A tribute to Vincent Willem Van Gogh, one of the most celebrated artists of this century, thanks to his sister-in-law Jo Van Gogh who had worked tirelessly to promote his art after the death of Theo, Vincent’s younger brother a year after her son was born. Vincent died six months prior to that. It was this boy, the godson of the same namesake as Vincent, who goes on to establish the Van Gogh Foundation in 1960. Trained as a mechanical engineer, he dedicated himself to the planning and construction of the Van Gogh Museum. In that room in Arles, in Provence Vincent rented it and co-shared his studio and room with Paul Gauguin.
It was The Van Gogh brothers dream, both Theo and Vincent, to have the studio in the south of France. They painted together for 9-weeks in that Yellow House, until that mysterious incident where Vincent cuts off the lobe of his left ear following an argument with Gauguin – one of many, as both men had vastly differing opinions and styles in their art and life. Both men never met nor spoke again after that, and a year later, Vincent would have checked himself into the asylum suffering hallucinations and manic depression, paranoia.
“The diseases that we civilised people labour under most are melancholy and pessimism,”
“We spend our whole lives in unconscious exercise of the art of expressing our thoughts with the help of words,”
Thank you for painting your dreams and hopes, dear Vincent.
Credits:
Van Gogh Alive is produced by Grande Exhibitions bringing a multi-sensory experience that has inspired over 6 million people across 50 cities around the world.
Lyrics in video from Don McLean’s song, Vincent.
Photos, audio & video footage shot on an iPhone XS by Jasmine Low at the Van Gogh Alive exhibition in Sydney, 27 Oct 2020 with appearance by my artist and long-time friend, Evelyn Wong.
Spoiler alert! If you’re intending to visit this exhibition, don’t view this video until after. No intention to claim copyrights for any of the art or music depicted.
A flash film by EQnactivation.com
A Jasmine Low Experiential project
