Rembrandt’s ‘Night Watch’, ousted by teen’s phone watch

My mission — an anthropology field study to examine whether teenagers can be prised from their phones for more than five minutes at a time, if shoved in front of art. Could it work? Or are they permanently welded to their handsets?
Rembrandt’s ‘Night Watch’, ousted by teen’s phone watch

Many of us will have seen that photo of the group of teens hunched over their phones, as Rembrandt’s Night Watch hangs behind them in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, abjectly ignored. (http://bit.ly/1tcoppj). Is it a tiny bit unrealistic to expect a bunch of 21st century teens to engage with a 1642 painting of men in silly hats waving swords? Or are contemporary teenagers a bunch of digital philistines?

Selecting a city full of art — Amsterdam — and a random 13-year-old and 15-year-old from the sofa in my sitting room, I introduce the topic to the unsuspecting guinea pigs in my social experiment. A pragmatic approach seems sensible, to initially pique their interest. Amsterdam is full of weed cafes and ladies standing in shop windows with almost no clothes on, I tell them. And there are two Banksy exhibitions happening there at the moment, I add, cleverly slipping the art in between the sex and drugs.

Already a subscriber? Sign in

You have reached your article limit.

Unlimited access. Half the price.

Annual €120 €60

Best value

Monthly €10€5 / month

More in this section

Revoiced

Newsletter

Sign up to the best reads of the week from irishexaminer.com selected just for you.

Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited