Young artists tend to push boundaries and find ways to express their ideas in unconventional ways. They are less integrated into the art world, so their work is not only more youthful and reckless than that of older artists, but they are apt to reference their own experiences. They work outside the realm of tried conventions and often, though what they have to say may be drawn from established culture, they present their work in a way that is deeply connected to the artist's self-conception.
This great freedom and breadth of expression is highlighted in the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) "Traveling Scholars" exhibit. At the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston through May 2, the exhibit features seven artists, all drawn from a youthful pool of up-and-coming artists. Daniel Dueck, John Osorio-Buck and Lauren Warner were chosen from recent SMFA alumni, and Nicolas Brynolfson, Matt Paul Cleary, Daniel Johnson and Tim Andrew Kadish were chosen from students in the Fifth Year Certificate Program at the SMFA.
Some artists' work, like that of Cleary and Osorio-Buck, is displayed in one centralized location, while other artists, such as Dueck and Warner, display their work across the entire exhibit. The seven artists show incredible creative variety, and although they each graduated from similar programs, their ideas and forms of creative expression are completely different.
Immediately upon entering the exhibit, the viewer is presented with a life-size model of a trailer. This first unexpected piece is "Utopia Eight" by Osorio-Buck. A huge wooden trailer, which looks like it should be attached to a truck, fills half the room and holds objects needed for day-to-day life: sink, bed, food, utensils and even a first aid kit. This is the last thing most people expect to see in an art exhibit. The stigma associated with mobile homes is longstanding. Most associate them with poverty and not the fine arts. Through this piece, Osorio-Buck questions that assumption.
In his description of the piece, the artist describes how the mobile lifestyle has been looked down upon since the days of nomadic tribes, yet this lifestyle remains an integral part of American culture. Though used to administer first aid during national disasters like Hurricane Katrina, trailers also symbolize exploration and the frontier. In this piece, Osorio-Buck explores the tension between negative cultural stigma and mobility.
Matt Paul Cleary's art examines completely different themes. Cleary's piece takes up an entire wall, in the center of which lies a life-size, black cutout of the crucified Christ from Matthias Grunewald's "Isenheim Altarpiece," painted in 1512. Grunewald was famous for his gory depictions, and even though the cutout is just a tracing of the figure, its agonized, curled fingers convey the emotion of the original. On either side of the figure are six long rectangles in the image of cell membranes that are each the same height as the figure in the center. The rectangles are lit from behind like neon signs. The overall effect is one of a modern choir apse, with a crucifix in the center framed by stained glass windows.
In his descriptions, Cleary explains that both nature and Christianity entered his life around the same time and both have had an important impact on his art. With his wall-sized piece, Cleary seeks to illustrate that natural beauty is an example of the divine. He brings up religious themes in his art that are not often considered today. Cleary both pushes ahead with his innovative presentation of natural and religious themes and harkens back to older art, as highlighted by his reference to Grunewald.
The other young artists in the exhibit present a variety of other themes in equally unconventional ways. Brynolfson uses film exposed to sunlight to explore an integration of material substances and visual images. Dueck uses childlike imagery and controversial, violent subject matter to examine the gap between fantastical realms and harsh reality. Johnson's work questions the world's dichotomies by presenting thoughts about the afterlife in a commercial way, thus selling eternal life. Kadish explores visual stimuli through his cartoon-like multimedia images, which incorporate rainbows and mushroom clouds. Finally, Warner uses a traditional paint medium to capture a piece of nature-turned-show, with her large, acrylic images of Old Faithful.
The artists in this exhibit display a wide variety of thoughts, themes and forms of expression. Together they demonstrate the ability of individuals to surpass societal monotony.
It all begins with an apology. The beautiful, intelligent Etty Hillesum (played by Anne Gottlieb) seems like the very last person who would need to ask for forgiveness, but she does so nonetheless in a manner that makes the audience's heart ache before even knowing her story. "The Wrestling Patient," making its world premier at the Nancy and Edward Roberts Studio at the Boston Center for the Arts, places the story of a young and disturbed woman in Amsterdam during World War II before the eyes of contemporary viewers.
The play is based on Hillesum's diaries, which were written at the urging of her mentor and lover, Julius Spier (played by Will Lyman). Without agenda or outside judgement, the play presents Hillesum's highly sexualized dreams, suicidal musings and angry outbursts. At once compelling and disquieting, the play delves into the psyche of a woman who must wrestle not with the political and societal evils of her time, but with her own personal demons.
Even if Hillesum's story was not a poignant narrative of a woman and her era (which it is), Gottlieb's stunning portrayal of Hillesum's inner self would still move her audience. Gottlieb unquestionably slides into Hillesum's character, and her psychological battles are so real that it becomes clear to the audience that Hillesum's mental illnesses and hallucinations represent a devastatingly accurate perception of the world around her. Gottlieb's understanding of her character is the result of years of research, and it was her original desire and interest that sparked the play's creation.
Equally captivating was Lyman's performance as the eccentric Julius Spier. Spier founded the field of psychochirology, the study of palm prints in psychology, and in the play it's unclear at times whether he is the patient or the analyst. Strutting about the stage wearing tin foil antennae, Lyman brings to life an unorthodox thinker with the ability to throw about words with both explosive consequences and an endearing tenderness. Lyman and Gottlieb physically wrestle during their sessions together, and their intensity practically explodes upon the stage in a relationship that is taboo both professionally and socially.
The rest of the cast dances about the stage mimicking the shadowy and demonic events that occur around the protagonists. One character, known only as Wrecking Ball (Will McGarrahan), appears to Hillesum and occasionally to the other characters while he slowly deconstructs the set. Wrecking Ball swings in and out of the narrative, an ominous apocalyptic figure that destroys everyone that he encounters. McGarrahan excellently shifts from unpleasant to humorous in his role, bringing a touch of light to the depravity that he symbolizes.
Recently selected as a finalist in the Outstanding New American Play competition administered by Arena Stage and sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts' New Play Development Program, "The Wrestling Patient" has already managed to gain public recognition. The theatrical rewriting of Etty Hillesum's diaries is the result of three artists working in conjunction: Gottlieb initially obtained the rights to tell Hillesum's story, playwright Kirk Lynn joined the project in 2005, and director Katie Pearl was recruited a year later.
While the three creators tried to remain true to Hillesum's voice and writings, inevitably some events and characters were changed in order to translate the story for the stage. However, as Hillesum's life decisions make evident in "The Wrestling Patient," truth is found more in personal evolutions than in the reality that history records. Ultimately, the play presents Hillesum in her truest form: through the difficult decisions that she made and her inner struggles.
"The Wrestling Patient" is showing through April 11 at the Nancy and Edward Roberts Studio in the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts. SpeakEasy Stage Company, Boston Playwright's Theatre and FortyMagnolia's Productions join together to present this world premiere. Student rush tickets are $14 with a college ID one hour before curtain.
