Whenever I am in London, I make it a point to visit the Tate Modern because its collection of art is amazing. During my recent visit, I did one more thing that this lovely museum now encourages visitors to do — slow looking.

Art of slow looking

What is slow looking? It is all about spending at least 10 minutes at a stretch, in front of an artwork or painting. In a world where the average human attention span is estimated at eight seconds, 10 minutes is eternity. But this extended time provides you an uninterrupted opportunity to appreciate the painting in its rich detail — you can take in its texture, observe how light and colour create drama, look at how the juxtaposition of figures has created emotion, and revel in the story behind the painting. All this is stimulating, leads to a better appreciation of the artwork, and helps elevate our minds.

I engaged in some slow looking, standing opposite the silkscreen painting called ‘Marilyn Diptych’, created by the iconic American pop artist Andy Warhol. The painting depicts the famous actress Marilyn Monroe. Interestingly, it has fifty images of the actress — half of them in vibrant colour, and the other half in black and white.

Much in a painting

In the first few seconds, I saw Marilyn Monroe as we all know her — a glamorous sex goddess. But as the seconds ticked away, I observed the small details of her face and blonde hair, as well as the sultriness of her pout and smile. I enjoyed the aesthetics and moods. I read the interesting story of how this painting was created.

Thereafter, the stark difference between the clean coloured images and the smudged black-and-white pictures struck me. As I kept looking, it struck me that this contrast evokes the uncomfortable relationship between Marilyn’s glamorous public self and her sad, even tragic private life. And then, towards the end of my 15 long minutes in front of the painting, I concluded that it is not only about Marilyn Monroe, but also about so many of us who have our happy public images on social media, alongside the darkness we often face in our private lives.

Thus, the painting revealed itself to me because I “slow looked” it. I will never forget this beautiful experience.

And I also came away with a much better appreciation of Andy Warhol’s art.

Marketers, look slow

This set me thinking. Should marketers not encourage their consumers to engage in slow looking at their products? We buy so many different products that are designed and crafted with great care. Yet we often do not take the time to observe them closely in all their glory.

Just like Tate Modern encourages its visitors to do slow looking at paintings, a lifestyle brand can also encourage consumers to slow look at its product — be it a handbag, wristwatch, shirt or car. This will enhance the consumer’s appreciation of the design and artistry that has gone into the product, the materials used, and the functional features too. This appreciation will, in turn, make the consumer value the product even more.

In many cases, slow looking can help the consumer make the right purchase decision — for instance, slow looking at a beautifully crafted shirt, taking in its lovely patterns, stitching, collar and buttons can make the consumer fall in love with the garment and buy it. Slow looking can also lead to far greater consumer engagement with the brand, as consumers learn more about the product and its story. And this inevitably leads to more brand loyalty.

How can marketers encourage consumers to engage in slow looking at their products? Here are a few thought starters on this subject.

Advertisements can romance the product using stunning images, and also use simple technology such as QR codes to draw consumers deeper into engaging stories. Sales staff in stores can be trained to tell the story of the products evocatively, while highlighting product features, including the finer design-related points, to consumers. In-store visuals or digital kiosks can highlight interesting features that are often missed at first glance. Brands can consider fun incentives for customers for slow looking at their shelves closely for 15 minutes or more. Stores can organise special exhibitions of their hero products, calling in their existing and potential customers.

Slow looking provides a much needed respite from the hectic pace of our lives and, therefore, I think many consumers will be happy to engage if marketers find interesting ways to draw them in.

(Harish Bhat is an avid marketer and bestselling author. He was previously the Brand Custodian at Tata Sons)

More Like This

Published on April 6, 2025