My Summer Lair Chapter #181: What’s Your Favourite Van Gogh Painting?
As you may know Van Gogh a Dutch was a post-impressionist painter born on March 30 1853 and tragically passed away on July 29 1890. It was not even an easy life. It was however a productive life and if his life wasn’t good well thankfully his paintings certainly were.
He was mostly discovered after he died and that’s still true today: you are invited to the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit which as I speak is happening in Toronto, Chicago and San Francisco. (Though sadly the coronavirus has interpreted our arty fun: so be sure to check the sites frequently for rescheduled dates.) Do check the sites for Toronto, Chicago and San Francisco or perhaps additional cities for dates, times and prices.
As the title suggests this is Immersive. Traditionally you go to an art gallery, wander room to room enjoying the art and murmuring slightly sarcastic comments. That’s a traditional art experience: look but don’t touch.
Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit is a special experience and worth attending.
As Van Gogh said in a Doctor Who episode: “Well look around. Art. You know, it seems to me there’s so much more to the world than the average eye’s allowed to see. I believe, if you look hard, there are more wonders in this universe than you could ever have dreamed of.”
Yes: look around.
I believe one of the unusual aspects of the exhibition is that an artist—a successful artist—is defined by the way that he sees the world and so the best thing about this atypical exhibition is that it is immersive. By being in a car it represents a movement…a motion you don’t feel static sometimes when you’re in an art gallery it can feel static this is a radical engagement with the work and life of Vincent Van Gogh.
With Immersive Van Gogh you drive your car into this large gallery. And for 35 minutes the paintings are digitally splashed all around you…on screens, on the floor…on your car: projections coupled with subtle ambient music. The paintings come alive…you can see the sunflowers sway in the gentle breeze…a train goes by…the stars in Starry Night twinkle with bright mischief.
This isn’t still life anymore this is life and movement and a celebration of Vincent Van Gogh whose works burst with colour and brightness.
It’s a fantastic experience so worth putting on pants. It’s Pantsworthy!
