'Object of Devotion' Exhibition at MoBiA

'Object of Devotion: Medieval English Alabaster Sculpture from the Victoria and Albert Museum' (March 07–June 08, 2014) at MoBiA (Museum of Biblical Art) is the most recent exhibition that I've seen at this small jewel box museum on Broadway & 61st Street.  I had seen a beautiful exhibition of windows and religious objects created by Tiffany there about a year ago.  

The exhibition is free.  Coat and bag check is available at the reception desk just outside the glass doors to the gallery. Photography is not permitted in this exhibition (so I've used photos from MoBiA's internet site).

This exhibition of small alabaster sculptures on loan from the Victoria & Albert Museum in London is installed with great care in a single large gallery.  None of the sculptures is more than about 12"-to-15" wide by 18"-to-25" tall.  They were all created between about 1390 and 1534 A.D.  In 1534, Henry VIII's rubber stamp parliament passed the final decree making the king of England the supreme head of the Church of England.  That lead to the confiscation of the monasteries and the sacking of many major religious objects of art.  The devotional panels on display at MoBiA are probably from private homes, most of modest means, where they had been commissioned for devotional purposes.  Most would have been secreted during the English Reformation to prevent their destruction and to keep the owners safe from persecution.

'The Holy Trinity', alabaster with pigment, circa 1400 A.D.,
courtesy of the Victoria & Albert Museum

This is one of three examples of 'The Holy Trinity' in the exhibition.  In this one, the hands of God and the top of the cross (where the dove representing the Holy Ghost would have been perched) have been destroyed.  Nonetheless, it is a lovely example of Medieval carving in alabaster with exceptionally fine depiction of the drapery on both figures. The composition is formal and symmetrical as in much Medieval art.

'Resurrection of Christ', alabaster with pigment, circa 1400 to 1420 A.D.,
courtesy of the Victoria & Albert Museum

This piece shows Christ climbing out of the tomb, stepping on one of the sleeping Roman soldiers as he departs.  There is a striking contrast between the dynamic figure of Christ in forceful motion and the rest of the figures in repose.  It is almost like a panel in an action hero comic book.

  

'The Harrowing of Hell', alabaster with pigment, circa 1440-1470 A.D.,
courtesy of The Victoria & Albert Museum

'The Harrowing of Hell' depicts Christ's descent into hell to bring salvation to the souls held captive there until his resurrection.  The jaws of hell open wide on the left as a large figure of Christ on the right guides Adam, Eve, John the Baptist (in the first row), and others out of purgatory.  As with many Medieval compositions the size of the figures denotes their importance in Christian mythology with Christ shown nearly twice the height of Adam.

'Coronation of the Virgin', alabaster with pigment, circa 1450 to 1500 A.D.
Courtesy of Victoria & Albert Museum

In this panel the coronation of the central Virgin is administered by the Holy Trinity as two seated angel musicians provide accompaniment.  Note the carver's skill in modelling the figures hands and the drapery of their robes and the symmetrical composition. 

'The Head of Saint John the Baptist', alabaster with gilt and pigment, circa 1470 to 1500 A.D.,
courtesy of the Victoria & Albert Museum

According to the Christian story, after Salome danced for Herod, she persuaded him to reward her with the head of John the Baptist on a silver charger.  Here, the head of the Baptist is presented on an inscribed dish supported by two kneeling angels and surrounded by (clockwise from bottom left) the Virgin and Child, Saint Peter (with his key and bible), two angels with a cloth and baby symbolizing John's soul departing for heaven, Saint Thomas Becket (with his bishop's staff) and Saint Catherine (with her wheel and sword).  A lamb (representing Christ) kneels at the bottom center.

Most of these alabaster panels are crowded, often with figures of Christian saints and martyrs, but also with symbols like the dove and the lamb.  These were all important in the iconography of Medieval religion.  As shown in this exhibition, their depiction required great artistry from the anonymous carvers who created them.  

Liam Scarlett's 'Acheron'

This post has taken a long time to finish because I wasn't that inspired by 'Acheron', which I saw twice -- once at the final dress rehearsal and once on March 1st at the Janie Taylor/Sebastien Marcovici farewell performance.

SATURDAY EVENING, March 1, 8 PM

ACHERON: Adams, Bouder, T. Peck, Veyette, Ramasar, R. Fairchild, Carmena
[Conductor: Otranto; Guest Organist: Michael Hey]

and final dress rehearsal on January 31, 12:45 PM:

NEW SCARLETT (World Premiere): *Krohn, *Bouder, *Mearns, *T. Angle, *Ramasar, *Danchig-Waring, *Huxley
[Guest Organist: Michael Hey]

Liam Scarlett's 'Acheron', is set to Poulenc's 'Concerto for Organ, Strings and Tympani'.  'Acheron' is one of the five rivers in the underworld according to Greek mythology (along with the more familiar river Styx). It was a stream for the cleansing of sins and healing of souls upon their entry into the underworld -- kind of like the 'River Jordan' in Christian mythology.  Scarlett used another reference to the Greek mythical underground, 'Asphodel Meadows', as the title to his first major work for the Royal Ballet (2011) where we was named 'Artist in Residence' in 2012.  That work also used music by Poulenc, his 'Double Piano Concerto'.  

