‘Immersive Van Gogh’ will turn a Minneapolis building into participatory art – Minneapolis Star Tribune

Van Gogh's sunflowers used to just be visible on a canvas in a climate-controlled museum, but starting Aug. 12 they'll take over the walls, ceiling and floors of Lighthouse Minneapolis at 1515 Central Av. NE. along with "Starry Night" and 400 other paintings.

Visitors to "Immersive Van Gogh" can become part of the art rather than just experiencing it. Extra points if one wears a white shirt and actually becomes the canvas for these digitally projected works.

Thinking about what Van Gogh might have imagined seeing before he passed away, Italian digital artist Massimiliano Siccardi created this hour-long, animated installation.

"Massimiliano is the [Steven] Spielberg of immersive installation art," said producer Corey Ross. "He's been doing this in Europe for 30 years and sold millions of tickets."

In true Hollywood form, U.S. audiences caught a glimpse of Siccardi's work in episode 5 of the Netflix show "Emily in Paris." His Van Gogh-themed light show from the Atelier des Lumires in Paris was featured in the show.

To date, more than 2 million tickets have been sold in 20 venues across North America, including Toronto, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Minneapolis tickets will run from $40 for off-peak hours to $100 for a VIP experience that includes souvenir merch.

The setup for each installation is quite simple: Choose an interesting building, map it, then plan the install. Everything in the building's guts becomes part of the experience, but it's the architecture that makes each city a unique experience.

Much like the recent up-close-and-personal immersive installation of "Sistine Chapel" at the Mall of America, visitors to "Immersive Van Gogh" can catch details they'd never be able to see in a museum.

"You see the scope of this 500,000 cubic feet of projection," said Ross. "You see these pieces blown up and see the brush strokes, paint specks. You'll never see an original piece under a microscope but here you can see those techniques."

Ross compared Siccardi's technique to the way a DJ samples songs, transforming tunes into completely new ones.

Yet "Immersive Van Gogh" is both an animated film and an art exhibition. But really, it's an experience that you have to witness in-person, a pleasant break from screen-filled Zoom lives.

"It becomes emotional because it dives into Van Gogh's mind," said Ross.

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'Immersive Van Gogh' will turn a Minneapolis building into participatory art - Minneapolis Star Tribune