Galleryphobia

One of the things that still amuses me, is how terrified most people are of actually entering an art gallery.

As those of you who have been to our Bethesda gallery know, the gallery is encased in glass. In other words, the entire inside space is exposed to the square of Bethesda Place because all the exterior walls are made of glass.

This is bad for heating and/or cooling costs ($400 a month), but good because the entire exhibition is always visible from the outside.

Therein lies the problem!

99.9% of all people will circumnavigate the outside walls, cupping their hands and peering in... sometimes they go around several times, like sharks, and often point and discuss the artwork. And yet they never come in!

Every once in a while, when our former neighbor in the square (Discovery Channel) and now our new neighbor (Comcast) holds a fire drill, the square is filled with several hundred people at once. The drills last maybe 45 minutes.

And the masses walk around the gallery, looking in through the glass, discussing the art, and out of hundreds of people, maybe two or three brave souls dare to come in, but not before asking "is it OK to come in?"

And on Sundays, our other neighbor, the Original Pancake House has a hour waiting list, which means that 40-50 people are always hanging around the square. And yet, despite the fact that they circle around and peer in, only a precious few ever come in (although our biggest sales ever have been to some of those Sunday pancake eaters!).

Often, in the spring, we have the two front doors propped open. And this also causes some interesting situations. Every once in a while, someone will stand on the outside of the opened doors, and stretch (as if as the end of a precipice) and look inside for a few minutes. It is as if one of those Star Trek force fields is between the door line and the gallery.

Article Author: Lenny Campello

F. Lennox Campello is a widely published Washington, DC based art critic, as well as an award winning artist and curator. He is also often heard on NPR and the Voice of America discussing visual art issues. …

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