By Lauren Yarger
Have you ever gazed at a Van Gogh painting and longed to take a walk inside it? Or wondered what the artist must have seen while painting it. Or wished you could have created it yourself?
My guest gasped with delight at the first 3-D painting of a vestibule, with a trompe l'oeil effect that challenged you to walk inside. I think she would have been content to sit and gaze at that for the duration, but much more beckoned. We took in a video about the artist and watched as a stationary vase transformed into numerous renderings.
The interactive room, a massive space where the four walls morph into various works with the aid of video projection and sound, truly give the feel of having entered into the canvas. Folks enjoy the experience from benches, lounge chairs and mats on the floor. It's lengthy and varied in presentation. A courtyard experience in the rain was so realistic, I began to reach for an umbrella before remembering that I was inside and not in any danger of really getting wet.
For an additional fee, guests can take a 10-minute Virtual Reality experience (using Oculus headsets) and stroll through the French countryside for "A Day in the Life of the Artist" and discover the inspiration for eight of his iconic works, including "Vincent’s Bedroom at Arles" and "Starry Night Over The Rhone River."
Well, wishes can come true at Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, a 360-degree digital art exhibition in New York City that allows you to become part of the impressionist's universe.
Located at Skylight, 300 Vesey St. (and no, this is not the other Van Gogh interactive experience across town -- more about that later), the Van Gogh Experience offers four different kinds of experiences beginning with some reproductions of his most famous (and most pricey-at-auction works) and a lot of information about them and the artist who created them.
My guest gasped with delight at the first 3-D painting of a vestibule, with a trompe l'oeil effect that challenged you to walk inside. I think she would have been content to sit and gaze at that for the duration, but much more beckoned. We took in a video about the artist and watched as a stationary vase transformed into numerous renderings.
The interactive room, a massive space where the four walls morph into various works with the aid of video projection and sound, truly give the feel of having entered into the canvas. Folks enjoy the experience from benches, lounge chairs and mats on the floor. It's lengthy and varied in presentation. A courtyard experience in the rain was so realistic, I began to reach for an umbrella before remembering that I was inside and not in any danger of really getting wet.
Participants meander through the exhibit at their own pace. If you want to get "rained on" again, there is no reason why you can't. Following the immersive room, participants enter a drawing room and can create their own version of Van Gogh's works and hang them on the wall. This seemed particularly geared toward the littlest of visitors. There was a wide range of ages attending the day I was there, from babies to the elderly and all seemed engaged.
The whole experience took a little over an hour (we didn't do the drawing). Time slots are available every half hour between 10 am and 8 pm weekdays and between 9 am and 9 pm on weekends. Besides in New York, you can experience Van Gogh in Atlanta, Dallas, Boston, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington, DC and internationally. For more information, visit vangoghexpo.com/new-york.
Now, just to avoid confusion, there is a second immersive Van Gogh experience across town at Pier 39. That one is created by Massimiliano Siccardi with David Korins of Hamilton fame serving as Creative Director. I have debated with several people whether there really are two so-similar experiences running in New York. There are! I have not seen the Pier 39 version, but you can find more information about it here: vangoghnyc.com.