'Acheron' is plotless, but certainly used the Greek mythological reference as a point of departure, especially for the murky 'underground' lighting design.  There are three principal couples plus a male soloist and five corps couples. They are dressed in costumes designed by Scarlett -- the women bare-legged in light, knee-length dresses shading to dark reddish brown on the top of the bodices; the men bare-chested in light, knee-length tights shading to dark reddish brown toward the knees.  Bare-legged ballerinas always look unflattering to my eye -- with thigh and calf muscles more harshly exposed by light and shadow.  The men's costumes have the unfortunate effect of making them look longer-waisted and shorter-legged than they really are.  Amar Ramasar was an exception, looking sleek (and dancing with great strength and impact) because the dark bottom of the tights blended with his darker skin tone while the lighter-skinned men have an awkward break just below the knees that divides their legs into zones.

Ashley Bouder & Amar Ramasar in Liam Scarlett's 'Acheron', photo by Andrea Mohin for the NY Times

In the cast on Saturday evening (first cast shown in parentheses), Sara Adams & Andrew Veyette (or Rebecca Krohn & Tyler Angle) seemed the most tender couple, Tiler Peck & Robert Fairchild (or Sara Mearns & Adrian Danchig-Waring) seemed the most enthralled, and Ashley Bouder & Amar Ramasar seemed the most passionate.  (The three couples in Jerome Robbins' 'In the Night' come to mind). Ashley & Amar danced in the premier and had replaced Megan Fairchild and Gonzalo Garcia by March 1st.  Antonio Carmena as the solo man on March 1st was fine, but seemed a bit too solid as the lone soul observing the other pairs and seeming to be searching for his own mate. The elegant and enigmatic Anthony Huxley in the first cast gave the role a completely different aura of longing and desperation.

The opening moments are stunning as Sara Adams (or Rebecca Krohn) emerges from a flowing river of bodies to find Andrew Veyette (or Tyler Angle) .  What follows is an intense series of choreographic miniatures often with couples in canonical mirroring and expanding phrases -- among principal couples and between principal and corps couples. 

Sara Mearns & Adrian Danchig-Waring, Amar Ramasar & Ashley Bouder in 'Acheron',
photo by Andrea Mohin for NY Times

There are lots of tricky and strenuous lifts for the three principal couples as well as occasional pyrotechnics -- like a whiplash fast series of chaine turns from Ashley.

The dancing from both casts was gorgeous and you could see how their confidence in handling the tricky partnering had increased in the intervening month.  There's a snippet of a pas de deux for Sara Mearns and Adrian Danchig-Waring on the NYC Ballet website here:  http://www.nycballet.com/ballets/a/new-scarlett.aspx 

Sara Mearns & Adrian Danchig-Waring in Liam Scarlett's 'Acheron', photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The trouble is that what they were dancing was only sporadically interesting.  This work follows a trend in contemporary choreography -- what I've labeled 'ADHD ballets' -- where choreographic snippets are grafted together without overall coherence. Dancers seem to enter and leave the stage without providing much sense of any larger structure to the work.  It all relates to the music that's being played at the time, but doesn't necessarily add to our enjoyment of it or lead us to a better understanding of its structure.  The same lack of choreographic architecture plagues many recent plotless ballets.  

The Poulenc music was nicely interpreted by the orchestra under Maestra Clotilde Otranto with the guest organist, Michael Hey.  They emphasized the impressionistic murmurings of the opening and the jarring tensions later on. It's an interesting score and obviously lends itself to choreographic interpretation (Glen Tetley used it for 'Voluntaries' at the Stuttgart Ballet which was later staged at ABT and PNB among other companies).


  

Balanchine's 'Walpurgisnacht Ballet'

SATURDAY EVENING, March 1, 8 PM

WALPURGISNACHT BALLET: Mearns, Danchig-Waring, Lovette, Villwock, Isaacs [Guest Conductor: Christensen]

This program 'a la Francaise' was put together as an evening of all French music.  With the announcement that Janie Taylor and Sebastien Marcovici were retiring, it was subsumed into their farewell performance.  However, the most exciting dancing of the evening came in Balanchine's 'Walpurgisnacht Ballet' to the ballet music from Gounod's opera, 'Faust'.

Balanchine had originally choreographed to this music for productions of the opera at the Opera de Monte-Carlo in 1925; at the Metropolitan Opera in 1935; and at the Opera Nacional in Mexico City in 1945.  Balanchine created this particular choreography in 1975 for a production of 'Faust' by the Paris Opera where it was danced by the Paris Opera Ballet.

