered negatives.

As I write about this, I’m reminded that to look with new eyes provides us with a shift in perspective. With a small amount of effort, we can find the positives, the fulfillment, and the newness, even in an event that doesn’t turn out the way we expected.

I’m going to conclude this essay with a few examples of looking with new eyes that take us back to art, culture, and museums. Each of the following images poses a question to nudge you to look with new eyes. Answers are at the end of the essay.

1. What catches your eye? Do you know what historic site this is? Or what part of the country?

2. What did you notice first? Do you know what museum this is? If not, can you guess the date of the building?

3. This is a small portion of a well-known painting. What do you notice? Do you know who painted it? Or the date? Or the style of painting?

5. This is a tiny portion of a large set of murals. Do you know who these men are? Or who painted this? Or what the murals are called? Or what museum they’re in?

6. What material do you think this is? How big do you think it is?

Of course this is Biltmore House, where I was once curator, and where I frequently visit. Me, trying to take pics from a new perspective

1. Shaker Village, Harrodsburg, Kentucky

2. Planet Word Museum. Originally the Franklin School, built in 1888.

3. Gray Weather, Grande Jatte, ca. 1886–88. Painted by Georges Seurat, French. Met, public domain. The style is Pointillism, part of Post-Impressionism.

   

4. The man in profile is Wilhelm Valentiner, who was the museum director at the time, and commissioned the murals. The man facing us is Edsel Ford, who provided the funds for the mural. From the Detroit Industry Murals, 1932-33, painted by Diego Rivera for the Detroit Institute of Arts.

   

   5. Made of glass. About 7 feet by almost 9 feet. Composed of 33 glass panels on a steel frame. Artist Dominick Labino (American, 1910-1987). Toledo (Ohio) Museum of Art.

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Another related essay…
Look With New Eyes: What Does It Mean to Look With New Eyes at Museums?