Hamilton Van Gogh immersive exhibition tickets on sale now
We keep coming back to Van Gogh, in an almost apostolic way - no artist, I think, has been more bio-pic-ed; not to death but into some semblance of new life or fresh understanding.
It's as though we're trying, with our long stick of hindsight, to rescue him from the drowning, indifferent waters of his own time.
You poor forlorn creature, grab on," it's like we're yelling, in our pitying voices. You fell into the wrong century, without a life-jacket. The world wasn't ready for you. We'll pull you to our shores. You won't believe what's waiting.
A hundred mill per painting. Universal adulation.
In some ways, it's as if he were still alive. Vincent Van Superstar.
We will find that out here, in January as the widely touring Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" comes to the Hamilton Convention Centre by Carmen's for a limited engagement.
The show, conceived by French-Canadian creative director Mathieu St-Arnaud and his team at Montreal's world-renowned Normal Studio, features more than 300 artworks by the iconic Dutch Post-Impressionist, presented in a projected, three-dimensional ambience that fills entire rooms in a vividly sensory way.
It's as though one is swimming in the paintings, the places they came from and the history and circumstances out of which the artist lifted them. Visitors move along projection-swathed walls wrapped in light and colour that swirl and dance as they're refocussed, morphing into the flowers, cafes and landscapes of Van Gogh art.
There are animated elements in the paintings which include, of course, the classics like The Starry Night, Sunflowers and Cafe Terrace at Night.
The lush multimedia experience uses cutting-edge dimensional projections developed by top designers. Researched to the hilt, Beyond Van Gogh" affords not only a unique perspective on the work but a narrative superstructure built from records of the artist's own dreams, thoughts and words, set to a symphonic score.
It (the show) breathes new life into Van Gogh's vast body of work," says the project's art historian Fanny Curat.
We are fortunate that we have so much of his thinking and his words, says Curat, mainly through his exhaustive correspondence over many years with his brother Theo.
The show does not wallow in the pitiable aspects of his life and circumstances though, of course, it covers them. The madness," the poverty, ill health and the ear-cutting.
There's a story that transcends that one, says Curat, and it is how Van Gogh found, not just for himself but for others, healing in art, brightness in nature.
It is a timely treatment, she explains, in the context of the pandemic. The struggles with self-doubt, the confinement, resolving in a kind of healing.
The show steers away from the Hollywood tragique caricature that we associate with the blunter mythologizing, draping Van Gogh, albeit gently, in the banner of arch-martyr to the construct of misunderstood genius, sprung too early on the world.
Beyond Van Gogh" more fairly presents an artist who, contrary to conventional belief, was starting to enjoy some success and cleaved to a brighter vision than is usually thought.
He was getting some traction but Theo was not a good at handling" his brother's career or, says Curat, his path might have been very different, more like that of Monet, who ended up a millionaire.
The show, put on by Paquin Entertainment Group, comes to Hamilton on Jan. 20 for a limited engagement (exact end date to be announced). Prices start at $39.99 a portion of which benefits the Art Gallery of Hamilton. Tickets went on sale Nov. 24 at vangoghhamilton.com.
The show, after a successful tour of Europe, has been a hit in North America, already touching down in 17 cities.
Jeff Mahoney is a Hamilton-based reporter and columnist covering culture and lifestyle stories, commentary and humour for The Spectator. Reach him via email: jmahoney@thespec.com