Orlando’s ‘Immersive Van Gogh’: Tickets on sale, questions remain
Tickets are now on sale for the “Immersive Van Gogh” exhibit coming to Orlando this fall — and with that comes a price tag. Tickets for the immersive, digital-projection experience will start at $39.99 per person.
That price is comparable to other cities, such as Dallas — and less than the roughly $50 Chicago ticket or $60 the show costs in New York.
The exhibit will open Oct. 7, a publicist announced Wednesday evening, but as for the venue?
Well, that remains a “special secret location, which will be announced soon,” she said.
That probably means it won’t be in an established art museum — Orlando Museum of Art, for example, confirmed that it was not hosting the exhibit — but a look at other cities indicates the show doesn’t settle for conventional locations.
In Chicago, “Immersive Van Gogh” took place in a former social club. In Toronto, it was in a former printing plant of the Toronto Star newspaper.
This show, by the way, is not related to the “Van Gogh Live” exhibition currently on view at St. Petersburg’s Salvador Dalí Museum.
“Immersive Van Gogh” was created by Italian film producer Massimiliano Siccardi and contains original mood-setting music by multimedia composer Luca Longobardi.
Indeed, Chicago Tribune reviewer Steve Johnson described the “trippy” exhibit as “really more short film than exhibit, 40 or so minutes of Vincentian near-psychedelia. … It’s an updated version of the 1970s Pink Floyd laser light shows.”
The digital projections allow visitors to “enter” Van Gogh’s post-Impressionist works, including “Les Mangeurs de pommes de terre” (The Potato Eaters, 1885), “La Nuit étoilée” (Starry Night, 1889), “Les tournesols” (Sunflowers, 1887) and “La Chambre à coucher” (The Bedroom, 1888).
With 60,600 frames of video — that’s 90,000,000 pixels, the publicity says — viewers will see moving landscapes turned into sweeping brush strokes.
“The entirety of the rooms pulse with imagery, a light-and-video artist’s rendering of Van Gogh’s thick paint daubs, his fuzzy distant stars and exuberant, hopeful sunflowers, as a kind of living wallpaper,” wrote Johnson.
Other critics also have praised the exhibit’s energy and creativity.
“I wondered: could projections of paintings on walls and floors be thrilling?” wrote Debra Yeo of the Toronto Sun. “The answer is yes, albeit in a different way than seeing them in person.”
“Immersive Van Gogh” has proven popular with audiences, as well. In multiple cities, the exhibition has been extended after originally announced dates sold out.
Siccardi has an explanation for the artist’s enduring popularity: “Van Gogh’s artwork has created a lasting impact through its emotional richness and simple beauty.”
And “Immersive Van Gogh” co-producer Svetlana Dvoretsky has an explanation of why this show has succeeded: “We’ve created a unique and enthralling production that functions safely during this pandemic.”
Masks will be required for visitors to “Immersive Van Gogh” who also will have their temperatures checked and be expected to maintain physical distance from other parties as indicated. For more information or tickets, go to immersivevangogh.com.