When we asked our toddler if he wanted to go to the local science museum this weekend, he got really excited and said, “Yeah! We can press all the buttons!” This kid knows what he loves. It can be harder for adults to do that, to listen to that little voice that tells us how we *actually* want to engage with our environments. Museums can be […]
Read MoreIt felt like a waste of a morning, driving to Costco to return a toaster that had been delivered with a big dent in the side. But there I was, so I decided to look around and see if there was anything that would feel good about being there. And I looked up and I saw an enormous grid of lights illuminating absolutely everything in that massive […]
Read MoreI went to a book club. (That sentence would once have been the preamble to a story, but in these pandemic times, it is the whole story. I went to a book club!) I could not get enough of all the new faces. In art, there’s the concept of the real thing, where reproductions or photographs cannot capture the essence of an original artwork […]
Read MoreGoodness, the smell of tomatoes on the vine just gets me. I have a few tomato plants—grape and cherry—and when I get up close enough to pick my miniature harvest, that distinctive tomato-y smell wraps me up and takes me somewhere. I don’t know where exactly; I never had tomato plants growing up so I don’t think it’s a sense […]
Read MoreI visited the Château de Fontainebleau one October several years ago, when fall was in full force. My memories of that visit are flooded with the yellows of the trees in the grounds, the crisp autumn smell in the air, and the golden quality of the light that poured through the windows into the ornate rooms. This sensory immersion was an integral […]
Read MoreWandering around the apple orchard, I made art. I could try to tell you that I made this flower-covered apple wand for my son, but that would not be true. He was busy running down the orchard alleys with a long branch that had fallen off one of the trees, alternating between yelling “Hockey!” and “Vacuum!” My mom was […]
Read MoreI felt like I was in a David Hockney painting this week. My son and I spent a morning in the outdoor pool in our local park, and somehow we were the only ones there (besides the three lifeguards looking out for us). The turquoise water in the pool was still, except around my splish splashing toddler in lemon swim trunks and his […]
Read MoreI love getting up close and personal with a painting. At a distance, this painting of three cakes on display is simple, and quite satisfying in that simplicity. The artist Wayne Thiebaud came back over and over to this theme of commercially-produced Americana desserts over the course of his career (fun game: if you see […]
Read MoreI was tidying up a bouquet in my kitchen yesterday, salvaging the blooms that were still holding on. When I went to clean up the counter, I did a literal double take. The vegetal detritus I had been about to wipe away was an explosion of colors and textures, curly greenery and wrinkly poppy petals. It was so joyful. It made me […]
Read MoreThis photo was taken in 1883 by Thomas Eakins, a painter who used photography to study the human form. Here, two of his art students stand in front of a relief, in poses that echo the sculpted figures. Eakins used photos as a tool to help him make his paintings feel closer to life: “the camera was a teaching device comparable to anatomical […]
Read MoreI chopped off thirteen inches of hair last night. I was already overdue for a haircut a year ago when the pandemic came and shut down normal things like being indoors with strangers for grooming reasons. I decided to hold off on cutting my increasingly Lady-Godiva-length locks until I had been vaccinated. Chopping off my hair would be […]
Read MoreI love this painting by William Bouguereau because the whole point of it is enjoyment. When I stand in front of it in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, I’m treated to a moment of visual pleasure. I feel immersed in the dream-like countryside, imagining weaving the delicate flowers into a crown and the feel of my toes in the dirt. It is an invitation to […]
Read MoreThe Metropolitan Museum of Art wants visitors to work on their museum fitness. The Museum Workout is a 45-minute workout session covering two miles of the The Met before it opens in the morning. Two dancers, dressed in sequined dresses and tennis shoes, lead participants through group exercises and stretches, including yoga in the sunny [...]
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This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer.
IMAGINIBUS is a blog about playing in museums, with a focus on imagination and creativity.
This blog is a place to be inspired to use your imagination around artworks—and to see the art of your daily life.
When we engage creatively with art, museums can become playgrounds and laboratories to experiment with attention, mindfulness, and imagination. Interesting things happen when we use that museum gaze to look at our daily lives like a work of art.
Find more inspiration for playing with new ways of paying attention to your daily life here.
Hello! I'm Marina Gross-Hoy, a writer, Museum Studies PhD candidate, and mother currently living in Quebec. I take playing in museums very seriously.
Read more about the blog here.
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