Ana Prvački: Detour

When we visit a museum, we expect to look at things, and although we aren’t given instructions, we tend to look at things in a certain way: we move at a measured pace, regard an artwork, read its label, and move to the next; we may sit and take in the gallery as a whole. In "Detour", the artist Ana Prvački asked us to reconsider how we behave in and look at the museum through a series of filmed vignettes that imagine the environment experientially rather than as an exhibition venue. Through a special collaboration with Google Arts & Culture, these short videos were accessible on mobile devices via Google Lens at various spots throughout the museum. 

For this project Prvački uses the phone as a form of direct address; through it she telegraphs her actions and asks us to follow her lead. Each video addresses a different topic in relation to the de Young. With subjects ranging from ancient myths to personal intimacies, environmental matters, and vision exercises, each film initiates a unique set of relationships: between objects and environments, between the artist and viewer, and between ourselves and our desires. Such encounters urge us to envision new ways of viewing, connecting, and behaving in the museum—and maybe even outside of it.