People spend an average of 28 seconds looking at important works of art in museums, according to a new study. The statistic remains virtually unchanged since a similar study was conducted 15 years ago. But today, viewers spend that half-minute differently. They now often use it to take “selfies” with art, rather than merely looking at it. These photos, dubbed “arties” by the New Jersey-based authors of the study, “were taken at every artwork by visitors regardless of gender, apparent age or group size”. The study was published in February in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts.
