Having to deal with delays caused by the COVID-19 outbreak is difficult enough, but now people are getting confused over a series of different Vincent van Gogh art experiences.
There are two similar local events bewildering would-be patrons, both immersive art installations dedicated to the Dutch painter. The Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit Dallas is at The Lighthouse in downtown Dallas, and Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Both involve large-scale projections of images of Van Gogh's works, not originals.
Things got even more confusing because of delays and date changes by both exhibitions. The Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit Dallas at Lighthouse Dallas, produced by Lighthouse Immersive, pushed back its June 17 opening date to Aug. 7. Then the Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience produced by Exhibition Hub Entertainment and Fever pushed its July 21 start date to Aug. 19.
As word of the exhibitions grew, some customers purchased tickets for one experience on a certain date and tried to exchange them through the wrong company.
Some patrons took to Facebook to complain about the dates on the tickets they purchased not matching the dates on the other experience's website and social media.
"The tickets in my Apple wallet say July 31 from 4-5 pm," wrote Mark Edson on the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit Dallas Facebook page. "I have not heard from anyone about the Aug. 7 opening instead."
"Hi! We definitely do not have tickets for sale on July," wrote a representative of the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit in response. "There are two different exhibits that are not affiliated with each other coming to Dallas."
Then just when things already sounded too much like an Abbott and Costello routine, a third Van Gogh exhibition, Van Gogh and the Olive Groves, was announced by the Dallas Museum of Art for October.
Unlike the previous two exhibitions, the DMA's installation is dedicated to the artist's actual works of art. The DMA worked with The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam to host a special exhibition of van Gogh's olive tree painting series he made from June-December 1889, according to a DMA statement.
Let's just say there's a lot van Goghing on in Dallas.
Or not. Probably not.