We had planned on this one for probably over a year, but when the day arrived, life meant that Steve couldn't make the event, so Stacy came along with Duncan and I.
It is a travelling exhibit, and was set up in a tent like structure (reminded me of going to early Cirque de Soleil events when they had their own tent).
Indeed, before entering, we were told that there were porta-potties outside to take care of our needs (ie. no toilets on the inside). Armed with this knowledge, we made use of the outdoor facilities, and then headed in.
The first part of the exhibit was the 'educational' part: a series of panels with text, giving a bit of history, as well as snippets from the letters Vincent had written to his brother Theo over time.
What I loved about these 'educational' panels was that that the words were printed/projected onto large fabric panels, each of which was a close-up of a different Van Gogh painting.
The room was dimly lit, and the panels themselves were illuminated from the inside, which made the fabric panels feel quite luminous.
Because the projections were also 'closeups', you could get really close, and get a sense of the actual paint work itself.
If you were to see the originals in a museum context, it would still be hard to get this close to the paintings (here, you could have your nose right up against them), and reproductions in books can't seem to quite capture the feel of the paint.
If you zoom in on the photos I took, you might see what I mean about the proximity made possible by this kind of zoomed in version of the paintings on fabric panels.
The three of us certainly took our time at the beginning, discussing in part the word choices on some of the panels (such as "immense joy", "ear-cutting despair" and "melancholic martyr"). Yes... there may have been a line up behind us, but we were happy to let folks pass us by.
Duncan considering the adverbs and adjectives
And while there was a robust conversation about word choices in the curation of a life, there was also conversation about the ways the panels also pointed folks in the direction of colour-theory, and history.
It was interesting talking about the kinds of information the show made available in this beginning section, both for people with lots of Van Gogh knowledge, and those with relatively little.
One thing I thought was really interesting (and smart) was the way that the storytelling here was linked with the paintings themselves (or the style of the paintings). I think this intro then better positions people to enjoy the second part of the event, the "immersive experience".
Thus, after the panels, one enters a very large open space, curating (and animating?) the paintings along with text and music, to create a kind of indoor moving canvas that washes over you.
In this open space, you could sit, stand, wander, etc, and let the images pass you by.
Here are some images and video snapshots capturing a bit of the flavour (and yes, the exhibit tells you to feel free to take photos or video... so that was nice)
We entered near what is probably 'the end' of the cycle, where you are in the middle of a cherry blossoms (almond blossoms?) painting.
Below is a two-minute video of this part of the blossoms cycle (we stayed long enough to hit this segement twice!). It gives you a sense of how the exhibit keeps images moving around you. If you watch closely, you might get a sense of how the walls seem to 'breathe' (because they are fabric, and you are in an open space, the air does play a part in creating a slight bowing... kind of like the wind in a taut sail).
Some of the segments felt like we were wandering around in the full light of day (in one case with the tune "Here Comes the Sun" playing for us). Other pieces drew us into evening under an undulating star-filled sky.
Here is 26 seconds of this starry swirl in motion (featuring an appearance by Duncan):
I also quite liked how the immersion was not just in visuals, but also in text, and words from his letters scrawled themselves around the space.
In one segment of work, the room is filled with small panels where Vincent's signature rolls itself out, time and time again (i wish i had thought to capture that piece, which was one of Duncan's favourite segments.) There is something that feels wierdly intimate in 'seeing' Vincent sign his name over and over.
I also loved the segment where dozens of the Van Gogh flower paintings (yes, including the Sunflowers, and Irises) were projected onto the walls, and then the flowers started spreading from panel to panel, and across the floor. Here is a snapshot.
And here is a small video segment of the same, capturing the sense of movement.
The music was certainly an important part of the experience, creating a mood or atmosphere around the paintings. Here is another small clip as an example. What is interesting to me in this segment is the way lines of paint seemed to emerge out of the bottom of the images and across the floor, in ways that kind of echoed piano strings, being lit up (or plucked) as the music seemed also to be playing out across the floor.
