Chaos in a famous museum. All because of Pokemon
Images of Pokemon mimicking the style and themes of Vincent Van Gogh's works are being showcased at the Dutch master's museum in Amsterdam. Tourists not only flock to the exhibition, but also to the souvenir shop to get special Pokemon cards. Videos on social media show the controversial behavior of visitors.
Oct 1, 2023 | updated: 9:05 AM EDT, October 5, 2023
As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, the Van Gogh Museum is presenting several exhibitions related to Pokemons.
Pokémon in the Van Gogh Museum
As the authors of the project assure, its aim is to attract the youngest audience. - We want to reach new generations - declares the museum director Emilie Gordenker.
Starting from Thursday, September 28, paintings of Pokemon based on the famous artist's known works are presented in the facility. For instance, Pikachu is depicted in a hat, which is a reference to the canvas "Self-Portrait in a Grey Felt Hat". In another work, referencing "The Room in Arles", Munchlax and Snorlax appear - the former is sitting on a wicker chair, and the latter is on a bed with a wooden headboard.
Tourists exaggerate
It turns out that not only the exhibition, preceding the 50th anniversary of the museum's creation, has become a hit. The NOS portal reports that hundreds of people stormed the museum shop on Friday, September 29th to get special Pokemon cards. Social media footage shows crowds of visitors snatching them out of each other's hands. "Pokemon fans are crazy" - the video's author wrote on the X platform (formerly Twitter).
Rare Pokemon cards are often sold for huge amounts reaching even hundreds of thousands of euros. The cards in the Van Gogh Museum have a limited edition, therefore dealers expect them to become extremely valuable.
Pokemon, animated creatures originating from Japanese manga, conquered the world in the 90s. Since then, collector's cards, games, TV shows, and movies with these characters have been created.
