The Art of Attentiveness: Cultivating Close Looking in a World of Infinite Scrolling

Dr. Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt, Covenant College

In our contemporary algorithm-driven and largely digital reality, we are catechized to make snap judgments with barely a glance. Visual art, however, provides us with the opportunity to develop a countercultural practice of close and sustained looking. This, in turn, can help us engage more purposefully with our world and our neighbors in love. Building on our theological commitments to generative, redeeming vision, this seminar offers practical tools for looking not just at art, but our entire world.