Stop telling me what to think! That’s the thought that rings through my head when walking through a museum with a tour guide. When visiting a museum, one must go at their own pace, taking time at each piece carefully articulating, or simply enjoying the visuals. On a guided tour, museumgoers move according to their guide’s timeline and are told how to interpret images, leaving little left for the imagination
While at a museum, it is imperative for the patron to take designated time, however long or short that may be, at each piece. In doing so, the viewer can develop a deeper appreciation of the works around them. There is nothing like the bliss that comes upon a person while taking in a work of art displayed before them. Intricate brush strokes or the movement of a sculpture can move someone on a deep emotional level in a way words simply can’t. Being rushed through an exhibit, or being told which piece to focus on when deprives the patron of this experience. One of the most joyous aspects of a museum is the quiet you are given to sit and reflect, which is stripped from you when you take a tour.
Another bothersome aspect, and perhaps the worst part, is having to hear the guide’s interpretation of the piece or what the artist intended when they created the piece. The beauty of art is that it is up to the viewer to decide what the work’s hidden meaning is. Not only is someone else’s unasked opinion of art extremely boring to listen to, but it also mutes the voice in your head that expresses its own opinion. With a different idea now placed in your head, it is increasingly difficult to interpret on your own terms. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so let patrons see beauty how they please.
MOOSE PRINTS 
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