The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston Van Gogh Exhibition
Nosotros visited Boston'due south 2 Van Gogh 'immersive experiences.' Here's which i you should choose.
Nosotros went to both "Imagine Van Gogh" and "Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience." Here's what you need to know.
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'Van Gogh: The Immersive Feel' is a no-Gogh
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Here's why Boston and other cities are getting 2 'immersive' van Gogh exhibits
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A visually stunning immersive art showroom is coming to Boston
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Boston's Van Gogh showroom announces new opening date, location after delays
More than nine months after it was first announced, "Imagine Van Gogh: The Immersive Exhibition," made by the creators of the original immersive Van Gogh exhibit that first opened in France in 2008, arrives in Boston this week.
In the time it took for artistic director Annabelle Mauger to bring her creation to SoWa Power Station in the Southward End, a 2d exhibit, known as "Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience," made its debut at the Strand Theatre in Dorchester in Oct. (The Dorchester version is simply one of a vi copycat Van Gogh exhibits currently traveling the world that have built on the success of Mauger and co-creator Julien Baron's original exhibit.)
Both immersive experiences feature understated, museum-like introductions, with rooms offer greater context about the Dutch painter. Both are housed in an iconic space with flooring-to-ceiling projections of Van Gogh's works. And both accept sold a healthy number of tickets over lengthy stays in Boston, with "Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" running from October through Feb and "Imagine Van Gogh" in town from December 21 through March 20.
So which of the two Boston Van Gogh exhibitions should you purchase tickets to? Having at present attended both immersive experiences ahead of their respective debuts, here'southward a breakup of the pros and cons to each.
Showtime Impressions
Walking into "Imagine Van Gogh," visitors are moved to a unmarried room, where they queue upwards to read facts about Van Gogh's life and the story behind the showroom'southward creation, including the artistic statement and additional info well-nigh the technology used in its projections.
"Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" offers replica canvas prints of the painter'southward works, along with biographical info about each of them and a handful of digitally enhanced versions of the artist'due south most well-known paintings that offer a preview to the digital experience to come up.
Verdict: "Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" gives visitors more to look at before inbound the main room.
The Infinite
"Imagine Van Gogh" has the advantage of being staged at the SoWa Power Station, a 24,000 foursquare foot space which allows visitors to feel totally immersed while also sufficiently spaced out from other visitors, an important factor in the historic period of COVID-xix.
The irregular shape of the space played a factor when Mauger and Baron designed "Imagine Van Gogh." The pair used 25 screens and 57 projectors to tailor the 2008 version of their exhibit in France specifically for the Ability Station.
"I couldn't dream of a better venue for this premiere in the United states," Mauger told Boston.com. "Julien was but going to make the showroom a large rectangle, and I said, 'No! This place is huge, we can do what we want.' We created this infinite with all these extra corners, which is meliorate for me because I can put many images on many screens."
With its ample size and a square pillar in the middle of the room offering some other set of unique visuals, viewers could easily view the entire 45-minute cycle of the feel iii or iv times and withal spot new paintings.
In contrast, "Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" offers a more than intimate feel, i that at to the lowest degree initially pulls you into a warm embrace more than strongly than "Imagine Van Gogh." Visitors can sit in chairs strategically placed within the room to offer the nigh immersive viewpoints of the 35-foot high walls. The celebrated Strand Theatre'south aureate-leaf molding is visible to a higher place the exhibit, a small accent that fits nicely with the overall presentation.
That said, entering and exiting "Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience," it's axiomatic that the infinite was modified to fit the exhibit, and not vice versa. You lot'll have to hike through aisles of seats in the theatre'due south main auditorium to get to and from the feel, which sits on the theatre's phase.
Verdict: Both take merits, but "Imagine Van Gogh" has the upper hand.
The Sights and Sounds
The most important factor when choosing between the ii exhibits is the immersive experience itself, and in that location are arguments to be made for both "Imagine Van Gogh" and "Van Gogh: The Immersive Feel."
"Imagine Van Gogh" cycles through the artist's paintings, which are projected so that each of Van Gogh's brushstrokes can be examined upwardly shut. There are a scattering of motion-based animations at play up onscreen, merely not and then much and so that visitors volition miss the opportunity to closely study the projected works.
"Imagine Van Gogh" relies on a subtle, unassuming classical music soundtrack, which swells with joy when Van Gogh'due south brighter paintings announced and switches to more somber sounds when his darker hues make their archway.
The visuals of "Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience," on the other hand, await much more estimator-generated. At various points, dozens of floating Van Gogh heads announced before dissolving into nothingness like a gigantic screensaver. Digital raindrops and thunderclaps punctuate the soundtrack, shocking the viewer from their wistful reverie.
Throughout "Van Gogh: The Immersive Feel," diverse Van Gogh quotes appear on the screens in aesthetically pleasing sans serif font, accompanied by a soothing, disembodied voiceover. Platitudes similar "If you truly love nature, yous will find beauty everywhere" and "What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" displayed over a swaying wheat field or floating lights feel less like a museum exhibit and more similar the Instagram feed of a wellness coach or lifestyle guru.
Verdict: If you prefer a closer representation of Van Gogh's paintings, "Imagine Van Gogh" is the i to visit. If you're seeking something closer to an IMAX experience, "Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" could be the better choice.
The Add-Ons
"Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" features an additional VR experience (for an extra $v) which offers a visual tour of Van Gogh'south childhood home and pinpoints some of the inspirations for his paintings. Information technology's nothing special, but for visitors who want an boosted bit of biographical context for Van Gogh'southward paintings, information technology might exist worth the price. "Imagine Van Gogh" has no such add together-ons, and has the smaller gift store of the two exhibitions.
Verdict: Though the primary allure is the most important factor, "Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" tops this category.
Post-Impressions
Customers volition take to decide for themselves if effectually $forty plus fees for a scattering of selfie-worthy moments offers better value than seeing van Gogh'south original works at the Museum of Fine Arts. I was initially quite skeptical afterward viewing "Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience," which was reflected in my October review. Having now attended both exhibits, I'm slowly coming effectually to the idea that immersive experiences tin coexist with their more authentic museum counterparts.
Of the ii exhibits, I give the overall border to "Imagine Van Gogh." The exhibit makes use of an ideal infinite to display panoramic views of the artist's piece of work in a more than authentic mode while still offer enough of Instagrammable moments.
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Source: https://www.boston.com/culture/arts/2021/12/21/boston-has-van-gogh-exhibits-now-which-one-should-you-choose/
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