Immersive Van Gogh: Should you Go?

 

                “Immersive Van Gogh”, which premiered in Toronto in 2020, has become the best selling exhibit in the world and is now touring to nearly 30 cities in the U.S   Its popularity has spawned several similarly named imitators.  (Buyer beware!) My friend Mary and I, like many art lovers, are familiar with Vincent Van Gogh’s sad biography and we’ve enjoyed seeing his original paintings in museums in France, Holland and New York.  But we headed to Charlotte, N.C.  with mixed expectations.  Some had questioned if this was really art.  A few critics had panned it as “cheap appropriation of genius…a perversion of traditional art with a glaringly commercial intention.” (Elena Foulidi); “a series of rather jarring juxtapositions…” (Sarah Hotchkiss). The expansive gift stop attests to the commercialization of the experience and maybe if you’re stodgy the kaleidoscope of images could be called jarring but we came away awestruck and amazed.

                In Charlotte the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center is staging the exhibit in the Ford building, a cavernous former missile plant in the city’s redeveloping Camp North End.  Unlike passively attending museum shows or reading erudite books that elucidate Van Gogh’s work, psychosis and techniques, Lighthouse Immersive creators Luca Longobardi and Massimiliano Siccardi and their collaborators compel us to plunge into a new way of looking at art. Perhaps staid museum experiences play down art’s emotional impact.    “Immersive Van Gogh’s” technical wizardry made it impossible for us to observe passively as waves of booming music enveloped us and images crawled along the floor and up the huge walls.  We felt in touch with the creative tsunami that compelled Van Gogh to create 2,000 oil paintings in ten years.  We understood Siccardi’s vision:  “We are witnesses to a life filled with passion and unstoppable desire and we abandon ourselves into this timeless beauty.”     Van Gogh said, “I dream my painting and I paint my dream.” We floated into that dream. It was cathartic and emotional.  Jason Farago wrote in the New York Times that audiences “should bring a fully charged camera phone; some might also enjoy a psychedelic supplement.”  Many were trying to capture the trippy images on their phones where they looked paltry in comparison.

                Mary and I will never stop strolling through hushed museums to look at beautiful art but this was a more visceral experience.  It‘s like the difference between walking on the beach and swimming in the ocean.  A stroll on the shore is beautiful but diving into the waves is an all encompassing sensory experience.                 

If You “Gogh”

https://www.immersivevangogh.com/    In Charlotte through Sept. 12, 2021 and touring to 30 U.S. cities.

Spoleto Pivots to new Venues

          You do not want Mike East’s job. When Spoleto USA began its planning over six months ago, it was impossible to predict whether the festival could happen at all this year. Audiences certainly wouldn’t be able to safely crowd into the usual large venues. As the Director of Production, Mike had to find alternatives. His team searched for possibilities that were up to the high standards of the festival‘s performers and comfortable for audiences. “There have been a lot of iterations. We had to pivot every five minutes,” Mike says. Quickly changing medical guidelines made it complicated. They wanted a “decision based on science” so they collaborated with MUSC’s Back 2 Business Group, where medical experts gave each plan a thorough vetting.

 

Ballet Under the Stars

          Several locations were considered including Brittlebank Park which seemed like a good idea until the roar from nearby baseball games was considered. The College of Charleston, whose Cistern Yard has long been a venue, suggested the use of River’s Green. Located behind the Addlestone Library on Calhoun Street, the large lawn has plenty of space. And may challenges. There’s a big fountain in the middle. There is no covered space in case of rain, no fly space or a green room. Furthermore, the location is unfamiliar. Google Maps doesn’t even know the address. The team was also mindful that Rivers Green is a burial site for enslaved Africans and wanted to be respectful. Undaunted, Mike and his team came up with a vision to create “a world that has always existed.” A 40 X 32 foot stage will cover the fountain. Pipe and drape will create changing rooms, fake brick walls and covered trusses will be assembled and risers with distanced space for 306 patrons installed. 

Caleb Teicher and Company

Three dance troupes will be presented there. Caleb Teicher’s company blends American dance and music traditions including soft shoe, tap and swing dance set to music ranging from beat box to Ella Fitzgerald. Ephrat Asherie Dance is a high energy hybrid of break dancing, hip hop, vogue and house set to the live music of Afro-Brazilian composer Ernesto Nazareth. And Ballet Under the Stars will feature some of the brightest ballet luminaries from the American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet.

Ephrat Asherie Dance

Another new venue presented even greater challenges.  The bus shed at the Charleston Visitor’s Center was to be the site for the play The Woman in Black, Susan Hill’s gripping ghost story.  However, until 5 PM every day, busses drive through it loading and unloading tourists.  The plan was to magically, transform the space by 8:30 each show day by hanging lights and other gear above the commotion and move the staging, scenery and chairs in and out quickly each night.  Fortunately when the CDC changed the guidelines, Spoleto was able to move the event to Festival Hall.  

Audiences of Spoleto USA trust the festival to bring exciting new concepts, ideas and art experiences to Charleston. The staff works hard to keep our trust each year. Thankfully the mix of colorful people, enthralled audiences and international performers that we missed so much last year will fill our city again beginning May 27. Despite the challenges, the shows will go on. This year in some surprising places.

