Immersed by van Gogh
Exhilarating interactive exhibition a worthy way to restart cultural life in S.F.
The ads for “Immersive van Gogh” have been hard to miss. Portraits of the Dutch painter against San Francisco landmarks in his swirling, Postimpressionist style have become akin to the onceubiquitous Shen Yun posters.
Now, after all the attention on the computeranimated, projected spin on Vincent van Gogh’s most famous works, many are likely wondering if it lives up to the hype. After a year without inperson artgoing, the experience is a worthy way to resume cultural life now that counties are moving into less restrictive tiers in the state’s reopening system and vaccines are rolling out.
There’s already a demonstrated hunger for this attraction. More than 120,000 tickets have been sold in San Francisco, the highest presales yet for the traveling “Immersive van Gogh,” designed by Toronto company Lighthouse Immersive and Massimiliano Siccardi.
After the ribboncutting on Tuesday (the show opened to the public Thursday), I can tell you that there is a lot of sensory stimulation during the 38minute run time, especially for people who have been looking at media on small screens and not surrounded by it on four twostory walls. But the experience’s intensity may be the jolt we collectively need coming out of our forced hibernation.
Some will automatically balk at the slightly kitschy nature of the sunflower branding and the way “Immersive van Gogh” commercializes the artist. And yes, the Paris iteration of the show was featured on Netflix’s “Emily in Paris.” Some may ask: Is this art, or is this just carnivalization?
Technically, it’s ekphrastic art, art that engages with other art. It’s also fair to categorize “Immersive van Gogh” as an art attraction: It’s not a conventional museum show. It’s show business with an art pedigree.
The attraction is projected on the walls of the former Fillmore West Ballroom space, on the second floor of Non Plus Ultra’s SVN West. In the center of the room is a mirrored, onestory platform where you can get a higher vantage. Once the house lights go down and the 40 projectors in the ceiling start up, you are thrown into darkness, suddenly illuminated by brushstrokes on the screens and the ethereal, jarring score by Luca Longobardi.
Familiar images begin to emerge: Insect drawings, flickering candles, the face of the artist. There’s a satisfying feeling of recognition when the women’s faces from “The Potato Eaters” are suddenly obvious, or when you see a “Starry Night” motif that’s unmistakably van Gogh. The animations bring these works to life — smoke snakes over fires, irises blossom like fireworks, stars flicker and suns radiate. The overall thematic structure is a journey from dark to light, then back to a more illuminated darkness.
Credit is certainly due to the fullbodied sound design, a genuine enhancement to the images. And about those images: the animation can be a lot, but it doesn’t detract from the essential beauty of van Gogh. The pairing of music and artwork can also feel blatantly manipulative, emotionally — in a good way. Longobardi’s mix of music by Ravel, Handel, Imogen Heap, Thom Yorke and Edith Piaf with his own electronic flourishes allows you to get lost in “Wheatfield With Crows” or “Almond Blossoms” with a satisfying sentimentality.
But it doesn’t get too cloying: A tinge of darkness remains at the edges of every segment, like it does in many of van Gogh’s works. After a year of pandemic, it’s both nice to reacquaint myself with these paintings and see them in a new, high
tech way.
The quick shifts in animation can be dizzying, and some of the dark transitions are startling. Given our pandemic squeamishness around crowds, I was on high alert for how I felt indoors with people for 38 minutes. There were about 3540 at the preview, and it felt comfortable. The real showings will have 120 people, and that may increase as tier restrictions change.
Ultimately, “Immersive van Gogh” is beautiful, moving and just a little too much. Good. After a year without big, splashy art happenings, this is a huge, indulgent way to dive back in.
It may not be for everyone, but experiences like this are going to be a way we engage with art in the future. Maybe one day we’ll see an immersive Hilma af Klint, JeanMichel Basquiat or David Hockney. It almost feels inevitable. But in 2021, van Gogh’s reflections on light and dark feel like the perfect themes to explore while turning a new page.