Oh did I have just the loveliest day Saturday! Although my inorgo lab (and procrastination) led me to getting under 4 hours of sleep, I woke puffy-faced and ready to get going. I headed into work for a short shift, grabbed some coffee, then headed home to be picked up by my friends and their family. We then drove downtown to the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit Chicago. Let me tell you, I am a geek for artists, specifically their life stories and how it influenced their art, so I was over the moon. Not to mention, pop-up galleries always have a certain flair to them since they’re meant for more than just art enthusiasts. I guess what I’m saying is that they make it a lot easier for the average person to get into the art, which may sound lazy, but art takes many forms and this is one– a dramatic and oftentimes intoxicating one.

Well, anyways, I meant to read a new biography of Van Gogh before going, but life happens and it just meant that I had to make mental notes of things to review later. Now, I was pleased to see that some of his Japanese-inspired works were present. I think this was a great way to break people from the thought pattern that he only painted things in the same vein as Starry Night. Similarly, they showed him with his candle-lit straw hat. I nearly squealed when I saw that. I think it really highlights how eccentric and morose he was, albeit inventive. The general set up of the exhibit was well done. Really the only thing that could be improved was that the ceiling should have been lit as well, and some paintings shown could have been taken in a different direction. For instance, with a painting as dynamic and renowned as Starry Night, the building should have been alive with movement and colour and music. They took a much lighter approach to it, some small streaks of color moving on the floor when really the swirling should have been strong enough to make a person dizzy. As for the music, I think that people don’t realize classical music can be loud/powerful and reflective/soft simultaneously. The first sequence of the show actually hit the nail on the head. It centered around his sketches of cicadas and other bugs, with deafening buzzing playing over the speakers. It had the same unsettling feeling that the bug scenes in Hereditary had. Another interesting take, which I’ll admit I enjoyed even though it didn’t feel like it fit, was another rather disturbing sound choice over Irises. The contrast really helped me focus on the colors and sharpness in some of the details. I won’t get too much deeper into this, but know that it was an overall great experience and really makes me want to take a trip to the Art Institute, well, post-having read another biography to refresh my memory.

After the exhibit, we headed to Tiparos next door for some Thai food. I took it easy and just had lychee over ice and jasmine tea, which I won’t lie still made me a bit nervous since I haven’t been to too many restaurants since quarantine started, but thankfully the place was nearly empty. Once we returned home, we goofed off while their father was starting a bonfire. There were games of chess, playing with the family dog, sitting next to someone on a piano bench and taking in the music (Tango in D by Isaac Albéniz was my personal favorite). I thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of just “being.” It really has been a year since those things were the norm. Oh did I miss them without even realizing what was gone. Then, although by accident, we celebrated Pi Day early with cherry pie and chatted around the previously mentioned fire. My friend is also an ESL teacher in his spare time, so I was able to have that much awaited English teacher banter! In my last post I mentioned how sometimes I think that a job I feel passionate about may be all I need, and really that interaction tended the fire I have for my interests. I can hardly wait to have those conversations with actual colleagues one day (well, technically he is a colleague, but I mean at a future place of work, ah semantics, semantics). I need to get a move on and find a school for the coming year already!

Also, if you are wondering why I typed this all out and put it on the Internet, my journal situation is a bit disorganized at the moment and I really did not want to forget this day. Oooh, on that note, I’ll have to make a post on how I journal once I get my life back in order (it’s hard to find time to journal when I don’t even have time to sleep anymore). We’ll have to see!

Happy reading,
-Beppa