Conversations in Art: The Still Center where Painting, Music and Theater Meet

From Artistic Director Tom Oppenheim:

The three painters we focus on are Pablo Picasso, Romare Bearden and Marc Chagall. These painters, so devoted to their own visual art, were actively engaged with the performing arts at large in very much the same way Stella Adler expected actors to activity engage in the arts beyond theater. They all have specific work devoted to dance, music and theater. And their work in turn provided inspiration to performing artists.

The idea for this show began with a book: Picasso and Theater.  In this book which contains the images of Picasso on display here I read, “In his early years, Picasso discovered the theater as a source of inspiration and motifs for his art. Characters came from carnivals and vaudeville, and Comedia dell’ Arte, figures such as Harlequin and Pierrot were key. Sad clowns became emotional figures with which the artist identified.”

Once the idea for this show came to me my mind turned to perhaps the greatest playwright in American History, August Wilson and the painter most closely associated with him Romare Bearden. I turned to my book, The Art of Romare Bearden where I found art images of wish are on display here. But for context and explanation I turned to another book: An American Odyssey, The Life and Work of Romare Bearden by Mary Schmidt Campbell. Ms. Campbell addresses thoroughly and lyrically Bearden’s various interactions and cross pollinations with poets such Dereck Wolcott, novelists such as Ralph Ellison, musicians as Branford and Wynton Marsalis as well of playwright August Wilson. I learned that the title for the Wilson play The Piano came from the title of one of Romare Bearden’s painting of the same title. An image of that painting is included in this exhibition.

While Angela Vitale suggested the inclusion of Marc Chagall in the show supported enthusiastically by Sierra Jackson and Ella Rivers it was the book, Marc Chagall and the Jewish Theater, that supplied the images and context for this part of the exhibition. While primarily a painter, Chagall was a multidimensional and multidisciplinary artists with a very broad artistic focus. A lover of literature and many friendships with writers Chagall was an early modernist, he was associated with the École de Paris as well as several major artistic styles and created works in a wide range of artistic formats, including painting, drawings, book illustrations, stained glass, ceramics, tapestries and fine art prints. In addition to all this he was a theater artist designing sets and costumes. For example Marc Chagall was hired to design sets and costumes for the State Jewish Chamber Theater in 1920.

I offer these thoughts and have built this show in effort to celebrate the spirit of Adler and Stella’s unique vision of an actor: Actor as ever evolving human being, culturally connected, intellectually engaged, socially aware. I pray for a day Adler alums and active students as well as all who teach, direct and administrate here celebrate the interactivity of the arts. May we all dance a song of joy for the collective efforts of the arts at large to reflect and at the same to build a world we share together.