Van Gogh
My favorite artist is George Seurat, whose technique of pointillism
became the pixelated world of photography. It evolved into digital photography,
television screens, 480p-1080i High Definition television images. Those numbers
are measurements, denoting the number of dots in a square inch. Nowadays, new
televisions are advertised in 4K and 8K-that means they have four times, or
eight times, more pixels in a square inch than a high definition picture. Just
think of all of that modern technology, which originated as dots painted on a
canvas.
I saw my first Seurat print while taking an art history course in
college. The painting: “The Channel of Gravelines: Petit Fort Philippe.” The painting was mammoth in
scale. It was all encompassing; I couldn’t take my eyes off it.
George Seurat is best known for his painting “Sunday Afternoon on
the Island of Le Grande Jatte”, featured in the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day
Off.” Come to think of it, I had the same reaction to Seurat’s work that
Cameron did.
There are works of art that I love, from various artists…
“The Creation of Adam” on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, by Michelangelo Buonarotti
http://www.italianrenaissance.org/michelangelo-creation-of-adam/
I am fascinated by “Las Meninas” (Maids of Honor) by Diego de
Silva y Valázquez….
There are modern artists whose work I like as well, such as Mary Engelbreit:
Leonid
Afremov…
There are also two paintings that I
love, both by Vincent Van Gogh:
“Sunflowers”:
There are new exhibitions currently touring the world that feature
the art of Van Gogh. I was fortunate enough to attend such an exhibit last week.
When I arrived to the museum, I made my way to the gallery with
the Van Gogh show. When I arrived, the show hadn’t started yet. The museum
showed projections, or movies, to give visitors an idea of what the show would
be like:
The show, as I call it, is in reality a movie. Multiple projectors
in the ceiling project the moving images on the walls and the floor of the
gallery. Music accompanied the movies being shown, which enriched the experience.
As I stood in the middle of the gallery, watching the show, I got a little disoriented. I occasionally got blinded by a projector opposite me, which was beaming an image to the wall behind me. I knew that I had to ground myself if I were going to stay. I made my way to the nearest wall, and stood with my back on the wall. After that I was completely fine.
About twenty minutes later, the Van Gogh show began. As the orchestra
warmed up, the colors did as well.
Projections were shown
on every wall in every gallery, and on the floor as well. Together with
the music, it was like walking in to a Van Gogh painting.
The movie began at the very beginning of Vincent’s art career, with his earliest sketches, drawings, and paintings. As he traveled throughout his life, his art work reflected his experiences, through the introduction and use of color, as well as different subjects for paintings.
I am a complete novice of Van Gogh's art, and art in general. I noticed several themes that he did over the course of his life, one of which is pastoral scenes:
Juxtaposed by scenes of a café:
Watching the show, I came to realize that I had never seen such colors before in my life. There was such a richness and depth that gave the colors life. It was almost as if you could touch and feel the colors as they flooded the room.
The art in this exhibit came to life before our eyes. Many of Van Gogh's works were given animations in this
show. For example, “Irises.” Here’s a picture I took:
And here is the animation that was added to the piece:
Here’s another example, of a fairly monotone scene, on the gallery walls and floor:
Eventually, my favorites were shown.
First came the sunflowers:
Then came the highlight of the show, Starry Night.
The experience of seeing these art pieces come alive was truly transcendent. The art exhibit was unlike any I had ever been to. I took over one hundred photographs, and at least twenty short videos.
If there is a Van Gogh show that comes to your corner of the
world, please consider giving yourself the gift of the experience. You will be transformed, transfixed, immersed. It's unlike anything you've seen in your life. You won’t be disappointed.
Exhibit photography and videos © Esperanza Habla All Rights Reserved
Comments
Post a Comment