Talks & Conversations

Finding Awe: Theaster Gates’ Ground Rules (black line)

Part of Finding Awe
Narrow boards of a wood gymnasium floor were taken apart and reassembled as vertical planks that make up this wide, rectangular panel, which hangs on a wall. Several boards have long strips of black tape and one, near the top right corner, has a band of red tape. Most of the markings are short checks of black, white, red, and green tape. The wood stain is dark in some areas, gray with damage in others, or flaking in places. The two longest horizontal black stripes are near the top left corner and across the right half, about a third of the way down from the top edge of the piece. The room where this hangs has wider planked wood floors and a white wall.

Join us as we explore the powerful experience of being part of something greater than ourselves, through art, sports, and more. Reflect on the sense of awe that arises when people move and work in unison, both in Ground Rules (black line) and in your own life.

During this 90-minute pause from your daily route, we’ll look slowly and mindfully at Theaster Gates’ Ground Rules (black line). You’ll be invited to look closely, wonder, and share your insights with the group.  Together, we’ll learn “awe practices” that you can bring to your everyday life.  

The workshop exploring Ground Rules (black line) will be offered on February 20 at 2:15 p.m. and on February 21 at 10:30 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. We encourage you to register for one workshop on this topic and to join us for future topics as well.

Ages 18 and up. Questions? Email us at [email protected].

“Finding Awe” is grounded in the National Gallery’s mission to welcome all people to explore and experience art, creativity, and our shared humanity. It offers new “awe practices” drawn from the research of Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at the University of California-Berkeley, director of The Greater Good Science Center, and author of Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life (2023). Research shows that experiences of awe help support mental and physical wellbeing and open us up to greater creativity and deeper empathy. 

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Shown from the knees up, a woman with brown, wrinkled skin, wearing a white blouse, apron, and black skirt is shown in front of a pale gray background in this vertical portrait painting. Straight-backed, she faces and looks at us with her hands resting in her lap. Her wavy, iron-gray hair is parted in the center and pulled back from her face. Her eyebrows are slightly raised, and her face is deeply lined down her cheeks and around her mouth. She wears a heart-shaped brooch with a red stone at its center at her neck and a gold band on her left ring finger. The light coming from our left casts a shadow against the wall to our right. The artist signed and dated the painting in the lower right corner: “A.J. MOTLEY. JR. 1922.”

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