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Visual Art: Theater: Theater:
New
Work by Graff and Spilman Ron Graff and Craig Spilman, two longtime, influential art instructors are showing new work at Karin Clarke Gallery consisting entirely of still lifes and landscapes.
Graff, who teaches at UO, is known for his predilection for still lifes: flowers and fruit, vases and bowls, utensils and shells, and a saxophone. Two kinds of compositions predominate. The first evokes Giorgio Morandi's still lifes. Objects are presented either in isolation or side-by-side on a shelf or tabletop, against an unspecified background, positioned centrally. Towers of stacked objects are thus juxtaposed in Strawberry Basket. The edge of a shelf, the corner of a wall, sometimes barely suggested (White Camellia), minimally define the space around the objects. The indifferent alignment of unrelated objects conveys an impression of arbitrariness, especially when they stand side-by-side, like strangers avoiding touch. Whatever connection exists among the elements is one of purely formal, abstract relationship, one that dismisses more conventional aesthetic groupings. In the other compositional layout Graff employs, objects are more traditionally staggered from front to back. The sense of depth thus created may be further reinforced by tabletops and other furniture angled obliquely across the picture plane (Contralto Lezione). Yet linear perspective is undermined when parallels diverge instead of converging toward a vanishing point (Italian Vase), or when no single vantage point allows for the multiple perspectives (Sewing Cabinet). Replete with references to Cézanne — the space, the table's tilt, the apples, forms created by planes of color – Graff coyly limits Sewing Cabinet by keeping the prominent bouquet of camellias in a wholly distinct style. Subtle color mixing and the application of paint are Graff's trademark. The elements in the still lifes are united by their color relationship. Objects in all their configurations are pretexts for color, Graff's true subject-matter. The attraction lies in the sensuality of Graff's paintwork, the wealth of his palette, with its colors subtle, muted, yet always alive with a glow achieved even without glazing medium. Immerse yourself in the range of soft, rich whites in White Camellia, where the play of light across creamy surfaces and exquisite sense of color evokes the memory of Chardin. Graff demonstrates greater emotional response with the subject-matter itself in two landscapes, both painted from memory of his native South Dakota, odes to immense flat space and broad skies, with echoes of solitude. Spilman, who taught over 30 years at LCC before retiring in 2002, puts the emphasis on landscape rather than still life. His choice of subjects is quite remarkable. He eschews the dramatic, settling instead for bare, thankless settings. Valley Series #22 is extraordinary precisely because it is almost a non-landscape, a wide featureless scrub under a sliver of distant sky. And yet, much is happening. The scrub is alive with rhythm and tonality. Step back, and you will discern subtle shifts in density, as if animals had passed through.
Spilman's pencil strokes range from bold and forceful to delicate and light. The marks are often strongly directional, providing movement and rhythm as well as texture. The energy appears barely contained on the paper, yet each individual stroke is precisely controlled. Valley Series #17 is a particularly lovely composition. Clouds, trees and grasses, each with their own rhythmic score, harmonize into a musical whole. Line and value contrast lead the eye through the scene. Despite the dark masses of vegetation and clouds, we are left with an impression of luminosity from the light hitting the naked tree branches. Refreshingly different is the mood of Study For House On A White Hill With Trees, with its discreet surrealism and stark fantasy of shadow and light. I would be delighted to see further work in this vein. Island Park Reflections, a monotype, hovers between realism and abstraction, and relies powerfully on the unstated. Spilman's paintings, mostly watercolors, also flirt with abstraction. Works such as Reflections and Valley Series #2 start with a minimalist setting and push it further toward abstraction by accentuating the spareness of elements. Time is running out for this show. Be sure to see it.
Theater
for a Cause Looking for something to do on Oct. 3? How about a fun-filled evening of entertainment at the Hult Center followed by a festive reception of food and wine, all for a worthy cause? Willamette Repertory Theatre presents Ashland Salutes Willamette Rep., an annual, one-night-only gala event featuring actors from Ashland's Oregon Shakespeare Festival, who perform everything from comedic skits and poetry readings to musical numbers, Shakespearean monologues and scenes from a variety of plays.
