A Visit with Van Gogh
He
started painting when he was 28 years old.
He died when he was 37 years old…. He painted 900 pictures in his life
time. So let’s say he painted 100
paintings a year, or roughly finished painting a picture every 3rd
day…. Wow! Relentless, very different,
almost possessed he was so focused. If you met him face to face you would have
found him paranoid, you would not have understood this man… this man Vincent
van Gogh.
 |
A Tortured Soul
|
For
years now I have seen his works, I even went to Holland to see his pictures up
close, very close… my nose almost touched the paint.
Wow! It is incomprehensible to me how this pile of
colors, this piled up paint, thick and so pressed onto the canvas, makes any
sense. When you look at his paintings up close, especially really close, it’s
just a pile of colors, which have no relation to each other. The colors don’t
go together, you think… but when you step back, when you stare at the whole… Wow!
 |
Images on the Car Beside Us, the Floor and Walls.
Pipes and Wall Indentations Can Be Clearly Seen.
|
Vincent
was pure genius, albeit a very troubled soul. I often wonder if man has to pay
the price of insanity to be a genius. Not just in Art, but in many other
aspects of living such as Science, and Life. What made his brain see like that,
comprehend like that, explain himself like that?
Toronto
had a well published show, a show in 2 segments… one was a drive-in situation
where you experience the paintings covering all the walls and floor while you
sit inside your car. The venue here was not ideal.
 |
Wall Indentations and Fire Alarm Distract
|
 |
Such a Shame to Have These Distractions
|
Indentations in the wall
produced a line across Van Gogh’s self-portrait and many of his other paintings.
A large red fire alarm distracted the viewer in some scenes. It might have been
better if we had been facing a different wall but we had to park where we were
told.
 |
Love the Sign
|
The
other presentation was a walk in… not set up like a traditional museum but more
hip in that a display ran via computer, along with piped in music that was like
a performance, like a movie, but not really. The two shows were very similar
but not exactly the same. Again the images covered all the walls and floor. The
transitions from one image to the next in both presentations were very
creative. You could sometimes see the paintings come to life before your eyes.
Due
to Covid-19 we had some restrictions, there were circles on the floor where you
could stand or sit in order to maintain appropriate distancing and masks were
required. But all in all it was worth our visit.
 |
The Master At Work
|
Just
look at all the stuff below… no, I can’t describe each part… you just have to
see it yourself in a city near you if this performance ever gets near you.
Wonderful!
Van Gogh Painted 12 Canvases of Sunflowers
Some
of the music was very modern like Luca Longobardi’s music.
Or
some classical pieces:
Handel: Sarabande (HWV 437) in D Minor
Bach: BWV 1007 in G Mayor (Suite#1)
Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings
The Picture Grows Before Your Eyes
The next 3 videos should be viewed in sequence as they were all part of a much larger video accompanied by the song "Non, je ne regrette rien" sung by Edith Piaf 1.
2.
3.
 |
Windmills on an Ominous Day
|
 |
Circles on the Floor Show Where to Stand
|
 |
From a Bamboo Forest to Japanese Prints
|
 |
| Shot Taken Into Corner of the Room |
The next 3 videos are all part of a much larger video.
1.
2.
3.
Creation of a Chair
 |
As Many Flowers on the Floor as on the Walls
|
 |
Flowers Everywhere
|
Love the flowers
Video of one of his Starry Night paintings
A Series of Starry Night Paintings
He did many paintings of Irises
The Prison Painting
Watch the candles go out 1 by 1