If You Go:

Rivers Green: 71 Coming Street, Charleston

Charleston Visitor’s Center Bus Shed: 375 Meeting Street

Spoleto USA: https://spoletousa.org/

Photo credits:  Em Watson, Christopher Duggan and Rosalie O'Connor courtesy of Spoleto USA  

Sandpiper Gallery: The Heart of the Arts on Sullivan’s Island

  

Jim Darlington marsh scene

                While vacationing from Raleigh, Julie Dare Cooke and her husband peered through a window with a “for rent” sign on a Sullivan’s Island storefront.  The space was full of paraphernalia left behind by Mr. Gruber who’d had a variety store there for years: hulking photo finishing equipment, boxes of assorted mismatched furniture parts, wines that had lost their labels floating in Hurricane Hugo floodwaters, nests of wild animals.  “I brought a tape measure.  I didn’t know I needed a shotgun!” their contractor joked.  The roof was even missing. But somehow they had vision and Julie’s motivation to escape the cubicle where she’d worked as a process engineer for 15 years. Over the next 6 months they took the space down to the studs. “We needed 14 dump trucks to clear it out.”  When Sandpiper Gallery opened in 2001, it displayed the work of ten local artists including Jim Darlington who remains among the gallery’s most collected painters.      

Beth McLean Beach Scene

            Julie’s passion for the project is unabated.  “Art is a soulful thing,” she told me as she pointed out the myriad of subtle colors in a marsh scene by Leslie Pratt Thomas as an example of what Paul Klee meant when he said:  “Art does not reproduce the visible; rather it makes visible.” These days the gallery represents over 80 full time painters, jewelers and sculptors that Julie discovered at shows, through art magazines and from the many inquires she receives.  They’re from the Southeast to as far away as Italy. Although Lowcountry landscapes inspire many of the creations, the subjects are wide ranging:  Kris Manning’s stirring Osceola series, Robin Cooper’s whimsical collages of dogs, Pete Rock’s stunning tables with Gullah basket tops by Adeline Mazack, Sarah Sander’s beautifully crafted Goat Island Treasure Boxes and mobiles by

Leslie Pratt Thomas Beach scene

Stephen Kishel.  The jewelry is particularly well curated with standouts including Karen Hakim’s cloisonné and Emily Cook’s fused glass pendants that include sand from area beaches.  “I don’t want people to come in and think they can’t afford anything or touch anything,” Julie explained.  It’s typical for a vacationer to become captivated by a piece on an after dinner stroll and buy it days later on-line when they can’t forget it.  Designers too, rely on Sandpiper Gallery for sourcing the best art in the area.   Collectors appreciate Julie’s messages when their favorite artists release a new piece.  In 2012 Sandpiper Gallery moved to a larger space near Home Team BBQ.  Each night the large windows are alit with colorful pieces. Sometimes Julie passes by on her way to her cottage near Fort Moultrie and she smiles at the passersby stopping to look.   “It’s really fun to drive by at night and see people pointing to the art.”

Karen Hakim

Peter Rock with Adeline Mazack,

         It took a singular vision and a huge leap of faith to look at that dilapidated storefront and imagine an art gallery. This fall, the gallery will celebrate its 20^th anniversary on Sullivan’s Island. It has become the island’s heart of the arts.  Islanders flock to the frequent artist receptions where artistic collaborations are born, artists are discovered and careers are made. “I could not have asked for a more supportive and artful community!” Julie said appreciatively. 

If you go:  2201 Middle Street, Sullivan’s Island https://sandpipergallery.net/

Farm, Circus and Merriment at Bee Haven

 

                Deena Frooman is a juggler.  That’s not just a metaphor.  She’s actually a world-class juggler who’s travelled the world to learn from the best. She turned her passion into Good Clean Fun, a company that brings crowd-pleasing activities to corporate events and festivals.  Ingeniously, she’s also developed a curriculum for school residencies, the STEAM Circus, using hands-on activities to demonstrate the physics of Newton’s laws.  Now she’s juggling yet another venture at her rural Wadmalaw property “Bee Haven” turning it into a destination for family play experiences.

                When my granddaughters Lana and Emilia and I arrived for a visit, Deena was busy packing up 140 kits that included juggling balls, spinning plates and other props for a school program but she took a break to show us around the property. “When families come, the dads always want to tour my tiny house first.” We did too.  It’s a work of art. The resourceful use of space includes a loft bedroom and a miniature bathroom with an reclaimed airplane sink and walls lined with Deena’s kitschy tin lunchbox collection.  Through the windows you can see the thriving garden and, in the distance, the bee hives.  But my grand daughters were eager to meet the animals. And the Nigerian Dwarf Goat siblings Dandylion (“he is pure rascal”) and Carolina Jessamine (“named for South Carolina’s vining flower…sweet and mellow.”) were excited to show us their tricks.  They can “high five”, dance, scamper up and down the teeter-totter, and come like dogs.  Deena said, “I learned how to train them on YouTube,” where she’s learned most all that she knows about farming.  She discovered that the goats needed rain water because the local water had too much iron in it and she learned the clicker method of positive reinforcement that she’s using to train her chickens and the super-cute bunny named Tisha.  Who knew you could train chickens!?         

         Once I was able to coax Emilia to put the cuddly bunny back into its cage, it was time for “Instant Art-ification”.  We took turns sitting on a crazy looking pedal powered spin art contraption made from a bicycle.  The girls put paper and paint into the cylinder mounted where the handlebars would normally be and pedaled until the paint splattered.  Instant art.  Meanwhile, we learned about centrifugal force and primary colors. We bumbled and laughed as we tried to spin plates on long sticks while learning about center of gravity.  We dipped expansive wands into buckets of homemade solution and blew humongous bubbles and we clapped for Deena’s stupendous juggling performance.  It was a day of old fashioned, unplugged family fun and the best nearby road trip we’d taken.  As we made our way home Emilia was already planning to have her next birthday party at Bee Haven.  Lana was dreaming of living on a farm and we all agreed with another recent visitor who said “Bee Haven is two acres of WOW.”

If You Go:

http://goodcleanfunfamilyplay.com/  Bee Haven in 30 minutes from Charleston.  For private visits, group tours and birthday parties.