The Energy of Color
- Barbara
- Oct 8, 2021
- 2 min read
In late September, I attended the Vincent van Gogh immersive exhibit in Charlotte with my brother, Bob, his wife, Teka, and my husband, Ray.
We entered an enormous space and sat down on a bench. We could sit anywhere in the room. It was pulsating with a wall of sound and enormous, constantly moving paintings by Vincent van Gogh.
The intense sound and visuals were intended to thrust you out of your small mind of personal worries and cast you into a world of fantastic, breath-taking beauty.
Though the seats were hard and uncomfortable (I think that was intentional, to keep attendees from lingering there all day), and I didn't care for the musical score -- it was a mishmash of musical genres that did not flow cohesively -- I was transfixed by the power of Vincent's work.
I loved having his paintings crash over me like a tsunami. They were constantly moving, dissolving one into another. Exuberant, so exuberant, most prominently featuring the radiant color of the sun, electric YELLOW.
Color is the only form of energy in the entire universe that we can see.
Vincent's paintings reveal that he saw vital energy in EVERYTHING. Did he see auras? I imagine so. Even inanimate objects like beds, chairs, and clothing, took on a whole vibrant life in Vincent's paintings. His amazing feat of capturing dynamic energy on canvas must have been why his work was singled out for this exhibit.
Vincent captured life's teeming energy & placed it on canvas.
One can only imagine how crazy his paintings looked to viewers of his day. So BOLD. So OUTRAGEOUS. Tragically, in his entire lifetime, Vincent van Gogh, master capturer of light and form, sold only ONE painting.
The Van Gogh immersive exhibit is happening throughout the world. Here's a fun fact: Charlotte's venue, an old Ford motor factory, is this exhibit's largest venue in the world. The photo below gives you a sense of how massive the space is. You're only seeing a fraction of the space here.
The Charlotte exhibit is located at CAMP NORTH END, which was originally a Ford Motor Co. factory and a military depot. This site, described by its developers as "76 acres of imagination," has been reclaimed for "startups, artists, and Fortune 500 companies.... Renowned chefs, trendsetting retail, and lively cultural festivals...In short, this place is hip. And fun.
I loved their use of color. The site exuded HAPPINESS. Check out the colorful images below.
After taking in the exhibit, the four of us strolled down to the restaurants at Camp North End. We had a delicious lunch sitting outside at a picnic table protected by an immense umbrella. A day immersed in stunning beauty, a delicious lunch outside on a picture-perfect day, shared with cherished loved ones. Ya just can't beat that.
Thanks for taking us with you! Beautifully written post.
I have tickets to see it in Minneapolis on the 29th of this month and I can't wait! I have known about the exhibit/experience since March 2020 when I saw a YouTube video of it that was accompanied by "Vincent," the Don McClean song which most definitely worked for me... ENERGY INCARNATE
We saw it in the home of Van Gogh, Holland, how fabulous is that? We also went to a large exhibit of his outside in the countryside where we got to the museum by bicycle and rode through the woods to get there. It was pretty fabulous.
Spending time in his home country for the last ten years and seeing the landscape that inspired him was very special. The sky in Holland is especially stunning and would always make me think of some of his paintings of the countryside. Lucky you that you got to see his work all the way over there. Xo
We too enjoyed the immersive exhibit immensely. it was almost overwhelming to see his painting take shape and explode into color all around us. We can't wait until we are in our new abode and you are helping us with color and design, Barbara!
Jackie & David