What it's like to walk into a masterpiece, the Immersive Van Gogh comes to OKC
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - He was a minister's son, an art dealer, a missionary, and, in the end, a madman.
Taking a walk through the mind of Vincent Van Gogh might be a little dangerous, but to see through his eyes, his palette, and brush is to see the beauty of his world too.
Inside a huge room at the Oklahoma City Convention Center viewers step through the picture frame and get as close as we can to the inside of a master's work.
"You'll feel the brush strokes," insists developer Dina Meyers. "You'll see the intensity of the blues and yellows."
Meyers is a part of a big crew that sets up more than 100 different projectors.
They've opened this 'Immersive Van Gogh' exhibit in 22 cities across North America so far.
"The images are on the walls and floors, and on the people themselves," she continues. "You really do feel like you're enveloped by them."
An Italian artist, Massimiliano Siccardi, and composer Luca Longobardi put their heads together to come up with the idea of projection mapping on huge walls and floorspaces.
In 35 minutes, they take you through some of Van Gogh's most famous paintings.
Viewers, usually less than 200 at a time, are encouraged to move around and see the work from different angles.
His life was chaotic. In his time Van Gogh was a near outcast. He had himself committed to a mental institution and, famously, cut off a piece of his own ear.
But he was always painting, always creating.
These days especially, organizers insist, his art appears to have hit viewers in a meaningful way.
"Especially in the turbulent times we've been living through," Meyer argues. "People have connected to this artwork through these immersive experiences
Beauty and madness, color and sound; it swirls around us impossible to ignore.
Vincent Van Gogh found it impossible not to paint just as we now find it impossible to ignore.
Visit this link for more information on the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit including ticketing and scheduling.