Journey Through Time, Juggling Emotions

Art evokes emotions. But what if those emotions are unknown and the art that is supposed to surface them was made in the past?

Come with me as I travel through time to make my emotions known.

Well, it’s not that I’m really going to travel in time but rather go and travel a bit to see my favourite artists’ works. No, we are not going to Amsterdam to see Van Gogh’s starry night. We’ll be going to BCG and Estancia Mall to traverse the past in the present.

Almost everyone has heard Vincent Van Gogh’s name. He is everywhere. He is one of the most well-known post-Impressionist of all time, and he is my favourite artist. His works have always resonated with me, VVG was the reason I got into art in the first place. His art evokes deep emotions from what he has seen, heard, and felt when he was still alive. I cannot put these feelings into words, but deep within me holds a huge regard to how he was able to fight his demons, find peace and solace, and expressed his melancholy without using words. I have always kept this appreciation of Vincent Van Gogh in my heart. 

I remember that one scene in Doctor Who where the character brought Vincent to a gallery filled with his works that were ignored during his time to see how much people hold these works highly in the present. This episode brought me to tears as I look back on VGG’s biography, how he thought his works and efforts were meaningless because nobody seemed to view his works as something special.

In the modern day, there are a lot of ways we can travel to see the works of not only Van Gogh, but many other artists that has their works survive through time. We are not going to Louvre Musee d’Orsay, the Sistine Chapel, not even Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. If these places rang a bell, you might have already figured where this is headed to. 

We are going to witness artworks come alive!

First stop:

Van Gogh Alive

BGC, 2019

This is the very first multi-sensory art exhibit to have come to the Philippines, and I cannot miss this chance to experience it first-hand. Being there and being surrounded by my favourite artist’ works is such a wonder. It seemed impossible for me to see them beyond my phone or computer screen, but it was brought close to me. It may only be a bigger screen, but seeing them with musical score playing in the background gave me the goosebumps. I was teary-eyed as I wander around the exhibit, and to see people doing the same, I hoped that Vincent knows how loved he is. I wanted to tell him that he is loved, he just lived in the wrong time.

Second stop:

Wisdom of Da Vinci

BGC, 2023

Perhaps another artist that ties up with VGG in popularity is Leonardo Da Vinci. Who doesn’t know Mona Lisa? The Last Supper? Probably a very small number in this world’s populace. Da Vinci’s Renaissance artworks have been featured in multiple movies because something is in them that we feel. There’s a certain feel of mystery that lingers with his works; it is probably the reason why his artworks are used in fantasy or fictional books and movies; they are perfect ingredients to conspiracy theories that sometimes bother the church – an example of this is Dan Brown’s works where the books and the book-inspired movies were banned in some countries and cities. 

I was in Manila for an event I mentioned in my previous blog when I heard about this AI exhibit and I didn’t have second thoughts into going. I cannot live in peace knowing the exhibit is just right in the palm of my hands and I won’t do anything about it. So I went.

Just like our first stop, this exhibit is also of the multisensory kind. One difference is that some of the featured artworks aren’t Da Vinci’s; but are AI generated and curated based on the theme, don’t get me wrong, most of the displays are of Da Vinci’s but there are some that aren’t his. Another difference of this one from the first one is that a musical score was played live by a professional violinist – and that part of the exhibit may have been the one that brought out the most emotions from my core; the fine vibrations from the strings of the violin as the Vitruvian Man flashes on screen and is slowly turned into something through AI made my scalp rise (for the lack of term). It was my favourite part of the exhibit.

Third stop:

Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition

Estancia Capitol Commons, 2023

A notable artist of the High Renaissance, Michelangelo. No, not the turtle, THE Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni – one of the greatest sculptors known to man. Some of his works are the Pieta, the Statue of David, and the biggest one – The Sistine Chapel Ceiling, as what it is collectively called. It sounds surprising to know that Michelangelo hated painting the walls and ceilings of Sistine Chapel, he resented this art commission, and he loathed working on it. Because he sees himself more of a sculptor rather than a painter -  but he had to work on it as it was demanded by Pope Julius II. And probably had to do it to show that he is as capable as his competitor, Da Vinci. Yes, this is a chismis from the renaissance period.

The Sistine Chapel is features 343 individually-titled paintings that he worked on for 4years. WHAT THE EFF?!! Four years for that scale of work?! Just thinking of it gives me the chills and reminds me of how lazy I am. Jokes aside, this exhibit features mainly the paintings on the ceiling of the chapel. Each display is scaled accordingly to how big they are in the actual. They were curated and made to see the details up close, some even shows the texture the original works may have. This meant that I did not have to fly to The Vatican to see them. But one day I will.

Fourth stop:

Monet and Friends Alive

BGC, 2024

Claude Monet is another personal favourite artist. Founder of Impressionism – an art style that depicts nature and its details from the landscapes to the light. The previous artists I have mentioned bring mostly melancholic feelings through the dark shades and colours. But Claude Monet is different; when he established the impressionist movement, Monet and his fellow impressionist artists wanted to put into memory the picturesque views they see and the momentary relaxation it gave them.

For the storm that VGG gives, Claude Monet’s works provide me the calm, mellow, and softness that I wanted to sulk in and linger on. They give me peace and quiet from the chaos that visits me every once in a while. They exude tenderness and the feeling of pureness – of love, nature, and completes the entirety of my being. Charot, that was a little too deep. Going back, with these emotions, Monet’s works have also been featured in some books and movies, an example of this is one of my favourites – Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman. The setting fits with the overall aura of Monet’s impressionism. It captures the essence of when the characters spent moments of solitude in their own space – like how impressionist art works, which is why I hold Monet deep in my love of art.

Being able to visit and see these exhibitions, reminded me of how important art is. Art is a way we express ourselves not through words. Art speaks to the soul without the need to talk or make a sound. Art understands our chaos and gives us peace. Art is divine. Artworks and their artists may have gone away through time, but their memories remain. Art is eudemonic.

I can’t wait to see more exhibits in the future.