Art not just for art's sake

The New York police are using trips to the Frick Collection to hone their skills of observation and deduction.

"In New York, the extraordinary is so ordinary to us, so in training we're always looking to become even more aware as observers," says Diana Pizzuti, deputy chief and commanding officer of New York City's police academy.
. . .
The NYPD course began last year, inspired by similar classes the 38-year-old [Amy] Herman teaches for New York medical students. Those classes are intended to develop diagnostic abilities through better observation of patients.

The trainees say that they learn to think about the bigger scope of a crime scene, where hints may be at some distance from the action; the docent also has learned to look at the paintings a bit differently after insights from the street. Nice.

(via kottke)