Social distancing. It’s a phrase you never heard before maybe four weeks ago and now you’re intimately aware of precisely what it means. It’s our new normal.
But art history is full of pictures of people not social distancing—of parties, family gatherings, intimate embraces, fist fights, operas, sports (remember sports?), and casual personal exchanges. Which are all off limits for the foreseeable future.
Revisiting these works brings on a slightly strange feeling. Are you people crazy? But it’s also a chance to remember what it was like when we could all gather without fear, which is a reality we’re all looking forward to getting back to as soon as is (medically) possible.
