Gogh-ing For Some Me Time

Lately I feel like most of our weekends have been dominated by family stuff and sports.  Both are good, but it makes it hard to fit in much else--let alone try to relax or do productive stuff at home that I'm too tired to do during the week.  I like being on the go, and I don't want to take family stuff for granted after the last 18 months, but I admittedly sighed internally when I saw that my cousin's son's first birthday party got scheduled for basically the same time as Carter's weekly soccer game because I knew I couldn't do both.  Thankfully it was on a weekend when Jacob didn't have a basketball tournament, and since Craig and Jacob can't go to a lot of his games on tournament weekends, they were fine taking over soccer duties for the week.  I hated to miss the game (and he scored!), but that freed me up to go to the party and also gave me a prime opportunity to do what I couldn't do last time I was in town solo (for the same baby boy's baptism)--to go to Beyond Van Gogh.

I had been seeing ads for this event for months and it looked pretty awesome.  Then I had a cousin see it in another city and enjoy it, which only increased my interest.  Once it hit the Buffalo market a couple months ago, I had a trickle of friends go--most in the past couple weeks--and all had rave reviews.  I was determined to get there, but with a nearly $50 price tag, I wasn't sure I wanted to drag along my presumably-less-than-enthused crew.  So, I looked for opportunities to go solo.  It was only really an hour that I had to carve out, so I was hopeful.

If you've been around for a while, you know my love of art is a bit quirky, but it's strong and goes back a long way.  My grandma was an artist (she could have gone to art school but became an army wife instead), and as a little girl I wanted to be one too.  I loved crafting and drawing and playing around with artsy stuff, but it turned out I didn't have quite the skills I needed.  My high school art class was a nightmare--though it prevented me from having to sing in front of people in chorus--but my love has remained, as long as I'm not doing the creating (or at least not having to do it from scratch).  Field trips to the art gallery were my favorite, and things ramped up even further in college when I took an Art History class and learned all about Renaissance to Modern art.  I loved that class, and it just so happened I was in the middle of it when I went to the Albright-Knox over Thanksgiving and not only accidentally discovered Dale Chihuly for the first time, but also delighted in identifying numerous works' artists before I even saw their little info plaque.  It solidified my love, and having frequent access to the Memorial Art Gallery these days has helped it continue to grow and evolve.  While I don't love it all, most of it I can at least learn from and respect.  Beyond Van Gogh seemed like a great opportunity to experience art in a new way.

The birthday party was lovely and it was great to see my family.  I was careful with my food intake since I had a plan for after Van Gogh, but you can't beat Buffalo pizza and wings!  I had a little time at my parents' before I took off, and then it was off to my adventure, which was conveniently right along my route home.  It had turned into a cool, drizzly afternoon, but it seemed to be starting to clear as I went in.  I had expected it to be somewhere in the dead mall it was at, but instead it was a giant semi-permanent tent-style structure in the parking lot.

The first section was a series of projected screens that featured highlights from Van Gogh's life, as well as notable quotes.  Everyone just strolled through in a line to read them.  

This was one of my favorites.  I try to remind myself that God has a plan and things usually work out in time even when we feel like our plan is going off the rails.

This one definitely reflects my personal philosophy, particularly at this time of year.  I always try to find beauty wherever I can.

I just thought this screen was exceptionally pretty.

I loved the paint detail on this one.

I really related to this quote.  I think something similar about myself all the time, particularly when I see someone achieve success or get a promotion when I know that my technical abilities or work ethic is on par (or stronger) than theirs.  I just know that I'm lacking a certain personality trait or skill that allows for decision-making and confidently taking charge even when I don't know for sure what the best route is.  For example, I had a colleague who it seemed barely understood the bigger picture of our department that moved on to run her own entire department with another school.  Even me, with six years of experience (or my boss with 16!) wouldn't feel comfortable doing that, but she just had the trait that allowed her to say, "Screw it, I can do that," and go do it.  Maybe she'll succeed, maybe she won't, but those details won't stop her from trying.  They do stop me, and I know there have been times where they've held me back.  But I know there's still value to me even if I don't have the traits I need to get the glory.

The second room had the first taste of the moving projections that make the main event so cool.  I loved how it flowed down the wall to the floor and even collected on the door frame.

