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Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck) in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) at the Art Institute of Chicago. <via>

My mother was an art teacher. So I grew up going to art museums a lot. As a kid I thought an art museum had to be the Most Boring Place in the World. As an adult, however, I feel like art museums and galleries feel like home.

For some people, art museums can be a little scary. Art can be full of uncertainty. It’s not like a simple math problem, where there’s a right or wrong answer. The process of looking at, appreciating, and interpreting art is uncharted territory for some folks. But it doesn’t have to be intimidating, ya know?

You don’t have to have an MFA to appreciate art. Here are a few baby steps you can take, though. Enjoy.

Step 1: Go to an Art Museum

The cost of testing this out? Mostly free. Art museums rarely charge admission to their regular exhibits, although they do charge for special ones. So you basically have no excuse. Go visit an art museum soon and test this out. Let me know it goes.

Step 2: Be Still

Find a particular piece of art that attracts you — for whatever reason — and find a way to be still (and quiet) near that piece of art. Stop talking, moving, and checking your phone. Just be still next to that piece of art so that you may full experience it.

Step 3: Read the Plaque

Once you’ve had a minute to experience the piece, start looking for the plaque next to it. That typically has the title of the artwork, the artist’s name, and a little blurb about the piece. Read it. It’ll give you a little context about what you’re viewing. Context (time, history, place) always helps me with appreciating a piece of art.

Step 4: Open Your Mind

Once you’ve read the plaque, step back. Take in the entire piece of artwork again. Drop your everyday thinking and take a good look at what’s in front of you. Open your mind.

The following scene in Monda Lisa Smile (2003) has become one of my favorites. The professor asks her students to stop talking and look. It’s a beautiful scene. Enjoy:

Step 5: Feel Something

For every action there is a reaction, right? Once you’ve temporarily freed yourself from your every day mindset, you may start to feel something: a reaction to that piece. Explore it and hang on to that. What does this thing — this piece of art work someone created and displayed for you — make you feel?

BONUS: Seek Understanding

If you felt a strong reaction to a piece of art, whether positive or negative, seek a greater understanding about it. Maybe you were revolted or disgusted — and that’s exactly what the artist wanted you to feel. Or maybe it was a still life painting done eons ago and you just didn’t get why that’s worth anything because you could take a better picture with your iPhone. Do a little more research about the art work, artist, time, and place to seek a greater understanding of it. You’ll be surprised what you find.