Arts Alive San Antonio

By JANIS TURK, Contributing Writer

EXPERIENCE THE ORIGINAL IMMERSIVE VAN GOGH EXHIBITION IN SAN ANTONIO

Last week, beaten down by the relentless afternoon summer heat, I simply stepped into a cool starry night. Yes, I quite literally, entered Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” painting as part of the origonal Immersive Van Gogh Exhibition, a multi-media art event on view at the Lighthouse ArtSpace San Antonio.

It was heavenly. All around me, huge swirling circles of stars moved above and below: on the walls, on the floors, art was everywhere, and I felt as though I had become a part of it and it of me.

 The floor and walls became a living canvas and seemed to move and drop like a carnival ride. A door opened, and it seemed though I’d stepped into the frame.

Then, quickly, the canvas changed. The walls became filled with moving archways, like an elevator ride that gave me the sensation of moving while looking out upon a French country landscape. Soon I was standing by Vincent van Gogh’s own bed. Then, before long, I was watching a glowing yellow orb move like a sunset across the sky over a golden field as it passed from wall to wall across the room.  Then fragile white blossoms filled the space all around, and suddenly enormous sunflowers appeared. It was  dramatic, beautiful, and gratifying.

The innovative new multi-media art projection event allows viewers the sensation of stepping into the canvases of Van Gogh’s work, like stepping through the looking glass or falling down a rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. Indeed, one does walk into a wonderland: a new upside-down world of awe-inspiring, enormous images, bold moving music, and a new way of viewing Van Gogh’s art in a multi-dimensional 360-degree setting, yet ultimately in a quite personal way. You may feel as though you’ve seen into the mind of the artist and are viewing Van Gogh’s work through his eyes.

Van Gogh’s paintings morph and melt, dim, brighten, and move across the walls and floors. The experience is extraordinary, and while it changes the art, it doesn’t diminish it — it showcases each painting in ways Van Gogh could never have dreamed.

Perhaps you’ve heard of any number of different, exciting, multi-media, fine art, pop-up, immersive experiences being held in cities across the globe. In fact, there are at least six different Van Gogh immersive experience exhibits I’ve read about touring worldwide.

This San Antonio exhibition, which has extended its stay at Lighthouse ArtSpace through September 25, is the original Van Gogh immersive experience designed and conceived by Italian Massimiliano Siccardi, with soundtrack by Luca Longobardi, both of whom pioneered immersive digital art experiences in France. San Antonio’s exhibition was produced by Lighthouse Immersive, emerging from a partnership of Starvox Entertainment (founded by Corey Ross) and Show One Productions (founded by Svetlana Dvoretsky). The exhibit features 300,000 cubic feet of projections animating some of Van Gogh’s most visually arresting art.

The experience involves the display of 60,600 frames of video over 90 million pixels and comprises more than 150 of van Gogh’s works from his bright landscapes and dark night scenes to his portraits and still life paintings. The installation includes some of Van Gogh’s most famous works including, “Mangeurs de pommes de terre” (The Potato Eaters, 1885), “Nuit étoilée” (Starry Night, 1889), “Les Tournesols” (Sunflowers, 1888), and “La Chambre à coucher” (The Bedroom, 1889), and so much more.

Interspersed among the images are Van Gogh’s own words, some displayed on the walls and floors of the space in his own handwriting, and some spoken by an actor. A dramatic musical score, drawing from both classical and popular music, envelops visitors in sound to enhance this dynamic, synergetic art event.

At the door, visitors are greeted by an attendant who will either take a paper ticket or scan digital ones from your smart phone. Although some critics of the touring exhibits have been vocal about the high ticket-prices and the questionable nature of the intellectual property of Van Gogh’s works, the experience was worth the price. Plus, it’s hard to imagine that Van Gogh wouldn’t have appreciated his art being enjoyed by millions of people across the globe — especially since almost no one valued his work except his brother, Theo, when Van Gogh was alive. (Some claim he sold only one painting in his lifetime).

Van Gogh, a Dutch post-Impressionist painter who spent much of his life in France, never knew fame or acceptance in his lifetime, although today he is one of the most celebrated artists of all time. Suffering from mental illness, Van Gogh is presumed to have died by suicide at age 37.

An enormous framed depiction of a Van Gogh self-portrait greets visitors near the door. Nearby, are displays that tell about his life and art before you go inside. Knowing something about the artist enhances the overall experience even more.

It is important to enter the exhibit space in silence and remain quiet throughout the experience, respecting the introspective, meditative, and almost spiritual involvement with the exhibit that those around you may be enjoying.

Inside the next room, people will be sitting on plastic/foam cushions on the floor, or standing about the room, or sitting in wooden folding chairs. Let the attendant know if you need a chair, and you’ll have one, free of charge.

As you sit or stand in the center of the room and the art changes and moves all around you from a looped audio-visual experience, you’ll become mesmerized by the colors and light, the brush strokes and handwriting, the movement, and the sound of beautiful vibrant music. There is no one place or time to begin the multi-media loop — simply enter and enjoy, then watch it again and notice new things the second or third time. Viewers will come to know periods of Van Gogh’s life and work that brought forth different kinds, colors, lines, themes, and dynamics where the artists’ deeply personal narrative is being offered from all angles. Each part of the experience is arresting. The images in no way replace the actual works: they enhance them with their spectacular audio- visual representations.

In the large adjoining exhibit spaces with huge walls and high ceilings, video projections wrap the entire space in art. Floors and walls become a moving, pulsing, colorful, virtual kaleidoscope of Van Gogh’s work, enhanced by a soundtrack of classical and original music (the soundtrack is available on Spotify). As the exhibit’s composer, Luca Longobardi, explains, “Immersive Van Gogh combines visual arts and sound, and is created by artists who want to tell a story not with words, but through the complex yet extraordinary process of evocation.”

What would Vincent think?

Knowing a bit more about the artist and his struggles with mental health, his way of seeing the world, and his innovative approach to painting (which during his lifetime was mostly misunderstood) may help art lovers understand better the works of this sensitive troubled artist. How sad he never knew the impact that his art would have on generations to come. One can only wonder what Van Gogh would think of today’s worldwide interest in his paintings and this delightful interactive experience. Perhaps he might say, “It’s madness! It’s beauty!

For me, it’s a spectacular art experience I won’t soon forget.
——————————————————————————————————————–KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:

• The Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit lays out everything one needs to know on its website at www.goghsanantonio.com, and the experience is available in several cities: make sure you purchase the San Antonio tickets and don’t make a Houston or Dallas reservation by accident.

Children are encouraged to enjoy this experience with an adult parent or caregiver; please remember this exhibit is a place for silence and stillness so everyone may enjoy the experience.

The gallery is well air conditioned, so bring a light jacket or sweater.

For added learning, you and older children may wish to watch together the beautifully crafted biographical movie “At Eternity’s Gate,” starring Willem Dafoe in order to learn more about the artist. Or read a definitive biography “Van Gogh: The Life” (2011) by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith. 

Photography and video (without flash) are allowed inside the San Antonio exhibit.

Look for upcoming Lighthouse exhibits including “Immersive Frida Kahlo” and “Immersive Klimt: Revolution” which to be held in more than 12 North American cities.

 Lighthouse ArtSpace San Antonio is located at 221 Burleson St, San Antonio, TX 78202 and its website is www.goghsanantonio.com.