Posterity
happy march to all!
here, march started with some romantic snowfall, and an interesting play. the first of march of 2015 is the first time i ever went to the theater without doing any research on the play i was to see. two days before i was offered a ticket to posterity, at the atlantic theater company for sunday evening. all i knew was that it was about a sculptor. i am surprised to say that though i won't be doing it again, this near ignorance served as the grounds for a very interesting evening, as it was an engrossing experience.
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the story evolves around a confrontation between gustav vigeland, a great norwegian scultpor, and a most unwilling sitter, henrik ibsen. an interesting war begins between them and as a viewer you become engulfed in the issues that arise. what does it mean to be remembered? how true can a portrait be of someone, and their psyche? is sight always subjective? and even more, how well are we aware of ourselves throughout life and especially towards its end?
as ibsen is confronted by an equally arrogant as himself, vigeland with aspects of his life from which he had kept himself blissfully concealed, you begin to watch both their transformations on the scene not only as questions on what a legacy truly consists of are debated, but an immense amount of guilt arise in both. john noble (ibsen) was remarkable. his expressions and movements kept the mind on a constant ride while at some point it was almost questioned whether he actually did have a heart attack on the very stage. equally so was hamish lanklater who played the sculptor could make you love and despise him within the span of two minutes. not to make it sound all to serious, posterity was equally touching, concerning and funny. the inside jokes on history throughout the play are delicious my favorite being the reference to james joyce's positive review of one of ibsen's plays while he was only a mere student. you had to be there (joke).
one more thing i noticed about the play was the introduction of deeper subjects than even those of the storyline itself. there is a debate about art and art forms. the question of the future of sculpture, if any at all, comes up contrasting to the new forms of painting that were being introduced. even more interesting was the discussion on the concept of the artist. at some point vigeland's patron quotes "an artist is a craftsman with an ego" and for a moment, just before you're drawn back into the story you are left to wonder what an artist really is. as an art historian, let me tell you that was a rather pleasant surprise. finally, you come to consider the bust as an art form as well. while throughout the play, the sculptor laments for his fate of always having to portray arrogant men of politics and power rather than being left free to indulge in his personal artistic vision, the play writer hints at a change of mind. as the story progresses and you become more and more aware of the fragility of life the bust becomes an outlet to make right all that ibsen had made wrong. it comes to encompass vague concepts and not simply realistic facial characteristics. and while a bust is still portraiture thus tied to politics and "being a means to an end", you come to understand that in the end, as a work it is also a legacy, better than any possession one might leave behind.
one thing i may note was that the end was somewhat abrupt. after some thought it can be understood, but it still leaves you with a sudden surprise as to whether you should clap or wait a bit more. scenographically, the play was also interesting. there was meaning hidden behind every decision, something enhanced by the lighting. overall, posterity was a very pleasing experience and i'd recommend it to anyone interested in the arts, in theater and especially in biographical stories.
the story evolves around a confrontation between gustav vigeland, a great norwegian scultpor, and a most unwilling sitter, henrik ibsen. an interesting war begins between them and as a viewer you become engulfed in the issues that arise. what does it mean to be remembered? how true can a portrait be of someone, and their psyche? is sight always subjective? and even more, how well are we aware of ourselves throughout life and especially towards its end?
as ibsen is confronted by an equally arrogant as himself, vigeland with aspects of his life from which he had kept himself blissfully concealed, you begin to watch both their transformations on the scene not only as questions on what a legacy truly consists of are debated, but an immense amount of guilt arise in both. john noble (ibsen) was remarkable. his expressions and movements kept the mind on a constant ride while at some point it was almost questioned whether he actually did have a heart attack on the very stage. equally so was hamish lanklater who played the sculptor could make you love and despise him within the span of two minutes. not to make it sound all to serious, posterity was equally touching, concerning and funny. the inside jokes on history throughout the play are delicious my favorite being the reference to james joyce's positive review of one of ibsen's plays while he was only a mere student. you had to be there (joke).
one more thing i noticed about the play was the introduction of deeper subjects than even those of the storyline itself. there is a debate about art and art forms. the question of the future of sculpture, if any at all, comes up contrasting to the new forms of painting that were being introduced. even more interesting was the discussion on the concept of the artist. at some point vigeland's patron quotes "an artist is a craftsman with an ego" and for a moment, just before you're drawn back into the story you are left to wonder what an artist really is. as an art historian, let me tell you that was a rather pleasant surprise. finally, you come to consider the bust as an art form as well. while throughout the play, the sculptor laments for his fate of always having to portray arrogant men of politics and power rather than being left free to indulge in his personal artistic vision, the play writer hints at a change of mind. as the story progresses and you become more and more aware of the fragility of life the bust becomes an outlet to make right all that ibsen had made wrong. it comes to encompass vague concepts and not simply realistic facial characteristics. and while a bust is still portraiture thus tied to politics and "being a means to an end", you come to understand that in the end, as a work it is also a legacy, better than any possession one might leave behind.
one thing i may note was that the end was somewhat abrupt. after some thought it can be understood, but it still leaves you with a sudden surprise as to whether you should clap or wait a bit more. scenographically, the play was also interesting. there was meaning hidden behind every decision, something enhanced by the lighting. overall, posterity was a very pleasing experience and i'd recommend it to anyone interested in the arts, in theater and especially in biographical stories.
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