'Immersive Van Gogh' reimagines masterpieces for a digital age
Outside the sky is gray, but inside Chicago's Germania Club Building, color abounds. The vibrant display comes courtesy of Vincent Van Gogh, whose paintings are the subject of "Immersive Van Gogh," a digital art exhibition that surrounds viewers with projections of the golden sunflowers, violet irises and midnight blue skies for which the 19th-century Dutch artist is renowned.
The exhibition, which premiered last July in Toronto, consists of an ever-shifting array of Van Gogh masterworks - "The Starry Night," "Sunflowers," "The Bedroom in Arles," "Starry Night Over the Rhone," "The Potato Eaters" and others - which are projected onto the walls and floors of several rooms. The projections are accompanied by a mostly electronic soundtrack. Played at dance club volume, it includes Edith Piaf's "Non, Je Né Regrette Rien," Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke's "Dawn Chorus," Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" and Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" along with original music by composer Luca Longobardi.
Designed by film producer Massimiliano Siccardi, Longobardi and art director Vittorio Guidotti, "Immersive Van Gogh" - with its eye-catching visuals - is an art history survey for the digital age.
Mirrored triangular towers reflect projections, most of which features animation as well as occasional ambient sound. A windmill turns, candles flicker, a breeze dislodges blossoms from a branch, a man trudges through tall grass. An unseen hand applies a single brush stroke from which an entire scene assembles itself. That scene subsequently dissolves and is replaced by another image.
The exhibition proposes to offer a glimpse into the mind and the creative process of the artist who, having sold only one painting during his brief, troubled life, emerged as one of the most influential and best loved artists of all time. Knowing Van Gogh's mind is impossible. But to be enveloped by his art in this way is both dizzying and delightful.
For instance, the 35-foot sunflowers filling the walls of the former social club elicited gasps from attendees at Wednesday's preview. The large projections make it possible to distinguish the texture of Van Gogh's brush strokes. And the pairing of Van Gogh's "The Starry Night" and "Starry Night Over the Rhone" with Barber's elegiac adagio provided a poignant coda to the exhibition.
And yet, for all its flash, "Immersive Van Gogh" remains a shallow dive that emphasizes experience over illumination. More than once, I found myself wishing I could experience these paintings as originally intended, defined within a frame and not stretched over adjacent walls and a floor. Then again, that's what art museums are for.
Note: Guests must wear face coverings in compliance with COVID-19 safety guidelines. Temperature checks are required for admission. Markers including digitally projected circles on the gallery floors are in place to maintain physical distancing.
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Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit
When: Through Sept. 6. Limited capacity with physical distancing. Face coverings and temperature checks required for admission. Hand sanitizing stations available throughout the venue
Where: Lighthouse ArtSpace in the Germania Club Building, 108 W. Germania Place, Chicago. Paid parking lots nearby
Tickets: $24.99 for ages 16 and younger, $39.99-$99.99 for adults. Flexible ticket options available
Information: (844) 307-4644 or vangoghchicago.com