Is your attention span long enough to read this art?

The Other Art Fair - Santa Monica’s Barker Hangar

Did you make it to The Other Art Fair in Santa Monica back in September?

It was my second fair this year, and they put on a great show: 150+ independent artists, ten thousand visitors, and a booth location right in the heart of Barker Hangar.

My set up

Across four days, I had an endless stream of conversations about how my comic pieces are made. Some people thought I’d simply enlarged vintage pages; others assumed I wrote everything from scratch. Even with a didactic on the table, created for the purpose of saving my voice, I still found myself explaining the concept again and again. Thankfully most people were pretty great to talk to.

Featured spot in a main hallway as one of the new kids on the block.

But here’s what surprised me most:

Even though my work is full of images, text, and story, some visitors didn’t have the bandwidth to read it. Maybe it was visual overload after dozens of booths. Maybe attention fatigue. Maybe just a preference for art that doesn’t require actual reading.

Influencer photo op

My most dedicated reader? An eleven-year-old girl who’s a comic book fan. She parked herself in my booth while her mom browsed across the aisle and she read every single panel. She was focused, intense, and curious.

A captive audience

And that brings me back to my opening comment: attention spans are shrinking, especially in visually loud environments like art fairs.

According to a study published in Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts in 2017, the average person spends just over 27 seconds looking at a great work of art!

There is No Escape is off to its new home.

Still, the moments of real connection were unforgettable. One new collector fell in love with Motown, my piece about Berry Gordy’s role in desegregating radio. He was almost speechless, circled back, and bought it just in time because someone else had already inquired about it. His excitement mirrored the energy I put into this piece, and that exchange was electric. I got goosebumps.

Motown’s delightful new owners

So what did I take away from The Other Art Fair?

My work demands something that’s in short supply: time, focus, curiosity. People arrive overstimulated: bright lights, crowds, endless booths, and my pieces need a moment of stillness some visitors don’t seem to have.

But when someone does slow down, the payoff is real. The narrative unfolds. The layers click. The meaning lands. My favorite thing is when someone stifles a laugh while they’re reading.

Yes, art asks for attention, but the experience rewards those who give it. The fair has me thinking about how to better deliver these stories in chaotic spaces. Maybe newer pieces can to be reworked to be a little more “attention-proof,” without losing the social commentary that drives them. I’ve got some work ahead of me.

Anyway, thanks for sticking with me. Statistically, you’ve now out-focused everyone except that eleven-year-old. As a bonus, I’ll share with you my latest work in progress.

Wishing you a great holiday and New Year!

Julie