Directing attention is trainable like breath control

Evidence

Some kind of attention will always be present, but when we take hold of it, we have the ability to consciously direct, expand, and contract it. I’m often surprised at how shallow both my attention and my breathing are by default. As much as breathing deeply and well requires training and reminders, all of the artworks I’ve described so far could be thought of as training apparatuses for attention. By inviting us to perceive at different scales and tempos than we’re used to, they teach us not only how to sustain attention but how to move it back and forth between different registers. As always, this is enjoyable in and of itself. But if we allow that what we see forms the basis of how we can act, then the importance of directing our attention becomes all too clear. — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 387

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines artworks as ‘training apparatuses for attention’ and the attention-as-action causal claim that anchors her whole project.
• DEEPTHINKING: The claim ‘what we see forms the basis of how we can act’ encapsulates attention as world-constitution, tying perception directly to the realm of possible action.