Van Gogh’s Alive: The Immersive Experience

"Starry, starry night. Paint your palette blue and grey ……."

You've probably heard of this song by Don McLean called "Starry Starry Night." But do you know he wrote about the well-known painter Vincent van Gogh?

Initially, I thought it was another sad love song. Little did I know that McLean was describing Vincent's time in an asylum at Saint-Remy, and his battles with his mental state of delusion and insanity. He even cut off his left ear, if you noticed a self-portrait of him with a bandage.

Last year, I attended a sip and paint workshop where I learned to paint Vincent van Gogh's "The Starry Night." Coincidentally, I attended Van Gogh Alive: The Immersive Experience Exhibition, this year.

I must say that the event did live up to its name, "Immersive," in which I felt I travelled back to Vincent's time, getting closer to his masterpiece and understanding his history. Unlike the usual exhibition where the paintings hang on the walls, it is an Artificial-Intelligence (AI) Multisensory Digital Art Exhibition. It amazed me that its AI tool enabled them to paint visitors' faces. Besides that, the multisensory feature lets visitors light up the projected sunflowers when they walk past with their little rattan baskets. How interactive is that?

Another session I enjoyed the most was learning to sketch "The Starry Night" and "Bedroom in Arles." While I needed to follow the video's instructions closely and draw quickly within several minutes, I enjoyed it very much, especially when I was with a great companion who was interested in art, too.

Vincent had a supportive brother named Theo who encouraged him to become an artist. But, aside from that, we should pay attention to this important woman who made Vincent van Gogh well-known. It was his sister-in-law, Jo van Gogh-Bonger. After Theo's passing, she reached out to many of his friends to help organise exhibits. She firmly believes that Vincent's masterpieces should be displayed at the museum and respected by the best critics then. She even managed to sell the Sunflower painting to the National Gallery in London, one of the most respected galleries in the world. Without Jo's dedication, we may not have had the opportunity to see Vincent's brilliant masterpieces. Indeed, not forgetting Jo and Theo's son named Vincent Willem van Gogh, who founded the Vincent van Gogh Foundation.

What I learned from Vincent’s history is his strong determination of sharpening his strengths. While looking for models to make portrait paintings was difficult, he didn’t give up. Instead, he looked for alternative ways, such as using a mirror to create a self-portrait. If you pay attention to his self-portrait, not only would you notice that he paired with different accessories, i.e. hats and pipes, but you also realise that he experimented with different painting styles, i.e. colour and texture. Instead of following other artists’ style, he was determined to create his own unique painting style, taking art to a whole new level.

If you are an art enthusiast, you should seize this opportunity to attend the Van Gogh Alive: The Immersive Experience Exhibition. It is a world tour that has covered many parts of the United States, Europe, and APAC. So, take advantage of this golden opportunity to immerse yourself in Van Gogh's masterpieces by attending the exhibit at Pavilion Bukit Jalil.