Rockford’s Riverfront Museum Park houses several organizations. Two of those have come together to give the community a unique experience.
The exhibition entrance looks exotic. Faux flowers hang in a dimly lit hall with soft music for ambience. Walls right outside are decorated with artists’ works surrounded by educational text. Then you see the main attraction.
Paintings come to life as animals walk across the screen and women in tribal garments dance in place. As you go, the exhibit transitions from one image to another.
“So, as you step into the gallery and you start walking around, it's moving around you,” said Carrie Johnson, the executive director and chief curator at the Rockford Art Museum. “So that's why we like to see it. It's immersive, because you're just stepping into an exhibition that is just encompassing you.”
Johnson said Lana Paris, executive director of the Discovery Center, came up with the idea to showcase an immersive show — a type of exhibit that isn’t usually seen locally.
So, the two partnered on Impressionist: Immersive Exhibition. This 45-minute show animates works from impressionists like Van Gogh, Monet and others.
Johnson said the animation was done by someone from Spain. The background music was curated specifically for the exhibit.
“I think it is just beautiful. It's got some Parisian vibes to it, but it's really a great mix of music that goes with each artist,” Johnson said. “So, it was curated specifically for artists that are in the that are in the exhibition. I think it's really effective.”
Nancy Desruisseaux travelled about an hour from Hoffman Estates to see the unique exhibition. She said her 14-year-old granddaughter loves art, and she wanted to share this experience with her. Desruisseaux said the family has a replica of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night" in their living room, so she wanted her granddaughter to learn more about it. Desruisseaux said she was captivated by the exhibit.
“I truthfully didn't know what to expect, but this is definitely immersive,” she said, “and I know of artists, but I'm not well versed with their work, so this is just kind of giving me a quick overview of everyone and what they might have been thinking at the time they were painting.”
Claire Dahlhauser is an artist. She was on a date with her husband Travis. She said she loves impressionism.
“I'm so glad that we're doing this in Rockford,” she said. “It makes me so happy that we still have art so accessible to everybody in this area We just brought our kids the other day, and it was so nice to see them have opinions and talk about, ‘What is that made of who made this? What does that mean?’”
Travis said it was a no-brainer to visit the exhibit with his wife.
“We’ve been married seven years, and something that we love to do is travel," he added. “And everywhere we go, we always go to the art museum of that city and to have something like this pop up that we've seen, you know, these projected artistic displays promoted in other places but never had the chance to go.”
Johnson said she hopes for more partnerships between the organizations on campus.
“That's what this museum complex is really made for, is collaboration,” she said. “And we're so lucky to have the symphony, the [Rockford] Dance Company, Discovery Center, Burpee [Museum of Natural History]'s down the hall. It just it really makes it so easy to partner and do collaborations with them that are effective, that are great for our community.”
The exhibition runs through May 11. There are extended hours on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Those details can be found on the art museum’s website.