 
Here's the video.  I liked that the orange blobs looked a bit like swimming koi:

In the main room, the music and the images were stunning.  You were transported to landscapes...

And seeing his paintings larger than life was amazing.

Did you know he only signed his first name because he was nervous about people mispronouncing his last name?

There was such a variety of works and the way they were presented on all the surfaces was really interesting.  It was sometimes hard to know where to look to get the best effect.  Sometimes they would repeat on each side, sometimes not.  When quotes popped up they usually differed on each side.  I just kept wandering as much as I could to make sure I was seeing a little of everything.

At one point we got to be in his bedroom, but different sides had different versions of his bedroom paintings.

I've always been interested in this painting because I recall doing something with it in my high school art class.  It wasn't among the pieces my mom saved for me, so I guess I'll never know what it was!

I have an odd affection for European outdoor cafes, mostly from years of looking at them on webcams.  I love so much about this painting, from the mood to the colors, and more than any other of his paintings it makes me want to transport there and have a glass of wine in the moonlight.

This was one of my favorite moments--the starry sky was so pretty and blended so seamlessly throughout the entire room.

Another favorite moment was this one.  It was so peaceful and the water moved just like it was real water flickering in the evening light.  It was so easy to pretend you were in a real place experiencing that moment along the water.

Here's the video--look closely at the water:

Sometimes they'd line the walls with what looked like stacked paintings with a theme, like portraits or flowers.

The transition from the flower paintings was stunning, as flowers themselves flowed in to cover everything.

The end result - note the floor, too!

It was just one gorgeous view after another. 

Another of my favorite moments was this lovely moment.  I love spring's flowering trees, and this let me be in the midst of a shower of petals...|

By this point I was getting choked up at the memory of my grandma and knowing how much she would have enjoyed something like this.  That teal behind the blossoms was her favorite color, and she loved flowers, so I think adding the art element to it would have been SO up her alley.  It was very emotional, and beauty of any form touches me anyway, so it was definitely a moving experience.

Obviously I was eager to see how they handled Starry Night, probably his best known work, and it was simply beautiful.  It started like this...

It finally evolved to look more like the painting itself.

The end showed a bunch of his self-portraits, including the period with the bandage after he cut off his ear.  You can see one of those on the right below.  While it wasn't the most stunning of the themes, it was appropriate since so much of the exhibit was meant to help you understand Van Gogh as a person--his experiences, his journey, and his mental health challenges.  His view of himself clearly evolved over the years, as I would guess ours would as well if we were painting ourselves over the years.

And that was it!  I was sad it was over--and after the fact I almost wished I'd have stayed for a second round of the video loop.  There were a couple pictures I wish I could have retaken, and I'm sure I would have seen new things.  But I guess I'm glad I came out when I did, because upon stepping outside it was like I stepped right back into a painting--the sunset was beautiful!  It was even more interesting because the sky behind me was super dark gray and threatening, but it was lit so dramatically by the bright yellow sun as it set. I took a few minutes to run into the Buffalo-themed store across the way while the sun set to a point where I could take a better picture.

 
I then ventured down to the Polish restaurants down the way to scope out dinner.  There's a Polish bakery, a pierogi bowl place, and a Polish-themed bar.  I took this flower pic on the patio outside the bar.  So vivid!

Unfortunately, presumably due to the staffing shortages affecting everywhere right now, the pierogi place closed at 6pm.  I was so bummed because there's a bowl there that's totally up my alley and I really wanted that for dinner!  So that was a bit of a bummer.  As I pondered my dinner options, I continued to watch the sunset evolve.

I wrapped up the evening with dinner at Arby's, which doesn't sound like much, but I got to try the sandwich I wasn't able to have the previous weekend, which was actually really good, and they had WiFi, so at least I could look through my pictures and have a leisurely, quiet dinner before getting back on the road.

As usual, this time alone seeing something so beautiful was very fulfilling and gave me a pleasant, peaceful mood for the rest of the night.  The paintings, the sunset, and even my surprisingly tasty second-choice dinner were all so enjoyable.  It was one of those moments where I could just be me--momentarily apart from my other roles in life.  It was just what I needed before starting an extra busy week!