A recent trip to the Beyond Van Gogh exhibit at Dome Arena in Henrietta proved an inspiring experience for students in Mrs. Cordula Kennell’s creative writing class.
“The students did some research on Van Gogh through websites and found their favorite three paintings,” said Kennell. “We wrote ‘reactions’ to them and shared our research. Then we went to the Beyond Van Gogh experience.”
The experience, which is on display in different venues around the globe, uses projection mapping to render more than 300 of the prolific Dutch painter’s artworks on a gigantic scale - usually on the interior walls or architectural features of buildings. This unique means of displaying the artist’s works provides for a truly immersive experience, allowing viewers to literally walk through The Starry Night or amidst hayfields and stacks on one of the many Provencal farms Van Gogh roamed in his later years.
“After we spent about two hours in the space, we wrote in our journals about the experience and then went to Chick-fil-A and Crumbl Cookie for lunch,” said Kennell. “After we came back, the students worked on writing two poems. Many of them wrote the first one about the experience and the second one based on one of the paintings, trying to use imagery to convey Van Gogh’s bold colors and brushstrokes.”
One of Kennell’s students, Claire S., was drawn to one of Van Gogh’s self portraits from 1887 and used her reaction to the piece to inform her poem, “The Actual Experience.”
“I don’t know why, I just love it so much. I think it’s so pretty,” said Claire, a junior. “It’s kind of blue in the background, but his orange beard and hair stands out. I just think that contrast is so pretty, so I wrote a poem about it.”
Another of Kennell’s students, Carmen P., likened the experience to a “fever dream.”
“When you’re experiencing that, you’re just in the moment, that’s just how it is,” said Carmen, a senior. “I don't entirely know how to explain it, honestly.”
Claire, Carmen and a few of Kennell’s other students spoke about the experience, the specific paintings they were drawn to and how Van Gogh’s artworks inspired their poetry. See what they had to say in the videos below.
Claire S., a junior in Mrs. Cordula Kennell’s creative writing class, speaks about a recent visit to the Beyond Van Gogh exhibit at Dome Arena in Henrietta. Before and during the trip, Claire was particularly struck by one of Van Gogh’s self-portraits from 1887 and used it to inform her poem, “The Actual Experience,” which she reads at the end of the video.
Carmen P., a senior in Mrs. Cordula Kennell’s creative writing class, speaks about a recent visit to the Beyond Van Gogh exhibit at Dome Arena in Henrietta and how one of the painter’s artworks, “Coleus Plant in a Flowerpot,” helped inspire her poem, “Coleus Plant,” which Carmen reads at the end of the video.
Gabbie K., a senior in Mrs. Cordula Kennell’s creative writing class, speaks about a recent visit to the Beyond Van Gogh exhibit at Dome Arena in Henrietta. Gabbie’s poem, “Red Flowers,” which she reads at the end of the video, draws from Van Gogh’s paintings of almond blossoms, which featured prominently in the exhibit.
Avery L., a junior in Mrs. Cordula Kennell’s creative writing class, speaks about a recent visit to the Beyond Van Gogh exhibit at Dome Arena in Henrietta and how seeing the Dutch painter’s works - and a subsequent trip to Chick-fil-A for lunch - helped inspire her poetry. At the end of the video, Avery reads her poem, “Van Ghoughts.”
Ella D., a junior in Mrs. Cordula Kennell’s creative writing class, speaks about a recent visit to the Beyond Van Gogh exhibit at Dome Arena in Henrietta and how the Dutch painter’s works influenced her poetry. Ella was drawn to Van Gogh’s “Cottages: Reminiscence of the North” and used it as inspiration for her poem, “Red Ball,” which she reads at the end of the video.
Students in Mrs. Cordula Kennell’s creative writing class used a trip to the Beyond Van Gogh experience at Dome Arena in Henrietta earlier this month as inspiration for poetry. The experience uses projection mapping to render more than 300 of the prolific Dutch painter’s artworks on a gigantic scale - usually on the interior walls or architectural features of buildings.