I hope you have all had a refreshing break over the new year and holiday season.
I’ve spent my downtime with family and friends, enjoying the Australian summer, and balancing it with quieter moments with puzzles, good books, and visits to local art galleries.
Art galleries give me an opportunity to appreciate an artist’s talents and to notice a number of things, like perspective, interpretation of the subject, colour and many other skills that I do not have. What I notice and appreciate can often be different to what others notice. An artist seems to focus on the bigger picture but also have to work on the small details in their art.
This reminded me of Monet’s water lilies series, of which he painted approximately 250 paintings. They are all different in some way. Some of them have been featured in some exclusive museums around the world. The first time I saw Monet’s Water Lilies in the Musee de l’Orangerie in Paris it took my breath away. There are two elliptical rooms dedicated to what seems to be a seamless panorama of Monet’s art. They were installed shortly after Monet’s death and this was his plan as he had donated them to the French State the day after Armistice on 11 November 1918 as a symbol of peace. Monet had worked on these pieces of art in his final years and a few months after his death in 1927, they were installed at the Musee de l’Orangerie .
Each time I look at the same piece of art, I see something different. When I step back, I can see the bigger picture of what’s happening. Recently, while viewing a portrait, I felt drawn to move closer- to see how the artist created such intricate detail and the illusion of a two-dimensional work appearing layered, almost three-dimensional. From a distance, the image tells its story as a whole while up close, I see the brushstrokes, the layering of paint, and subtle tonal values that create depth and a sense of reality.
In our relationships, staying curious is like stepping back to see the bigger picture which helps us be more objective. When I zoom out, everything feels richer, with more to notice and appreciate. I can see each person’s role in the relationship, how one person’s actions affect another, and the ongoing “back and forth” that shapes how we relate. Zooming out also allows me to see my own part in the dynamic.
So as you start the year, you might want to ask yourself:
What do I notice in my work relationships or home life?
What do I observe about the way this system is functioning?
What roles are people taking on, and what patterns do I see?
How do others’ actions affect one another, and how does this impact me?
What is my response, and how does it shape what happens next?
I’m planning to visit more art galleries this year, so I’ll share what viewing art gets me thinking about along the way.
Staying curious is so important to being objective. Understanding how I respond to others helps me to better understand others’ responses and also my part in how things are playing out at work or at home. Systems theory is a way to better understand how we operate as humans. We are complex, but also predictable. Over time, patterns emerge, and we tend to move through them again and again.
What becomes visible when you step back and observe both the patterns and the bigger picture?
