'Waiting' with Hendrick Corneliz. van Vliet (1611-75)
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Hendrick Corneliz. van Vliet, Interior of the New Church at Delft , s&d 1667;
Mead art Building, Amherst College
Note: The painting has been removed from its normal location hanging on a wall in the Daniels Gallery. It has been placed on an artist's easel set up in the front of the study gallery of the museum. The light in the room has been dimmed. Chairs have been arranged in semicircular rows about five to 15 feet from the painting which is entirely covered with a white sheet.
The conventional title of the painting we will see in a moment describes it as the “ New Church at Delft .” This title identifies the painting as an object representing or recording (visually) the New Church at Delft in Holland ; the home town, by the way, of Jan Vermeer. This “title” or conventional “name” for this painting has nothing to do with art generally or with what I hope we will come to recognize as the particular “art” of this painting. As museum and art historical nomenclature, this aofficiala descriptive title will even obstruct the “Beholding” we are seeking. So, to approach this object/image/painting as an occasion of “Beholding” or what we have called “contemplative knowing,” let me suggest another name: “‘Waiting' with Hendrick Corneliz van Vliet.” Our purpose for the next few minutes is to try to “enter” into this place of “Waiting” as an explicit exemplar of a radical re-orientation of our habitual way of looking at paintings ... and art of all kinds; and, of course, a radical re-orientation of our relationship to each other and the world.
Disclaimer: Let this occasion be an experiment in “Beholding.” I say experiment because the contemplative experience I hope will actually occur for you (in this room!) is normally a slow, quiet mindful act of true “waiting.” It is the very opposite of just this quick 30-minute classroom presentation. At best, this experiment can only be a glimpse into the world of “contemplative knowing/Beholding” we are proposing. As short as this experiment in “Beholding” will be, however, remember that we normally, habitually spend literally seconds, sometimes perhaps a couple of minutes looking at a given painting in a museum. I hope you will agree at the end today that these 30 minutes will have begun to open the way to an authentic and lasting experience of “Beholding” that may at first seem utterly unfamiliar to you, but will, as you come to recognize it and learn how to cultivate it, reveal its incomparable contribution to your most urgent needs.
My purpose now is to guide us into something like an actual occasion of “Beholding” as contrasted with mere passive looking or even active looking with detailed analysis and rationalized interpretation. My intention is that each of us will experience a genuine moment of “Beholding/contemplative knowing,” at least by way of intimation. If we are successful together, a deeper meaning of the word intimation as it is related to “Beholding/contemplative knowing” might emerge at the end, as will, may I hope, the true meaning of the word and experience of “waiting.” Maybe even Simone Weil's word “grace” will take shape before us.
This occasion of “Beholding” will comprise three parts: I. Preparation; II. Meditation; III. Contemplation. Each part, because of our limited time, will be greatly abbreviated. Each part, in reality, should be open ended, lasting hours, days, years, a lifetime. With perseverance, such a Beholding might offer you a radical re-orientation in your relationship to the world and to each other.
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