Ann Landi's article on Van Gogh’s ear, the rise to theories, pranks, merchandise, and a host of references in culture high and low was interesting. I think Van Gogh has been in spotlight so long the so-called inspiring pranks won't go away.
Either way, in the decades since van Gogh’s suicide, in 1890, that ear has taken on a life of its own—from the lowbrow to the literary—inspiring pranks, merchandise, movies, music, album covers, stories, plays, and even YouTube videos. A Google search of “Vincent van Gogh ear” pulled up a staggering 96,900 references, ranging from a restaurant in Union, New Jersey, called Van Gogh’s Ear Café to New York Times columnist Deborah Solomon’s discovery of what she called, in 2000, “a mass-produced souvenir of artistic torment: a curvy, pinkish rubber objet described with typical eBay poetry as ‘Van Gogh’s Ear—squish it, squeeze it!’
Useful link:
www.vangoghmuseum.nl
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