The Immersive “Beyond Van Gogh” exhibit has finally come to Milwaukee. The exhibit will open its doors to the public on Friday, July 9 at the Wisconsin Center, where it will be held until September 19.
Digital, multimedia art museums like “Beyond Van Gogh” have increased significantly over the past few years and have captured audiences’ attention all over the world. This exhibition has toured across the world from Paris to Toronto, Tokyo and more. After big successes in Europe, the exhibit has traveled across the ocean to North America.
It officially debuted in North America in Miami earlier this year and is expected to have over one million guests within the 17 cities planned for 2021. Thus far, the Milwaukee exhibit has already sold over 53,000 tickets before opening day.
“Beyond Van Gogh” was created by French-Canadian Director Mathieu St-Arnaud and his team at Montreal’s Normal Studio. The exhibit is a combination of motion, light and sound to illustrate a mesmeric portfolio of Van Gogh’s work and a timeline of the tortured artist’s life. The exhibit takes what audiences know about Van Gogh and delves deeper, breathing new life into his work through a digital medium that engages the senses.
According to the “Beyond Van Gogh” Art Historian Consultant Fanny Curtat, the technological aspects of the show could change the way people experience art in the future and takes a step into adapting to new audiences:
“My goal is that this provides an alternative entryway into the art world. Sometimes people can feel intimated by museums or feel that it’s not for them. When you have an experience like this, I think anybody can feel the power of his work, the power of his colors, and maybe, hopefully, people will develop this connection through him and the next time there’s a Van Gogh exhibit in their town or somewhere near them, they’ll be curious to see it,” Curtat said.
Patrons will initially walk into an Education Room. This room features colorful panels and gold picture frames strung up to add to the aesthetic and larger-than-life aspect of his work to tie everything together. This room serves as the first look into Van Gogh’s mind, providing biographical information, quotes and oeuvres to further understand the artist and prominent elements of his work, relating it to the present.
“It was important to have this first room be more educational, not in a very factual way, there are facts about his life but there are also a lot of notions about what is still relevant in his work today, what can we still as a 21st-century audience appreciate in his work, so it’s the joy of it, the power of it, the color of it, the inspiration of what he has been through and managed to transform into what we see today,” Curtat said.
From there, patrons will step into the Waterfall Room. It serves as a walkway that guides people from the Education Room to The Experience Room. It has splashes and patches of color cascading down the wall and sporadically changes and forms into one of the artist’s self-portraits.
The Experience Room is where guests will become one with the canvases and will be transported into his work. Here, more than 300 of his artworks can be seen, including beloved classics such as “Starry Night” and “Sunflowers.” It uses over 4 trillion content pixels in the multi-dimensional projections along with a thoughtfully curated music score that includes narration and music from contemporary artists such as Miles Davis, Pat Metheny and Max Richter.
“Beyond Van Gogh” truly is a marvel that could change the way people of all ages experience art for years to come. The projections in The Experience Room dance along the walls and floors, appearing and disappearing as if gradually brush-stroked by the artist himself. Images along the walls change shape and color, drifting down the walls and dancing under your feet before turning into something entirely different. From portraits that blink at you, lily petals that fall off trees and blow across the floor, the Van Gogh experience wraps you in a world of art and light and shows you Van Gogh’s work in a way you’ve never experienced before. The rooms are calming and yet so impactful. His work is timeless and this exhibit proves that.
The exhibit has something for everyone to appreciate, whether that just be children engaging with his work by trying to catch moving objects projected along the floor. It has something for all age groups to learn and engage with, bringing a larger audience into the world of Van Gogh and developing a deeper understanding and appreciation of his work.
The exhibit will now be open Sunday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Tickets can be purchased at VanGoghMilwaukee.com. Adult Timed Entry tickets (ages 16+) are $36.99. Child Timed Entry (ages 5-15) are $23.99. There are also Flexible Entry (may arrive up to two hours before or after the start time indicated on your ticket) for $53.99 and VIP tickets (flexible entry, priority access to the exhibit and a merchandise package) are $93.99. Student/Senior/Military Timed Entry (Valid ID required. Students up to age 25, Seniors 65 and older, and military members) tickets are $32.99.