"It's very unique," says Director of Development and Marketing Kori Irons. "The actors all volunteer. Year after year they keep coming back. It's fun for them because it gives them a chance to do whatever they want and we don't know what they're going to do." Kirk Boyd, artistic director at Willamette Rep., concurs. "Actors love to play," he says. "Every year, it's different. They're stunning. And for them to give a day off to perform, it's as flattering as it can possibly be." Although the Ashland actors jump at the opportunity to showcase their copious talents, the most important incentive for performing is that proceeds from the show benefit Theatre Alive!, an educational outreach program developed by Kirk Boyd in 1999 to introduce theater to kids. Serving a 10-county region and the largest program of its kind in the state, the program makes it possible for middle and high school students to attend live professional productions. "It's the only benefit that we do, and it ties in with who we are," Irons says. Theatre Alive! is different than other educational theater programs in that Willamette Rep. performs the full play "so that students can get the full experience," Irons explains. For many students, especially from rural areas, it's their first experience seeing live professional theater at the Hult Center. Willamette Repertory works with teachers and schools, providing companion study guides to stimulate classroom learning. "We send packages out to the teachers," Irons says. "Some come year after year religiously." However, even though the program is strong and growing, funds are especially needed to help schools facing transportation challenges, particularly with rising gas prices. For ticket information, call the Hult Center box office at 682-5000 or visit the Web site at www.willrep.org
Step
Right Up and Kill a President! It's disturbingly funny to watch Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme confront John Hinckley about his obsession with Jodie Foster. In a particularly unsettling scene from Lord Leebrick's Assassins, Fromme makes fun of Hinckley as he swoons over a picture of the Hollywood star while extolling the virtues of her lover, Charles Manson.
It's this combination of cynicism, sarcasm and compassion that make the production of this Tony Award-winning musical so memorable. Written by Steven Sondheim and John Weidman, the plot traces assassins and would-be assassins from John Wilkes Booth (Lincoln) up through John Hinckley (Reagan). The theater is arranged with the audience surrounding the carnival "shooting gallery" at the center, complete with flashing lights: yellow with a winning sound if the president died, red with a buzzer for the assassins who missed. Musical Director Vicki Brabham's live ensemble adds to the circusy feel. The set design also underscores a central theme of the play: inclusion in the system versus isolation and exclusion. At the moments when they are most alone, the actors are often outside or off the center stage. When they are included, even as part of the community of other assassins, they're on it. It is the empathy of loneliness that gives the audience compassion for the assassins who, for the most part, either want to be a bigger part of their country or believe that what they do is for a good cause. Assassins from different time periods interact with each other throughout the play with John Wilkes Booth, played by Michael Watkins, giving guidance and "moral" support to future assassins. In a stirring finale, the assassins of the past and future confront Lee Harvey Oswald and convince him to shoot John F. Kennedy, ensuring their relevance both to the past and the present. Richard Leebrick gives the most gripping performance of the play as Samuel Byck, the out-of-work Massachusetts tire salesman who attempted to hijack a plane and fly it into the White House to kill Richard Nixon. Leebrick spends his more dramatic scenes alone, dressed in a Santa Claus suit with crushed Budweiser cans stuffed into his boots, ranting into a tape recorder. His monologues, which are "letters" to different famous people including Leonard Bernstein, make it clear that Byck no longer believes the country's leaders care about the average Joe. As Sara Jane Moore and Fromme, Connie Hymer and Kimberly Bates have some damn funny moments in their scenes together — their attempted assassination of Gerald Ford is a comedy of errors. And Larry George, playing the carnival's proprietor, distinguishes himself from the cast with his incredible voice. The rest of the performances, Benjamin Newman as Lee Harvey Oswald, Al Villaneuva as Giuseppe Zangara (Roosevelt), Matt Musgrove as Leon Czolgosz (McKinley) and Don Kelley as Charles Guiteau (Garfield), display the humor and poignancy characteristic of the entire play. Assassins runs through Oct. 16, Thursday to Saturday with Sunday matinees on Oct. 9 and 16. Tickets are $10-$18 and can be purchased by calling 465-1506.
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