Favorite Outing of the Month: Learning More About Vincent Van Gogh

 I bought tickets for the boys (Alec and Evan) and I to head into Worcester and see the immersive Van Gogh experience at the last minute. I had only recently heard that this was available in Worcester and thought it might be fun to do over the long Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. 

I originally booked our tickets for Monday but switched it to Sunday when I saw that we were forecasted to get quite a bot of snow Sunday into Monday. We headed out at 9 on Sunday morning and both the city and the museum were pleasantly empty feeling. 


The first room we turned into had this 3-d sculpture of Van Gogh's head that kept changing colors and patters and was surrounded by lots of story boards about his life, his family. and his art history. 


The next room was filled with reproductions of some of his paintings. We learned even more about Van Gogh and his life. Now I have never been the biggest Van Gogh fan but I did take an awful lot of art history classes and focused on many of the impressionists (that influenced Van Gogh's work) but I was surprised at how little I knew about him. I had no idea that he died so young and so tragically and that the majority of his works were all completed in such a short time span. 


One alcove had this ceramic vase and the project kept changing to mirror some of his flower/vase paintings. Of which I was really only aware of his sunflowers and irises. But apparently he painted lots and lots of flowers in vases. 



The next room took a few of this works and broke them into 3-D spaces; looking at the influence of Japanese painters on his artwork. 



you could actually stand in his bedroom painting. 

The final room was the projection room with wall to wall, ever changing, projections. I saw so many paintings I had no idea he had made.  Some I really loved too! 



There were chairs lining the perimeter of the room to sit on and throws in the middle. 

Even the floor changed to go with the painting. There was also music and narration so we learned more about his life and some personal quotes from his letters to his family and friends. 




We had a great time! 

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Comments

  1. That sounds like such a fun and educational outing with Alec and Evan! The immersive Van Gogh experience in Worcester must have been amazing. I would love to go to a museum like that. The photos bring the experience to life. What's your next outing planned?

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    1. Thank you! I don't have a next outing planned but I definitely have been looking.

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  2. This looks so good, it was touring localling last year and I regret not going. I wish there were more immersive experiences in other museums as I think it's a great way to learn.

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    1. I am so glad we went and I've been eying the interactive Monet experience hoping it will come close to us.

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  3. That looks like a cool experience- to learn about the artist in a very unique way. I looked into going to a tour of it in Cincy but it was odd because you had to buy the tickets and then the organizers would tell you the exact location at a later time (after you bought the tickets). That seemed a little odd to me (I guess they wanted to see how man tix they sold and then look for a space to hold it?) and was enough to make me decide to not go. Glad it worked out for you to go and to change the date to avoid driving in poor weather!

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    1. That is odd; I think because I waited and this had been in our area for at least a month already that it was just like buying concert tickets (though you could NOT buy them at the door).

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  4. I love the sound of the Van Gogh experience, I am a big fan of him all because of an episode of Doctor Who. His work is beautiful.

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    1. His work really is; it's amazing that he managed to create so much work in such a short amount of time. He produced more than 900 pieces of work in just 10 short years.

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  5. This looks like a beautiful and amazing experience- thanks so much for sharing!

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  6. I would love to do this, but I missed it when it came through Memphis. What a fun and different experience!

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    1. Aw, what a bummer! We nearly didn't go but I am so glad we did.

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  7. I love going to exhibits like this! Looks like so much fun!

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  8. I did this a few years ago too and it was really neat. Although, they didn't have chairs in the projection room. I like that touch and the blankets.

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  9. Replies
    1. There were so many new ones that I just loved. My favorite was Starry Night Over the Rhone.

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  10. I would love to see this! I’ve been hearing about it for some time, but it’s never been close to me. I love Van Gogh’s work (although, like you, I know I’m not familiar with much of it). His paintings are so incredibly cheerful for such a tortured soul.

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    1. They really were; I thought the same thing when we discovered that many were painted while he was institutionalized.

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  11. Wow this is awesome! How fun you got to see it!

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  12. I know so many people who went to see it and loved it. We didn't catch it, maybe if it comes back around, we'll check it out. My mom grew up in Worcester. I have a lot of great memories there...especially stopping at Hebert Candy on the way there from Hartford. Yum!

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    1. It's so sad that so many of the Hebert Candy mansions have closed down! I used to love stopping in there. It always smelled so good.

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  13. We had something like this here in 2021 I think and?? And I went and saw it with my husband and son. It looks similar!! I really loved the life size rooms with his art. Just so amazing!

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

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    1. I love seeing his work larger than life; it was really neat.

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  14. This is so cool! There was an interactive exhibit for Van Gogh while we were in Korea, but I didn't go - now I'm wishing I had!

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  15. Jodie's Touch of StyleJanuary 31, 2025 at 1:14 PM

    That was playing here for some time but we missed it. I bet it was fabulous.
    XOOX
    Jodie

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  16. I’d love to see this myself. Thank you for sharing.
    www.rsrue.blogspot.com

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  17. Very interesting, I think the projection room is my favorite!

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  18. We went a few years ago with our kids and parents. It was so cool!
    Sarah @ Sunshine & Books

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    1. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Monet one comes near us too!

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    1. It really was a perfect way to spend our winter morning.

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  20. This really looks so awesome! Hopefully it will make its way back to Atlanta since we missed it the last time.

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  21. I didn't get to see this when it was in Michigan but I know it was spectacular. Your photos are terrific and it looks like a fabulous immersive experience.

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  22. That looks like a really cool exhibit. Thanks for sharing it.

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  23. I saw something very similar at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. I wonder if there are different versions, and the institutions pick what elements they want. We had the projections, but I don't recall some of the other things. Thanks for sharing this, Joanne!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

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    1. I'm betting they do; because it does seem like this is set up in many, many cities simultaneously and yet still travels too.

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  24. What an experience. I think this exhibit or something similar came to El Paso. Now I wish I had looked into going. It is especially cool that some of the paintings were dissected so viewers could see the various influences in Van Gogh's work.

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  25. I loved seeing the immersive Van Gogh experience here. I saw the same projection room as you, but not so many of the 3D pieces, just his bedroom. Glad you enjoyed it!

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  26. I've never been to one of these events but have been tempted a few times! This one does look really interesting! Thanks for sharing with us!

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  27. Wow! What a cool experience. The 3D and projection room would be so cool to see

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  28. What a cool exhibit! We had a similar immersive exhibit in Chicago but it was only the projections!

    Jill - Doused in Pink

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    1. I was so glad to see that it was more than just the projections since I don't think it would have taken us nearly as long and then I would have felt like it wasn't worth the drive or the price.

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  29. Hi Joanne, I visited the Van Gogh exhibition when it was on display in Brisbane a couple of years ago. I loved it. Thanks for sharing with us and I've selected your post as one of my favourites to feature in this week's #WeekendTrafficJamReboot. x

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