Vincent van Gogh is known for being one of the most influential artists of the Post-Impressionist period. Renowned for his vibrant and highly emotional paintings, Van Gogh’s work has long captured the minds and hearts of both experts and casual observers. Now, patrons in Alabama can view Van Gogh’s art in a new way.
Exhibition Hub is inviting patrons to become immersed in the life and paintings of the artist this summer. Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is now on display at the Exhibition Hub Huntsville Art Center. The experience is open Monday to Sunday with timeslots available every half hour.
The experience is described by Exhibition Hub as a “360-degree digital art exhibition” featuring iconic paintings such as “Sunflowers” and “Starry Night” projected on screens as large as ten thousand square feet, allowing visitors to become fully immersed in the life and art of Van Gogh. Patrons will also travel through eight of Van Gogh’s works using virtual reality technology.
John Zaller is the executive producer for Exhibition Hub. He said the exhibition combines the beauty and passion of Van Gogh’s works with cutting-edge modern technology to create an experience unlike anything else.
“We have over 40 projectors that we use throughout the experience. And we use a form of projection mapping where we create a mesh pattern that we can then overlay on any kind of surface,” Zaller explained. “So, in the experience, for example, we have a bust of Van Gogh. A nine-foot tall bust that we project his self-portraits onto. So, you see his self-portraits in 3D right as you enter the experience.”
The exhibition also allows patrons to get to know Van Gogh both as an artist through his works, but also as a person, and be able to empathize with the hardships he faced through his journey.
Throughout his life, Van Gogh struggled heavily with his mental health. He was diagnosed posthumously with borderline personality disorder, bipolar/mood disorder and depressive episodes.
According to Exhibit Hub, “These struggles were more than just personal challenges; they were a driving force behind the emotional depth and intensity found in many of his masterpieces.”
Even his most iconic piece, “Starry Night,” was the product of a particularly turbulent time in Van Gogh’s life, Zaller explained.
“[Starry Night] was painted after he had committed himself to a sanitarium after a pretty significant psychic break that he had. And he was able, in that sanitarium, to find the comfort in a piece of a safe place, that allowed him to have this incredible burst of creative activity,” Zaller said.
Aside from drawing awareness to the struggles that Van Gogh faced throughout his life, the exhibition also serves to connect visitors of the modern era with his work.
“We also use a very sophisticated form of digital animation to animate the artists’ works in a way that we think he had intended, because we're seeing that movement already in his work,” Zaller said. “And what it does is it brings Van Gogh's works to a whole new generation of people who are more familiar with technology.”
The experience is made up of around twenty-thousand square feet and will likely take around seventy-five minutes for patrons to complete. Tickets are available here.
