Vincent's Yellow

Heating Up and Blossoming

Things are heating up.

So much so, that I forgot to actually check the winner of the poll I took last week for the Twitter performance before the winning time slot had passed! Ack!

Firstly, I apologize, profusely. Secondly, the performance on Twitter (a conversation between Vincent and I that you can join if you’re on Twitter!) will take place a week later than the voted on time. That is: this Saturday, April 24th, at 4pm Central Standard Time. For those who are there to read or join, I hope you enjoy what I have in store for you. :)

I hope you’ll forgive me in the meantime, because I am trying to keep so many balls in the air that it’s a bit absurd. Money and budgeting is rearing its ugly and predictable head (though don’t you worry, nothing will stop Yellow from happening).  I am also going out of the country for two weeks for my brothers wedding in the middle of May, so I must get certain things accomplished before then. I want to be able to return from the trip and begin rehearsals immediately. This means the show must be cast, the schedule set, fundraisers organized (oh yes, there will be a few parties for your enjoyment if you are around Chicago) etc more or less before I leave in three weeks. I’m also going to see if I can get sponsorship from Van Gogh Vodka. I mean, it’s kinda fitting, right?

To help organize myself, I finally invested in a weekly planner… a Van Gogh planner, of course. The positive aspect of Vincent’s commodification is that I can easily surround myself with him and his work. It doesn’t take much effort at all, in fact. Anyway, this planner is cheap and worth it, in case you are needing one. It also had a very interesting selection of paintings (one might even say unusual), including this one, which I had never seen before:

Landscape with Couple Walking and Crescent Moon, 1890.

Thanks vangoghgallery.com

When I saw this, I had an unusual reaction: I felt this couple walking was Vincent and I.  Vincent often gave male figures in his paintings red hair or yellow straw hats or various other signs that they are, in fact, him… but this woman wearing such a distinct, yellow dress reminded me of my dress. The woman has one hand in the air like she is expressing something forcefully, and yeah… that could be me. There was also a crescent moon just the other night, which I pointed out to the friends I was with at the moment. Few people living in the city take notice of the moon.

Now, I don’t normally go around trying to put myself in Vincent’s paintings. My instinct tells me that this figure represents Vincent’s “great friend sister Epiphane” from the asylum at Saint-Remy, where this was painted. She would walk with him, allowing him to paint far from the asylum. She understood him. This painting was also done in May of 1890, shortly before Vincent left for Auvers-sur-Oise – perhaps it was made to remember her.

This past week I’ve been thinking a lot about spirituality… What does it mean that I believe Vincent is with me? That he is guiding me and taking care of me and this project? What do I mean when I off-handedly suggest that perhaps  I knew him personally in a past life? Do I believe in reincarnation? If so — who is Vincent now? And do I really believe that in some way, it is me in this painting?

I speak about my own spirituality here because Vincent has so altered how I feel about these things. It is a powerful sensation when coincidences pile up beyond the reach of logic, and that has been the result of my bringing Vincent into my life in every way. Karma is the easiest way for me to make sense of it — I am throwing all of my energy into rescuing a soul from his own myth. I believe I get certain things back. Energies. Friendships. Beauty.

Or perhaps it is seeing with his eyes, and with the perspective of the eternal that pondering time and death always gives us, that makes me open to so many daily gifts.

Have you seen the blossoming trees? This time in 1888, he was painting them, over and over…

The Pink Orchard, 1888.

Thanks to vangoghletters.org

Pink Peach Trees, 1888.

Thanks to vangoghletters.org

The White Orchard, 1888.

Thanks to vangoghletters.org

Small Pear Tree in Blossom, 1888.

Thanks to vangoghletters.org

Orchard with Apricot Trees in Blossom, 1888.

Thanks to vangoghletters.org

Orchard bordered by Cypresses, 1888.

Thanks to vangoghletters.org

Orchard with Peach Trees in Blossom, 1888.

Thanks to vangoghletters.org

Orchard, 1888.

Thanks to vangoghletters.org

These were his gifts to us from Arles, as soon as he arrived there he set about capturing their beauty. I see it as my duty to see their beauty in nature as well…

Twitter Performance?

So firstly, interviews are going great. I never really have let myself imagine what kind of performers I might end up using for Vincent’s Yellow… though I knew what kind of qualities I was looking for. While there are some “looks” I’m interested in, I do think that more than anything I find myself looking for open hearts and minds in my performers, and that quality of enthusiasm for a unique project like this that means they are ready to learn and to experiment. The show will be anything but straight-forward or easy; it’s a dance of ideas. And for that, you need some smart and ready dancers. So far, I think I am attracting the kind of performers that I’m interested in. That’s great news.

There are two little things I wanted to share today. One is that a painting by Vincent had a surprise unveiling in Minnesota yesterday — the public was not told what new painting the Marine Art Museum had acquired, only that the artist would “rival Monet and Renoir.” (that’s my boy!)

