Bob Orsillo – The Curator

A respected Art Curator at Large for many years; Orsillo is know for attention to detail, making things work, and of course his well know three good things rule.

As the head curator for the Boston exhibit “War and Peace” Bob worked with artists around the world to bring together a variety of media depicting the effects of war. From the most horrible of war crimes to the surprising successes artists from around the globe told their personal story, sharing their thoughts, secrets, hopes and fears.

Because of the complexity of the subject and the unexpected points of view; It was during this project, Bob initiated his now well known rule - “you have to find three good things about a work of art before you can reject it.”

“Human nature as well as society causes us to want to reject things we don’t understand – things that are not in current vogue and things that look foreign to our eyes.  As a result many works of art that should be seen are not.  

When you force yourself to look beyond the safe and accepted; you begin to see the world through that artists eyes and at the same time you broaden your own mind.  You learn to feel in a different way.

When your first impulse is to reject a work of art (or anything or any person for that matter) Find three positive things, then ask yourself how you feel about the work.  Now you have given the artist a fair and unbiased viewing.” 

Bob Orsillo Taken from The New Paradigm published May 2003