Van Gogh Alive brightens up Beijing

Vincent van Gogh's last work Wheatfield with Crows at the multimedia show of Van Gogh Alive in Beijing. [Photo/China.com.cn]

Van Gogh Alive, a high-tech multimedia art show, has been taking the art legend Vincent Van Gogh's masterpieces to new dimensions in Beijing since Monday. Though it kicked off in the afternoon, the show attracted more than 10, 000 visitors.

The show will be held at Joy City Mall in Chaoyang district until December 6. The mall held the open-air 100 Doraemon Secret Gadgets Expo that took the city by storm from April to June in 2014.

According to International Cultural Exchange Centre of China (ICEC), the sponsor of the show, they wish for Chinese fans of the Dutch painter to get a deeper understanding of his short-lived but prolific life at the 125th anniversary of his death. They also aim to challenge the audience's preconceptions and help viewers better appreciate the artworks.

The show begins with a display of a series of Van Gogh's self-portraits, and narrates his whole life in five chapters, both in the Netherlands and France. With Antonio Vivaldi's musical accompaniment, Van Gogh's signature works that appear include The Potato Eaters, Starry Night, The Red Vineyard, Sunflowers and Cafe Terrace at Night.

Produced by Grande Exhibitions, an Australian exhibition-producing company, the show projects more than 3,000 high-resolution photos of the Dutch genius' paintings on 40 huge screens within 35 minutes. The images display Van Gogh's canvases, sketches, drafts and letters written mostly to his younger brother, Theo.

For better visual effects, the company used an advanced Sensory 4 system. A group of computers activate projectors and a sound system to compose "a symphony of light, color and sound".
 

Visitors enjoy Starry Night, one of Van Gogh’s masterpieces, at the multimedia show of Van Gogh Alive in Beijing. [Photo/China.com.cn]

Meanwhile, technicians dissected and magnified different parts of Van Gogh's paintings to showcase how he handled layers of colors. They also animated some details. For instance, they made the crows in Wheatfield with Crows come alive in the landscape believed to be Van Gogh's last work, and also activated a train in one of his drafts, which runs on the 4-to-7 meter-high screens.

The show in Shanghai's Xintiandi district attracted 357, 627 visitors in all in the past four months, some of whom said they were fascinated by how technology could make Van Gogh’s art come alive while others were disappointed that they weren't able to see the artist's actual works.

"Van Gogh lived a legendary life, with so many stories to tell," said Zhou Yi, the show's Chinese curator and a Shanghai-based independent producer who has developed TV shows and stage performances when the show in Shanghai made its debut.