My first ever museum was the glorious University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) in Ann Arbor. UMMA has always been a magical place for me. As my hometown museum, it was a cabinet of curiosities for my young self. I saw things there unlike anything I had ever seen: intriguing objects from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe. During a trip this month to see my family in Ann Arbor [...]
Read MoreThis painting, this fête galante, full of lovers in a garden, is a celebration of flirtation and love. While the young lovers are the focal point of the painting, a full half of the painting is dedicated to the landscape, to the architecture, to the physicality of the scene. As I looked at this painting by Nicolas Lancret, newly [...]
Read MoreThe quantity of visitors in the Louvre can be impressive, if overwhelming. In 2011, I shot footage of the flow of visitors in some of the busiest galleries of the Louvre, and I finally got around to editing it now. Inspired by the mesmerizing 1982 film Koyaanisqatsi, I used music by Philip Glass and played with the speed and distance of the [ ... ]
Read MoreStill lives are incredibly sensual beings. But not only do they exemplify virtuosity, their aim is to sneakily make you think about the very nature of life itself. Given this, why are they so easy to just skim by in museums? Filmed partially in the Louvre in 2011, this little video aims to explore both the sensual and moral aspects of this subtle genre [ ... ]
Read MoreThis video is what happens when one listens to "#SELFIE" by the Chainsmokers on the walk home from a visit to the Louvre:
Read MoreIt rained the other day, and I could feel October coming. Paris in autumn is so moody, almost sinister, and I love it. That feeling right after a rainstorm, when the air is still charged and everything is so vivid, that’s where I am now. This transition is intense, but good. Here’s a glimpse at Paris after the rain, on a walk I took [ ... ]
Read MoreI had a dream last night where Fleur Pellerin, France’s new Minister of Culture and Communication, told me to make audio content for museums during my free time (I think my thesis has not entirely left my system yet). This got me thinking. I firmly believe that there is more than one way to appreciate museums, and how cool [ ... ]
Read MoreAfter spending a nocturne at the Louvre one Friday night, I stepped outside to find a lusciously full moon. I am a firm believer that a full moon brings out wildness and inhibition, and this night was no exception. I felt full of an almost manic energy in the moonlight [ ... ]
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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.
Check out my newsletter on Substack to be inspired to see the art in your daily life.
