Central High School Art teacher, Ashley Williams, knew the Van Gogh Exhibit would be a great, and perhaps, a once in a lifetime, experience for her students. Williams did her research, went out and asked local businesses and foundations for donations to offset the cost for families and made this event happens for Central art students.
On Wednesday, October 27, 2021, Ms. Williams' Draw, Paint, Print class took a half-day field trip to the Vincent Van Gogh Immersive Experience which is temporarily located in Minneapolis.
Once in the building, the students and any individuals attending were invited to choose which large viewing room they would like to watch from. The first room allowed visitors to walk around, while the second room offered benches and allowed for a seated experience.
Throughout the students' time in the exhibit, they were able to experience the real-life and virtual reality exhibits of Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings. Traditional paintings were paired with technology and accompanied by music to leave a lasting impression. The days leading up to the trip students worked in groups to research and learn about the different famous works of Van Gogh as well as his life story.
What did the students think of this experience?
Going on this trip helped me learn that Van Gogh has many different perspectives and styles of art that all combine with him and his personality. -Lily Howe
I realized the beauty of art and how you can make something that's already beautiful into something so much more. -Ana Hutchinson
I would give my experience a 5 out of 5 stars, because it was really fun and interesting, and it was one of the most interesting field trips I've ever taken. -Julia Pauly
When you understand and view art you become more immersed and connected to the work and enjoy it for what it is. -Nicholas Weege
My favorite piece I saw was "Irises," I really liked the colors of this painting and how it made the room look when it was projected on the walls. -Kayla Mesenbring
One take away from the trip that I got would be that the meaning of art can be a bunch of different things. Like even taking someone's art and editing it to music and making it move is a form of art. I wanted to paint after I came back from the trip. -Kaitlynn Nelson
10/10 experience. It is not what I expected. I expected them to flash paintings up on the wall, but not make them move really. It was really fun. -Kaitlynn Nelson
