Vincent van Gogh

 

One day at work a colleague asked which art movements I like the most. I think we were talking about how good his daughter’s drawings were, but to be honest I don’t exactly remember what triggered that question.

I have neither been good at drawing nor had any strong interest in it. In contrast, I love painting things, but my style of painting boils down to chaotic mixing up of colors on anything (paper, vodka bottle, coffee cup …) without any purpose. I also love going to exhibitions of paintings, but I cannot claim to have a lot of knowledge or nerdiness in that kind of art. I do not have an education in art history. It was not covered as part of my school-education. I didn’t self-educate on this topic either, despite the many art history books we had at home inherited from my uncle after he passed away when I was a kid. His Nikos Kazantzakis books were more appealing.

So, when this colleague asked me the question about which art movements I like, my mind was blank. I was not even sure if could say “Oh, I love that painter X.”

Earlier this year, I discussed this with one of my cousins (technically, my mom’s cousin’s granddaughter, but she is a cousin to me), who now lives in Copenhagen and loves painting as a hobby. She brought up similar sentiments regarding the lack of art education we had. It seemed like the Europeans around us knew a lot about art, and we didn’t.

 

If I was asked that question today, I could have come up with, not an art movement, but at least a name; Vincent van Gogh. Every time my eyes water due to cold or wind outside and my vision gets distorted, the world starts looking like a Van Gogh painting.

Until I watched Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette, the main thing I knew about Van Gogh was that he was a painter who at some point cut off his ear. (Again, I am uneducated in art.) 

In Nanette, Hannah Gadsby challenges the traditional narratives of male geniuses with one example being Vincent van Gogh. They argue that the reason we have his paintings today is not because of his mad male genius but because of the love and support Vincent’s brother Theo had for him, despite Vincent not being the easiest person to be around.  Once you acknowledge this fact, Vincent’s story/history becomes about love and not (only) about genius/talent/madness.

 

Two Saturdays ago, I had the chance to visit the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam together with my dear academic sister, Danica. We were in the Netherlands for a PhD defense that place on Friday. This was technically the second time I visited the Van Gogh Museum, but I remember nothing of the exhibition from the first time besides briefly seeing some sunflowers. That time was for the SIGMOD 2019 conference reception, Danica was also there. But when you are in a conference crowd, you have people to talk to, so focusing on the paintings was difficult. When Danica and I were thinking about what to do for our post-defense Amsterdam trip that Saturday, I suggested doing the Van Gogh Museum properly this time, and she agreed.

After returning to Copenhagen from that trip, I rewatched Nanette. I am not a big fan of the word “masterpiece”, as I find it too grandiose, but if there is anything to label as a masterpiece, it would be Nanette.

 

Vincent van Gogh’s work and story are inspiring. He experimented with different techniques; he wasn’t afraid of changing and learning new things.  He painted the same things over and over but with different touches; was he trying to figure out the best way to do it or did he want to depict different angles to the same thing? He kept on painting despite the health and financial challenges; he kept on creating till his last day. And yes, he was difficult, but he was loved, which contributed to his creativity a lot more than we give it credit for.

 

What are the things you keep on doing despite all the challenges life throws at you to drop them?

In which areas of your life, you aren’t afraid to or you are motivated to try out new angles and learn new abilities even if it brings no financial gain?

Who do you keep on loving and supporting even when they are difficult? Who did you choose to stay away from instead?

Who are the people in your life who stayed with you and kept on loving you even after experiencing your difficult sides unlike others who chose to abandon you immediately after?

 

Have a nice autumn!