June 18, 2021 Imagine Van Gogh

Vancouver is a beautiful city on the Pacific Ocean. Except when it rains – even then it has a beauty unmatched by any city in Canada and perhaps the world. Maybe I’m biased since it is the closest big city to my home. 

I like to visit big cities. But I would never want to live in one. The skyline of Vancouver sits etched in front of the glorious coastal mountains. The modern city is framed against the backdrop of the snow-capped peaks and the shimmering waters of the pacific ocean. The skyscrapers towered in the distance like a beacon as we drove towards the centre of the ocean-front metropolis. Us and thousands of others… 

As we negotiated the rapidly moving traffic I remembered why we left the motorbike at home and took the car. It is not very much fun riding a motorcycle in rush hour traffic in a big city. I was told that traffic in Vancouver was much better since covid; a fact that was borne out by the speed in which we managed to traverse the freeways and arrive at the Convention centre in time to see Imagine Van Gogh.

We arrived at check-in and the covid precautions used the latest technology to track who you are and where you are from. They had a QR code to scan with a phone and it automatically took us to a website to sign in.  Without thinking, Krista filled it out and we began our adventure into an artists mind.

It began with a series of displays outlining the history of Vincent Van Gogh. I read about his troubled life and subsequent death by a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the young age of 37. As he descended into madness, his production of masterpieces of artwork bloomed. He painted hundreds of works in the last two years of his life. The Dutch painter died penniless and alone, never to realize the fruits of his labours. I wonder if he hadn’t killed himself if his works would have become the most expensive paintings in the world to this day; some have sold for as much as 80 million dollars.  

Imagine Van Gogh is an immersive exhibit of the troubled artists’ works broadcast onto giant screens in a 25,000 sq. foot room at the convention centre on the waterfront in downtown Vancouver. The display of the impressionist work was inspiring and music of the day filled the hall and our souls. His troubled spirit reached out of the screens in the artwork that swirled around us. Every wall had a different look at his paintings as well as letters he wrote to his brother. They even had very old photos of some of the places he lived and the people he lived with. We stood amongst a group of people absorbing the energy around us. Connections filled the air and there were people of all walks of life sharing a unique experience. 

It also felt normal… except the masks, I don’t think I will get used to seeing people wearing masks everywhere – nor do I want to. I love to see the look on peoples faces when they see creations such as the Imagine Van Gogh. The best reaction I saw was to the music that filled the room. A mentally challenged boy was humming at the top of his lungs to the operatic piece of music that filled his soul. 

My soul felt richer for the experience.

Back in Van Gogh’s day, they had no internet or TV. Their entertainment was classical music and the arts. It is understandable why that was when so many great artists flourished. Today, modern art is represented by the young artists that showed their creations outside the convention centre on the promenade.

My personal level of culture was raised by my visit to Imagine Van Gogh. If you are in Vancouver and enjoy the arts check it out. It was an impressive immersion in the artists’ talent.

The rest of the day was filled with experiences of the big city. Vancouver was an enjoyable escape from the Okanagan. 

June 15, we were allowed to travel. July 1 we will hopefully be allowed to remove our masks. I look forward to seeing a stranger smile. One day soon I hope to sing to live music with some random person across the room. It will be a summer to remember and I hope a summer we can all connect once more.