Below is a quote that warmed my heart, clicking on it will take you to the article (thank you Winona Daily News):

Attendees swarmed around the paintings, a deep crowd quickly forming around the Van Gogh. Nearby, Swanson smiled at the thought of how the museum’s newest jewel will draw art lovers from Winona and beyond. The public will have its first chance to see the work when the museum opens at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

“Not only do we have four outstanding paintings, and the fifth is by Vincent Van Gogh,” he said. “I mean, come on, guys.”

So if you live in or near Minnesota, take a look! It’s from 1882, which makes it one of the earliest paintings of his on public display (at least that I’ve seen). Vincent did not even begin drawing seriously until 1880.

Thanks to winonadailynews.com

Lastly, I had an interesting idea the other night. I was about to reply to Vincent’s daily quote on twitter from my personal account, then imagined him responding back to me, my responding back to him, and so on. I ended up writing a dialogue, and instead of doing it on the fly, I thought I’d allow those interested to have a say in when it is “performed.”

For those who are not aware, I post daily quotes from Vincent’s letters on twitter at www.twitter.com/Vincent_Says, matching the date as closely as possible. You can look at them without being on twitter, but it’s easier to be updated if you are. Vincent_Says always responds to those who direct their tweets at him, and so it occurred to me that if I said something, he would say something. My tweets can be found at www.twitter.com/artesoy. The dialogue will be posted publicly on these two pages, and anyone will be able to follow along.

So the long and short of this all is… There will be a twitter scene between Vincent and I. This dialogue will not be in the play; it has been exclusively created for this event. So here’s the big question.

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In the past, my conversations with Vincent have been mostly on Facebook, and have gone like this (and often included others)!

If you are on twitter, and want in on the conversation, you’ll only have to tweet @Vincent_Says or @artesoy and you will be.

While looking for the conversation above, I ran into the following, which I posted shortly before my incredible trip of YellowEurope…

Have a wonderful weekend, and please vote if you are interested! I will announce the performance time here on Wednesday morning.

[update: the wednesday option was changed from the 14th to the 21st to allow more time for voting…]

Tags: actors, Minnesota, painting, performance, theater, twitter

Vincent’s Map

Today, I am going to show you all something I’ve been meaning to show you for some time! My (and Vincent’s) Map.

Firstly, I must admit it is not finished but is in fact a work in progress.

Secondly, I must explain. As my research progressed, I became increasingly curious as to where all of Vincent’s paintings were. I was often rocked by the locations inscribed on certain pieces — Hiroshima, Kansas, etc — and eventually gave in to my curiosity and my slightly obsessive nature. I bought the largest wall map I could find for a decent price, and a book of his complete paintings. Then I began.

Soon, I had to make many decisions. How to mark the paintings? I settled on small stickers because that would make the whole piece easily transportable (I started this project a year ago when I was in New York City, but knew it would come with me to Chicago). When I bought a pack, they came in a few colors, so then  I decided to color-code them. I also decided to number the paintings in the order the book had them (which is more or less chronological, but also arranged to make sense to a reader) and actually mark the numbers in the book so that they could be cross-referenced. So: you can wonder, what is painting 184 in New York City? And quickly flip through the book and find it. You can also flip through the book, choose a painting, and quickly find the sticker for that painting.

For certain museums, like the Van Gogh Museum or the Kröller-Müller Museum, there are hundreds of paintings/stickers, so I decided to do a few detailed insets and long trails of paintings to represent these larger collections. I bought a second-hand atlas and started cutting.

Who knew there would be so many in Switzerland? Not me. But now I know to plan a trip there!! Oh, and the color coding differentiates time periods and also what I would call the three main stylistic periods of his work:

Red: Paintings done in the Netherlands and Belgium. His “dark period” (1880-1886)
Blue: Paintings done in Paris. His experimentation and impressionistic period. (1886-1887)
Yellow: Paintings done in Arles, Saint-Remy and Auvers-sur-oise, France. His coming into his own, or post-impressionistic period. (1888-1890)

Now these photos are from last summer, and the map has progressed since then, I’ve gotten into the Yellows and the 600s (he painted over 900 paintings!) and I’m pretty excited because now I’m getting to the locations of my favorites.

In general, however, I love to see how his paintings have spread across the world, and it makes me so happy to see how many have access to his paintings, and care to own them. I don’t think he ever could have imagined any of this, but I imagine that yes — it would have made him very happy. It also proves to me that without a doubt, his story is one of success.

This map will be used during my play this summer, and will also be on display afterward for visitors to take a look at. It has become one of my most beloved possessions.

In closing, I’d like to share a little video my brother took of my yesterday. I gave him and a few members of my family a demonstration of what exactly happened to poor Vincent’s Ear. I think it may make you smile, Reader.

Have a lovely week!

[For the curious, I have organized the paintings that are in private collections on index cards according to their country, and once everything is done I will probably attach them along the bottom of the map, just so all pieces are displayed. There is also a sad group of lost or destroyed pieces, World War II being a major culprit. Also — and this really is annoying — this map is only accurate as of 2006, the copyright of the book I’m using. But hey, that’s not SO bad, right?]