VAN GOGH ALIVE – Taking the ego out of appreciating fine art

Something You Said’s Sophie Metcalfe (pictured, above) headed to the media preview of world-class interactive art exhibition Van Gogh Alive, in Sydney:

I am an art lover, and a post impressionist art lover at that, so I had my reservations about viewing Van Gogh’s Starry Night reimagined for the digital age. How would viewing the artwork compare to the real thing? Will I be able to understand and appreciate it? Will I feel as connected to it?

It was refreshing though to just be experiencing something new in public during these trying times. The room is dark and expansive and it was almost ominous being surrounded by facemask-donning silhouettes. A classical score pipes up and all of a sudden 36 HD projectors splash vivid brushwork across 7 metre high IMAX screens. Van Gogh’s earliest works surround you on all surfaces. Artworks are displayed chronologically and are matched with occasional quotes from the artist’s own diary, both together begin to give you insight to what he was feeling during each era of his work.

The exhibition is a 45-minute journey through his pain; suffering and the artworks take on new personas. I took a moment to reflect on how these types of works have been traditionally enjoyed. To even hazard a glimpse of Davinci’s Mona Lisa at the Louvre is almost impossible. Cramming into a sea of selfie-sticks as you’re bombarded by people’s ego’s as they fight to view the most famous painting on the earth. I remember feeling nothing but anxiety in that room and left before even attempting to find the Venus De Milo. Art tourism has meant that in order to truly appreciate these works you need to perhaps bribe the security guard to be able to come and view it after hours with no one around.

Having not one physical painting to look at In Van Gogh Alive, the experience encourages you to have an emotional response and truly connect with the artist’s intentions at the time. The music and sheer size of the work arrests your curiosity. There is not much text to be read about him, but you can’t help but leaving the exhibition hungry for more. Wanting to Google him and continue to learn about him.

The speed in which the works are shown does make it somewhat difficult for an art lover to truly appreciate the craft. I myself want to dwell on the brush strokes, see the technique and tonality up close. But this exhibition is not about me, or people like me. It’s about displaying art for the masses, in a medium that allows them to connect. Rather than strolling around a silent museum, this exhibition gives people who would otherwise not engage with it a platform that they can appreciate. Not only that, allowing them to also to understand the artists intention behind what is created with the aide of the music. And I have to tell you, after some time… I began to see the Iphones and cameras start to lower, and more and more the people were encouraged to just experience it, and be.

Van Gogh Alive is a necessary step in the right direction when it comes to honoring these great works in the modern age. It is where technology is able to enhance your emotional response, at a time where despite being more connected than ever before, we’re all feeling less and less engaged then ever intended.

Van Gogh Alive is showing now at the Royal Hall of Industries, adjacent to the Entertainment Quarter, 1 Driver Ave, Moore Park, Sydney. Currently being exhibited on Gadigal Land.

For more information and tickets, visit: https://www.vangoghalive.com.au/

…

Words by Sophie Metcalfe. Photos by Sarah Watson.