Human Folly Never Goes Out of Style
July 7th, 2009A Midsummer Night turned into a magical event the Friday before last. The St. Louis heat and humidity let up until we were only cozy, and by sundown, the moon was a perfect Cheshire Cat smile. Guests filtered in and out throughout the evening, and the general feedback was that they enjoyed themselves. We now have footage from the occasion for you:
http://www.vimeo.com/5428113In the second to last clip, Director Matthias Waschek remarks how A Midsummer Night’s Dream fits in with the Pulitzer’s current exhibition as an Old Master work with its script, direction, and music. This made me think of other ways particularly the play compares to our current paintings, such as how its ageless themes of human experience (love, dreams, lust, confusion, violence, etc.) make it forever pertinent to society.
Yesterday, I asked people on Facebook and Myspace broadly, “What do you think makes Old Masters relevant to our society today?” and received some thoughtful responses, including that of Facebook fan Paula, who wrote, “…I think every one of those pieces of art speaks to something within the human condition…” Likewise, A Midsummer Night’s Dream deals with the frustrations of desire and how comical humans can be while hooked to their base emotions.
We’ll observe human nature more during A Marathon Metamorphoses, when we read a Classic that must have stirred Shakespeare’s imagination a little. For instance, in Ovid’s story of Cephalus and Procris, we see tragedy associated with one of those seven deadly sins, jealousy. The dysfunctional lovers’ tale is represented in a painting now on display at the Pulitzer, Joachim Wtewael’s Cephalus and Procris (The Death of Procris).
