I was lucky to end up in Aarhus in Denmark for my university studies, which is home to the ARoS art museum. Since their yearly membership costs just a little bit more than a single ticket, I decided to visit the museum regularly. Alongside yearly access, you can always bring someone else with you. That’s why I never went there alone.
One time when I was about to leave for the museum, my friend cancelled our meeting there at the last moment. With me already dressed for the cold Danish weather and ready to leave my room, I decided to go, for the first time just by myself.
It might sound trivial, but for me it’s not. I am a rather introverted being, and I rarely feel cozy in public spaces. Moreover, I find myself easily overwhelmed by the world around me, which tends to intensify when I am alone.
That’s why I believed I needed to sit at my desk to focus properly. Going to the museum proved to be the exception.
Entering the first exhibition, I am walking around, observing one art piece followed by another. I am wearing headphones, listening to piano music in the background. I like to approach galleries like a book that is spread across multiple rooms. I always read everything and if I don’t finish, I return later on.
Being exposed to art, I am recalling my art history lessons back in Czechia. Sometimes I spot a familiar name, technique, or type of pillar depicted in a painting. This somehow triggers a retrospective view in me. Since the final exam at high school, everything has happened so fast. University, a new country, new people, and a language I do not understand.
Then I start focusing on each brushstroke in paintings. It’s fascinating seeing the strokes of a painter from the 19th century. I wonder how the artist thought about his life and his actions. At a certain point, this reflection turns towards me. Being exposed to art makes me think not only about the art but rather about myself.
Art shows so explicitly how life is just a tiny moment. It can be the movement of a brush, the shaping of a sculpture, writing, whatever. It calms me, no matter how overwhelmed I get by changes in life, this will always stay the same.
No matter where I am, at the end of the day, it seems everything is about expressing my being in any way I choose. And after doing so, I will make my spot available for someone else who will come after me, just like someone did before I appeared.