Returning to Van Gogh Alive Dec. 20, 2015
I just revisited the Anchorage Museum's Van Gogh Alive. On my first visit, I accepted the 'simulacra,' with its multiscreens casting the genius' deep yellows and blues on my winter garb as I walked from room to room. This time, I came to realize what an aesthetic tool these huge videos are. If you've ever taken an art history class precomputer age, most of the imagery was photographed with a 35 mm. camera in some dusty corner of a college library and hardly readable to a sleepy student audience. I remember attending lectures where there wasn't an image all semester. Van Gogh Alive enlarges Van Gogh's work — no gallery shoving and no blurry glances. And the master's steady hand when rendering European landscape has not been diminished by film; it may have been enhanced.
True, there were some silly moments when a Van Gogh train actually scoots across a canvas; so does his Dutch sailboat. And crows present when he allegedly shot himself occasionally screech. OK, even an aesthetic flick needs some Hollywood kitsch.
What I found revealing was the ability to really scrutinize brushstrokes that make love to hay bales or saunter across skies in a staccato fashion. In the 19th century, male voyeurs with monocles would take magnifying devices from their frocked coats to scrutinize brushstrokes. After Van Gogh Alive I am ready to travel and see a genuine Van Gogh, better equipped.
— Jean Bundy
Anchorage
U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree
Alaskans came together in a yearlong effort to provide the first tree from Alaska to stand tall as the "People's Tree." The U.S. Capitol Christmas tree currently gracing the West Lawn of our nation's Capitol traveled over 4,400 miles from the Chugach National Forest by land and sea by the generosity of Alaskans who provided everything from ornaments to cranes to trucks, and many months of their time and care. You can see the labor of love Alaskans shared in the thousands of ornaments on the tree that were made out of recyclable materials and creative flair from people across the state.
I would like to recognize the many Alaskans who made this undertaking possible and show my appreciation for the beautiful result. Thank you to the children, students and community members who for the past year joined in this effort by showing your pride for Alaska in making such beautiful and unique ornaments. Thank you to all the artists who created ornament designs that were used as inspiration. I want to extend my gratitude to the groups and individuals who created Alaska-themed tree skirts for the smaller companion trees from the Tongass that are proudly placed in offices throughout the Capitol, including my own. Additionally, I want to thank the individuals and businesses that partnered in this effort with the U.S. Forest Service to showcase Alaska and our tremendous resources. It was no small task and these efforts do not go unnoticed.
It is an incredible honor that our state provided the U.S. Capitol with its Christmas tree this year. Our 74-foot Lutz spruce shines brightly as a beacon of the holiday spirit for our nation and Alaska takes up no small part of that spotlight.
— Sen. Lisa Murkowski
Anchorage
The views expressed here are the writers' own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a letter under 200 words for consideration, email letters@alaskadispatch.com, or click here to submit via any web browser. Submitting a letter to the editor constitutes granting permission for it to be edited for clarity, accuracy and brevity. Send longer works of opinion to commentary@alaskadispatch.com.