FFive-year-old Aryav Shukla was completely unprepared for the treatment waiting for him. He was about to enter the painting of Vincent Van Gogh. He watched mesmerized as the crescent slowly made its way across. Then, one by one, the stars emerged like balls of blazing fire, followed by the colors of the night sky—purple and blue with strokes of white and yellow—along with dark shady trees, until the whole room was filled with views and Don’t get carried away with feelings Vincent van Gogh’s ‘The Starry Night’.
Aryaav ran to his mother Shruti and told her that he wanted to practice painting ‘The Starry Night’ after coming home.
This is part of the Van Gogh 360° experience, a massive exhibition of the 19th-century Dutch artist’s works, which made its India debut last month with its first stop at the World Trade Center in Mumbai. The exhibit is a three-dimensional experience of Van Gogh’s 300 paintings, projected onto the four walls of the room as well as the floor, so that patrons can not only see but feel his art, each element as before. Can take The painting merges into the next.
“Before bringing my son here, I showed him some videos on Van Gogh so that he could feel a little connected to his paintings. He knows about ‘The Starry Night’ and ‘Sunflower’.” “I think it’s a great experience, it’s lovely. This is something new. People should come and try it.
The exhibition, which started on January 20, has been attracting a steady crowd despite ticket prices ranging from Rs 999 to Rs 1,399 per person. Visitors are an inspiring mix of art students, connoisseurs, couples, young parents looking to introduce their children to art, and bloggers looking to create social media content with a Van Gogh background. The exhibition will be on till March 19 in Mumbai and from April 10 to April 30 at DLF Cybercity, Gurugram.
“We are receiving around 1,500 visitors every day on weekdays. On weekends this number crosses 2000. We are letting people inside in slots so that there is no crowding and visitors can have a leisurely experience,” said a person from the ticketing partner stationed at the entrance, requesting anonymity.
Shruti heard about Van Gogh 360° from a friend in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), where the Van Gogh Alive exhibition is currently on.
“My mother is an artist. She paints, doesn’t sell… just does it as a hobby. So I have seen beautiful paintings at home, but this is the first time I have come to an exhibition. It’s a very different experience,” said Shruti.
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van gogh experience
The exhibition begins with information about Van Gogh’s life and art, after which visitors move on to the next room for a comprehensive experience of a series of iconic paintings, highlights include ‘The Starry Night’, ‘Sunflower’ series, ‘ Almond blossom’. , ‘Girl in White’, ‘Irise’, ‘The Nun’, ‘Van Gogh’s Chair’ and so on.
The narrative in the section on Van Gogh’s life is brief, with words carefully chosen to bring the person to life. The slides talk about what he painted, his struggle with his mental health, his time in a psychiatric hospital, his warm relationship with his brother Theo, and his sense of uselessness despite his artistic talents for which the world might have was not ready during his time. and finally, his death by suicide in a bright wheat field.
For a novice, it’s certainly rich, but even for those well versed in the art, the slides put Van Gogh’s technique and some of his paintings into perspective.
For example, the man known for Self-Portrait painted himself not because of a drug streak, but because he had the means to pay models to practice portraiture and improve his skill and technique. Didn’t have money for it. The simultaneous projection of all 35 of his self-portraits inside the next room, which is an immersive experience, is a stark reminder of this fact.
Another interesting fact is that the green and yellow colors in many of Van Gogh’s paintings, logically out of place but enhancing the beauty of his work, could probably be attributed to the drug he was being treated with.
during his Live At the Saint-Paul Asylum, a psychiatric facility in France, Van Gogh is said to have been given digitalisA medicine obtained from the dried leaves of the foxglove plant.
“What is so interesting about that obscure point is that people who have been given large and repeated doses of digital often see the world with a greenish-yellow hue,” explains Van Gogh’s Life in the Exhibition. About says a slide, offering patrons a fresh window to his technique.
Some of the floor-to-ceiling projections look more real than others. For example, ‘Sunflowers’ fill the whole room, twirling and swaying.
During the projection of ‘The Starry Night’, an ominous darkness fills the room, enhancing the contrasting beauty of the luminous night sky, and offering a glimpse into the artist’s mind when he painted it in the French asylum in June 1889 did.
Mahi Doshi and Aashna Sharma, both Class IX students, are among those sprawled on the floor, their eyes glued to the wall.
“We are in the process of studying Van Gogh’s art at school and found this exhibition very informative,” Mahi said.
“We have read about Van Gogh, but this (exhibition) is a very new experience. We have been sitting here for at least half an hour,” said Aashna.
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,Kind, but weak’
One problem with Van Gogh 360° is that the immersive experience makes for great images. Floor-to-ceiling, three-dimensional projections look grander and more real through a camera lens than with the naked eye. And after a month of seeing social media posts about Van Gogh 360° for those who visited the exhibition in its early days, some people who are queuing now are leaving a little disappointed.
“I love art, especially Van Gogh and his influence on the art world. We don’t get a lot of art exhibitions of this level, so we thought let’s check it out,” says Divij Pawar, an engineer work in, said.
“But personally, it is a little less than what I had anticipated. Although it is one of a kind for sure,” he said.
Some people were also taken aback by the pictures and videos being taken by the crowd.
“It ruined the experience of others,” said chartered accountant Harsh Dave. “Also, the exhibition looked gimmicky. As if it were a power-point presentation. It did not live up to my expectations.
Pawar’s sister Sunaina Patil, who accompanied him to the exhibition, agrees it could have been better, but said it is still a big deal.
“After all, something like this is happening for the first time in Mumbai,” he said.
(Edited by Prashant)