On a typical Saturday morning inside Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum, a crowd gathers before the Post-Impressionist master's iconic "Sunflower" painting. A glimpse of "The Potato Eater" requires navigating through a sea of admirers. Surprisingly, the most bustling place in this world-renowned museum is its gift shop, with visitors forming orderly queues by 10:30 am.
This scene presents a striking contrast to the chaotic scenes witnessed on the opening day of the "Pokémon x Van Gogh Museum" exhibition. Nintendo's substantial investment in this collaboration matches the cost of launching a new video game, as announced earlier this month.
You've probably seen footage of visitors fervently grabbing Pokémon-themed products, reminiscent of Black Friday supermarket rushes. Shoppers eagerly purchase limited-edition T-shirts, postcards, tote bags, and teddy bears blending Pokémon characters with Dutch artistry. However, what remains less known is the exhibition itself, the heart of this collaboration.
Without exact measurement, it's probable that Pokémon occupies more space in the gift shop than the exhibition's display area.
Running until January, the exhibition features six paintings adorning a temporary wall in the first-floor lobby, each blending Pokémon creatures with Vincent van Gogh's art.
While the commercial aspect garners public attention, it's unjust to overlook the exhibition's finished artworks. Not everything is purely part of an extensive marketing strategy; all these pieces are crafted by experienced artists.
Naoyo Kimura, an illustrator for Pokémon cards since 2001, has reimagined the electric mouse Pikachu within Van Gogh's "Self Portrait with Gray Felt Hat." The artist sowsow, known for illustrating Pokémon cards since 2018, created pieces like Eevee in a straw hat and Snorlax in Van Gogh's room. These paintings, though whimsical, may not be considered serious interpretations of Van Gogh's work.
So, why did the Van Gogh Museum invest so much in this exhibition? Van Gogh rarely painted animals, especially at close range as displayed here. The Museum justifies this with a passage from Vincent's letter to his brother Theo, pasted alongside the artworks: "I think we cannot learn Japanese art without becoming happier and more cheerful." The display underscores Van Gogh's affinity for Japanese prints, suggesting it as a significant source of inspiration.
The connection, though not far-fetched, lacks in-depth exploration of Van Gogh's work and the intersection with Pokémon. Instead, there's a strong emphasis on marketing. Perhaps the initial idea stemmed from Van Gogh's sunflower paintings and the existence of a Pokémon, Sunflora, resembling a sunflower.
Furthermore, the pocket-sized exhibition area starkly contrasts with the rest of the museum. While exploring the permanent collection, visitors immediately encounter details about the artist's tragic end and Theo Van Gogh's deteriorating health after Vincent's death. For adults grappling with these themes, Pokémon's relevance to this narrative remains unclear.
Will the exhibition extend the Van Gogh Museum's global reach and appreciation for his work? It's a possibility. It's also likely that, while exploring the rest of the museum, children may begin to admire the artist's talent, although they represent a minority willing to pay the $21 entrance fee.
Yet, regardless of the artistic or narrative merits of blending Pokémon with Van Gogh's art, the collaboration's commercial ambitions have proven successful. Days after the opening, people still lined up outside the museum, cash in hand, seeking Pokémon cards featuring Pikachu in a Post-Impressionist style. eBay is flooded with these cards, some fetching up to 2,439 USD. The Van Gogh Museum, by erecting that temporary wall in the first-floor lobby, has created a personal "Starry Night" for speculators. While the artworks themselves are beyond critique, the exhibition aptly illustrates the common ground between Pokémon and the art world: creating scarcity and transforming it into profit.
Original article by Carl Kinsella, Art Net
