If Vincent van Gogh were on a panel of artists introducing themselves with a fun fact, you might expect him to mention the whole “I cut off my own ear” thing. But who can really say? After all, as art historian Fanny Curtat says, “There’s so much more to him than that. He was much more than this dramatic one-time episode in his life.”
“We tend to remember him for the darkness in his life,” Curtat adds. “For sure, he struggled, for sure. But when you read his letters, he’s very lucid.” When you look at his paintings, especially the later paintings, Curtat says, you don’t see that darkness; you see color and bright beauty. “[Painting] was his way to communicate with the world and really have his message go through. He was trying to communicate and bring joy and help the people around him.”
This story of an artist seeking to sow joy, rather than sulk in tragedy, is the narrative Curtat and her peers sought to showcase in creating “Beyond Van Gogh,” which immerses viewers in more than 300 of van Gogh’s paintings, beginning with his earlier darker work and ending with the bright and colorful paintings we’ve come to expect. “You feel an explosion of color as he gets to the end of his life,” Curtat says.
The traveling exhibition, now on display at the Graceland Exhibition Center, reintroduces the artist and his story to the public consciousness by relating his work to today. “It’s really about showcasing the timelessness, and it really, really helps you connect with the work differently,” Curtat says. Music fills this space as cutting-edge technology projects and animates van Gogh’s work onto the walls and floors of the gallery. “The audience can literally step foot in [the paintings] and really be a part of his vision of the world, feel its movement, light, color.”
The show is family-friendly. Visits take around an hour. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit vangoghmemphis.com.
“Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience,” Graceland Exhibition Center, On display through June 5, $36.99+.