Went To See Van Gogh, Got An Earful!

Thanks to a generous friend, we had the opportunity to take our first post-lockdown art trip to see the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit in San Francisco. Wednesday, June 23, 2021 will go down in weather history is absolutely perfect in the Bay Area, and we are still talking about the special day we had. This is Kris, summing up our six takeaways from the day:

Got Earplugs?

Some of you may know that I was born with a pretty severe hearing loss in my left ear, but technology finally came through for me when I turned 60 (!!) to bring such a rich aural experience to my everyday life. Unfortunately, my newly created stereo hearing was of no help at the exhibit. I was too worried that I would lose my hearing aid if I removed it, so I suffered through the very loud soundtrack, which did include one of my favorite Edith Piaf songs, Non, je ne regrette rien. Our advice: take earplugs!!

The Colors, The Brush Strokes, The Genius

There really aren’t any words to describe Van Gogh’s use of color. As we sat looking at the paintings moving across the wall, we talked about what it must have been like for people in Van Gogh’s time, not understanding painting a face, for example, with “unnatural” colors. We didn’t get a photo of any of the faces, but you can view many of Van Gogh’s works online at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The scale of the images also allowed us to examine Van Gogh’s unique brush strokes. Over the years, we have gotten so used to thinking of Van Gogh as “standard.” This exhibit reminded us of his incredible genius.

The Movement

It was fun to watch the paintings “move.” Deb filmed a bit of her favorite section, the cherry trees. She captured this video while we were standing on the viewing platform, which allowed you to take a 360° view of the show.

How Could They Forget Don McLean!

I waited throughout the entire show, which lasts about 30 minutes, to (quietly) sing along to Don McLean’s stirring “Vincent.” The lyrics are so poignant.

For they could not love you
But still your love was true
And when no hope was left inside
On that starry, starry night
You took your life as lovers often do
But I could have told you, Vincent
This world was never meant for one
As beautiful as you

Don McLean

So how did the producers miss this? My completely unfounded theory is that the creators are for the most part Italian and too young to have known the song. Take a listen, you’ve probably been singing it in your head by now anyway!

There’s A Sideshow, Too!

We often find ourselves enjoying stuff that really has nothing to do with the actual exhibit. In this case, it was the punny signs, the ceiling art, and the neon. No, I did not take a photo of the bathrooms, but they were the best non-gender ones I’ve ever seen. The location was in the building that housed Fillmore West, the rock venue that hosted the likes of Santana, the Grateful Dead, and Credence Clearwater Revival. I was too little to go in its heyday, so it was fun to see the venue.

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Eat At Zut!

No trip is complete for the Pixeladies until we’ve had a chance to talk about the day over some good food. We have our Bay Area favorites, but trying to eat after lunch but before dinner forced us to try something new. Weren’t we glad to find Zut! on Fourth Street. The Brussels Sprouts were incredible, and the Junglebird cocktail was that lovely combination of bitter and sweet. Alas, we were too full for dessert. What we didn’t expect from this day was to run into Deb’s cousin, whom she hasn’t seen for a few years. And it wasn’t just any cousin. It was Cousin Betty, who follows the Pixeladies and is always so supportive. I hadn’t seen Betty since our book signing for our book back in 2012, so it was special for me, too!

Our next adventure is just around the corner. Do you have one on the calendar? Let us know!