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Van Gogh, the absolute cult artist

Imagine Van Gogh pays tribute to the genius
of Van Gogh’s work and life.

 

130 years after his death, Vincent Van Gogh remains one of the most famous artists of all time. His brushstrokes are widely recognizable and his fandom spans the globe.

 

Celebrated for both his artistic practice and his persona, the artist produced an oeuvre that stands among the most recognizable art in the world. The distinctive style of his popular paintings defined by thick, painterly brushstrokes and a bright color palette, the luminous landscapes, expressive portraits, and vibrant still lifes have come to represent the artist.

 

Van Gogh’s art became astoundingly popular after his death, especially in the late 20th century when his work sold for record-breaking sums at auctions around the world and was featured in blockbuster touring exhibitions.

Imagine Van Gogh, an immersive exhibition

Imagine Van Gogh, is an exhibition where one can admire The Starry Night, Irises and Sunflowers, or be drawn into the intimacy of his Bedroom in Arles. An experience that brings viewers to the heart of its images, Imagine Van Gogh is accompanied by the music of the great composers Saint-Saëns, Mozart, Bach, Delibes and Satie.

Imagine Van Gogh amplifies emotion

The warping techniques used for Imagine Van Gogh adapt the surface to the projected image, thus respecting the latter’s integrity to magnify the artworks, whereas more traditional mapping techniques focus on adapting the image to the surface. Warping consists in perfectly adjusting the projected work to the scenographic surface. This technique frees the work from the gravitational subjection that befalls any earthly object. The choice of images, the way they are positioned, their rhythm and their association with the music all compose this original creation conceived by Annabelle Mauger and developed with Julien Baron.

What is
Image Totale©?

We mainly understand the concept of the image from a conformist and strict perspective, limited by space and volume. This is the classic notion of the image which permeates our screens (television, computer, cinematic or simple projection). In all of these forms the viewer remains passive.

 

During the 1960s, the filmmaker and photographer Albert Plécy, a friend of the great Jean Lartique and Robert Doisneau (himself founding president of the famous association Les Gens d’images), had the idea of directing his research toward inventing a revolutionary process of projection.

 

In the mid-1970s, Albert Plécy invested in the gigantic abandoned quarries of Baux-de-Provence to create his Cathédrale d’images and two years later inaugurated his own audiovisual creation in Image Totale©. The culmination of two years of research, development and installation, Plécy’s Image Totale© was presented to the public in 1977.

 

The complete immersion of spectators in the work is reinforced by the synchronized diffusion of an accompanying musical soundtrack. 

 

Having selected the zones, angles and sizes of the projected images, as well as pathways for the “integrated and immersed” spectator in the Image Totale©, Plécy transformed the notion of a passive viewer, seated in an armchair staring at images on a screen, to that of an active spectator, immersed in a universe of images where they are completely free to evolve and explore in their own way.

 

This Imagine Van Gogh website is intentionally without videos as Albert Plécy wanted the image to be free of frame, released from any constraint. The Image Totale© is an immersive experience that must be enjoyed LIVE!

Cathédrale d’images, Leonard de Vinci (2005), directed by Annabelle Mauger.

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