Vincent Van Gogh is definitely not one of my favorite painters, but I’m glad to hear that his artworks are about to be displayed in an Imax theaters documentary. This seems likely to create a greater appreciation for his works. Who know but that even I might come to like them a little more?

Unfortunately, the documentary includes some silly conceits intended to make it more interesting to ignoramuses, who will most certainly resist the lure pay the high ticket prices to see Van Gogh paintings anyway. In addition, the choice of Van Gogh appears rather trendy and asinine, meant to appeal to people’s awareness of him as a disturbed genius.

Still, bringing great art to the masses in this way is quite a good thing to do.

The next step should be to present big-screen appreciations of Rembrandt, Vermeer, Michaelangelo, Titian, and the countless other great artists whose works the great majority of people will never get a chance to see in person.

Note: thanks to S. J. Perelman for the article title above.

—S. T. Karnick