I’ve kept a positive mindset during most of the pandemic. However, with the recent news from Afghanistan, the rise in COVID cases, and the sobering warnings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, discouragement had started to cloud my thoughts. So much bad news at once left me feeling overwhelmed and helpless.
Thank goodness I made the time to travel to Charlotte, N.C. to indulge in the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit! The colors, music, and imagination lifted my soul when I really needed it. And I got to take the trip with my daughter who was home from college. Another definite bonus. 🙂
Set in creativity
Just the location of the exhibit made me smile. It’s the perfect example of innovation turning old into exciting. Immersive Van Gogh is set in the Ford Building at historic CAMP North End in Charlotte, a 76 acre adaptive reuse project. The Ford Company built Model T and A cars there in the 1920s. Then, during World War II, the Army built massive warehouses in the area for uniform distribution and typewriter repairs. During The Cold War, the site returned to an industrial focus: missile production. (CAMP stands for Charlotte Area Missile Plant).
Today, the site houses everything from restaurants to art dealers to a motorcycle parts plant. I loved seeing warehouses transformed into fun, creative spaces to gather and explore. Bistro lights hung from metal rafters, and brightly painted sunflowers decorated the speed bumps. Our lunch was delicious too: yummy grain bowls from Bleu Barn. CAMP North End exuded positive vibes and inspiration.
Animating Van Gogh’s art
The walk inside the Ford Building to the exhibit featured giant sunflower sculptures and a wall of car tires painted yellow and decorated with silk sunflowers. What a clever way to blend industry and art!
The exhibit, or performance, took place in a giant room with socially distanced seating. (Benches and chairs for two were spaced out and outlined with circles on the floor.) Before the show started, variations of “Starry Night” covered the display screens. The show opened with humming music and Van Gogh’s sketches of cicadas flying across the walls. Several of Van Gogh’s paintings were featured during the show, set to music and disassembled and reassembled to highlight different aspects. For example, for “The Potato Eaters”, the scene opened showing only a single light. Then the table beneath it. Then, one by one, the faces of a family emerged.
My daughter and I agreed Immersive Van Gogh did a great job of combining different art forms- music, digital animation, light- to bring Van Gogh’s paintings to life. It is a good option for someone who needs a little more motion and sound to appreciate art (um, like the males in our family.)
I must admit, Van Gogh is one of my favorite artists, so I’m biased. I’ve followed his work to The National Gallery of Art in D.C. and have several Vincent prints hanging in my house. But I really enjoyed the displays of bright colors and flowers and loved how the creators made something new out of something old. My favorite part? The giant Van Gogh quotes painted on the walls near the exhibit.
Even if you aren’t a huge Vincent fan, check out Immersive Van Gogh for some much needed positive inspiration.
Have you seen Immersive Van Gogh? What else is inspiring you these days?
Thanks for getting artistic with me!
Great post! I recently heard a comedian say something like, “National newscasters should open their broadcast with, ‘Here’s what went wrong in the world today.’ Local newscasters should open with, ‘Here’s some bad things that happened near you.'” It is for that reason that I have pretty much quit reading news and reading political columns. Instead, I read stuff like your blog. Much better for the soul! Thanks!
Going on vacation and may be near enough to Charlotte to see the exhibit if it is still there.
Wonderful! The exhibit runs until the end of October. Hope you can catch it. Yes, thank you for reading my blog. I’m doing my best to highlight happiness in the world. Happy Friday!
This sounds so cool!
The exhibit is traveling around the country… maybe it will come your way. 🙂