Have you ever wondered what it was stepping into a painting, much less one of Van Gogh’s? Today, the members of Experiencing Art got to try this out at the Van Gogh Immersive, an exhibition that has travelled over several continents. Situated in a rather conspicuous building painted in blue, the exhibit contained many paintings of Van Gogh and sculptures of his paintings, some enhanced by the use of projections. Where we spent the most time, however, was in a giant room literally covered with Van Gogh’s work, moving along with the rhythm of the elegant music. Afterwards, we ended our trip with a quick stop at a local ice cream shop, enjoying the exciting flavors while sketching and playing cornhole. Overall, students learned the story of one of the world’s most renowned artists while getting to appreciate more of his work.
Today after visiting the NCMA (North Carolina Museum of Art), we went to the Van Gogh immersive and got to see many of Van Gogh’s paintings and works. Van Gogh worked primarily with oil paint, which made his artwork look to have a similar texture. After getting the immersive experience and seeing a lot of his most famous works, we got to color in pictures of his paintings with crayons and colored pencils. While doing so, I realized that working with different mediums can dramatically change the appearance of a piece of art. Although I am not as talented as Van Gogh, I was able to see the major differences mediums made with the appearance of the painting. For example, the oil paint Van Gogh used seemed to be more pigmented than the colored pencils and crayons. In addition, the crayons were harder to blend than the colors pencils. This activity in the Van Gogh Immersive helped me realize the importance and differences of mediums such as oil paint, colored pencils, and crayons, and helped me understand how artists can achieve different results by changing or primarily using one medium. – Renee Z.
