Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition

     Boy, was I misled. Or did I mislead myself?  A few weeks ago, I saw a notice of a Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Exhibit opening nearby. I could swear I saw the words "immersive experience" somewhere. I snapped up the tickets, enthralled by the two Van Gogh immersive experiences that we had recently seen. Maybe I just saw the words "immersive experience" in my own head.  In any case, we were in for a slight disappointment when we arrived.

    There were no projectors, no moving images, no musical scores. There was just a brief - but well done video ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NadMZ-P93Ms ) from an interesting art education YouTube series and then blown-up reproduction canvases of many of the panels. 

    The pictures had nice explanations attached, and there was a good audio guide that paired with the exhibition well. The pictures were large and beautiful and powerful. The viewer had access to the works that he or she would never get anywhere else. I've been fortunate enough to have seen the Sistine Chapel in person; that experience was awesome and almost overwhelming, but it was also very crowded and had the guards loudly shushing the tourists when their whispers grew too loud. This was a good compromise. Although I believe it would be relatively easy  for skilled creative people to create a mindblowing immersive projected experience, this exhibit is worth seeing, whether or not you've seen the real thing.

Van Gogh Alive!

     What an experience!

     The Salvador Dali Museum is located in St. Petersburg, Florida.  Opening in1982, the Dali was built as the home of the Dali collection owned by A. Reynolds and Eleanor Morse. The Morses started collecting in the 1940s, and they became close personal friends of the artist and his wife.  It is one of my favorite museums. The museum's collection is first-rate, and it has mounted many outstanding exhibits over the years, but the Van Gogh Alive exhibit, running through April 11, 2021, is definitely one of the most spectacular and creative  exhibits I've ever seen in a museum. ( https://thedali.org/ )

    Van Gogh Alive ( https://grande-experiences.com/van-gogh-alive/ ) is a traveling, multisensory experience that allows the visitor to explore the work and life experiences of Vincent Van Gogh during the period 1880 to 1890 in Arles, Saint Rémy and Auvers-sur-Oise France, the locations where he created many of his timeless masterpieces.  Synchronized to a powerful classical score, more than 3,000 Van Gogh works, details of works, and supplemental videos at an enormous scale   that fills giant screens, walls, columns, ceilings and even the floor. The visitor is immersed in the works.

    

    At the Dali, the exhibit is presented in three galleries, two smaller and more intimate space and one large space. Images are projected all around you.  While there are no actual physical works on display, the projections are such high quality that you "see" the texture that Van Gogh is famous for. It seems that the paint strokes have depth and thickness. Meanwhile, there is a fabulous musical score that is so perfect that it adds so much to the experience. It is not frivolous background. Other than the music, there is dead silence because the visitors are awestruck. Everywhere you look, there is something new to see. The paintings are brought to life in a way that Vincent Van Gogh could never have imagined, and it evoked more emotions in me than any other art experience. 

    The Dali is the exhibit's first American stop, and the exhibit will run through April 11, 2021. Advanced tickets are required, and they sell out fast. We are already planning future visit(s). If it comes close to your city, go see it.