A Spectator is an Artist Too

‘A Spectator Is An Artist Too’is a book that focuses solely on the art observer, as opposed to just the art itself. This book studies and analyses human behaviour in terms of how people interact with art, providing a new perspective in relation to the idea that spectators are indeed artists too.  

The overall message of the book is that both artists and art appreciators should consider how the work and the response to the work shape the art overall. For instance, how it makes spectators feel or think when observing artworks in an art gallery could unravel important things to consider that the artist may have subconsciously expressed within the work, without realizing it.

In addition, this book addresses how art galleries and museums are adapting to everchanging, more diverse groups of individuals. How people interpret and respond to art is changing, and this book explains how things are developing in this area.

Johan Idema is a passionate promoter of innovation in the art world. He works as a cultural entrepreneur, writer and director for the foundation Art Public. Idema has extensive experience as an arts consultant and has worked at several cultural institutions, including as chief curator at the Netherlands Architecture Institute (Rotterdam). Idema is the initiator of, among others, the theatrical art exhibition The Big Art Show and the award-winning classical music app Wolfgang. Idema obtained master degrees in Arts Administration at New York University and Innovation Management at TU Delft. He was awarded an oeuvre prize as ‘New Radical’, in the Netherlands, where Idema is based.

"An innovative research method for an underexposed topic: museum visitors behavior." – Parool