It was first performed as a stand alone ballet by the NYC Ballet in May, 1980, with Suzanne Farrell, Adam Luders and Heather Watts leading the first cast.  One of my ballet friends recalls that Balanchine created a scandal by using the bombastic music obviously intended for a showy male variation for one of Farrell's variations.  Farrell recalls that Balanchine came in at the last minute to 'rearrange and rechoreograph' the work after it had been staged for NYC Ballet by Brigette Thom of the Paris Opera Ballet.  

The entire ballet is a celebration of femininity.  Luders was an excellent partner, but not the epitome of virility on stage (we referred to him as the 'white rabbit' because on stage he was so pale and always appeared to be scared of his own shadow).  As the only man in the cast, Adam's primary functions were to partner Farrell, perform one innocuous variation, and catch her when she made a spectacular leap onto his shoulder at the finale.

Balanchine used a typical ballet hierarchy for this work -- a corps of 16 women, four demi-soloists, two soloists, a secondary ballerina, and the principle couple.

The cast on Saturday evening was splendid.  Adrian Danchig-Waring (who had debuted in the role the previous Wednesday) looked virile, partnered Mearns with gracious ease and danced his scant variation with panache.  Lauren Lovette (who had also debuted on Wednesday) danced with great musicality in the secondary ballerina role.  She's a gorgeous young woman whose dancing projects warmth and confidence.

Sara Mearns and Ask La Cour in 'Walpurgisnacht Ballet', photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Sara Mearns has made 'Walpurgisnacht' one of her signature roles, completely displacing memories of Farrell and Kyra Nichols, the two other great exponents of the role.  The lovely Gounod music seems to emanate from Sara's pliant lower back, radiate through her arms and legs, and linger in her fingertips and toes.  She doesn't dance to the music so much as she becomes it.

Sara Mearns in 'Walpurgisnacht Ballet' by Balanchine, photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

 
This is no mean feat when the orchestra, under guest conductor Henrik Vagn Christensen, threatened to disintegrate at Sara's feet.  Her diagonal of alternating chaine turns and pirouettes literally replaced the disjointed jumble of notes coming from the pit.

Corps women in finale of 'Walpurgisnacht Ballet' by Balanchine, photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The finale of the ballet is always a bit of a mess with all of the women loosening their hair and dancing in barely controlled abandon (it is after all 'the witches sabbath') -- leading to Sara's final triumphant leap onto Adrian's sturdy shoulder.

'Walpurgisnacht' is far from top drawer Balanchine, but when it is performed by such outstanding dancers it becomes irresistible.

   

Janie Taylor & Sebastien Marcovici Farewell Performance

SATURDAY EVENING, March 1, 8 PM
JANIE TAYLOR AND SÉBASTIEN MARCOVICI FAREWELL PERFORMANCE
AFTERNOON OF A FAUN: Taylor, Marcovici [Guest Conductor: Christensen]
pause
LA VALSE: Taylor, Marcovici, J. Angle, Kayali, Segin, Schumacher, Pollack, Applebaum, Arthurs, Scordato, Smith, Muller, Anderson [Guest Conductor: Christensen]

The Taylor/Marcovici farewell performance featured them in two works -- Robbins' 'Afternoon of a Faun' and Balanchine's 'La Valse' -- created by the two great choreographers for their shared muse, Tanaquil LeClercq. 

Tanaquil LeClercq with Francisco Moncion, the original cast of 'Afternoon of a Faun', photo by Melton

Janie has been a dancer of fragile, almost tenuous grace, most comfortable in the repertory's romantic roles -- the Sleepwalker in 'La Sonambula', the 'waltz girl' in 'Serenade', the ballerina in 'Scotch Symphony' come to mind.  Illness and injuries have sapped her technique, but never her uniquely ethereal stage beauty.

Sebastien has been known primarily for his roles in Balanchine's 'leotard' ballets like 'Four Temperaments', 'Stravinsky Violin Concerto', and 'Agon'.  His stage persona is astringent, angular and muscular -- and though he has been a dependable partner he has never had great on-stage rapport with his ballerinas.

Paired in performance, they are yin and yang -- vulnerability and strength; delicacy and power.  Their most successful pairing was probably in Balanchine's 'Liebeslieder Walzer'.  A performance of 'Liebeslieder' became the occasion for Sebastien's marriage proposal.
 

Sebastien Marcovici and Janie Taylor at their August, 2012 wedding, photo by Wendy Whelan

Unfortunately, their 'Faun' on Saturday evening didn't emit much of the heat and sensuality that can make this work so appealing.  You'd think as a married couple Janie and Sebastien would exude the romantic chemistry that should develop here between Robbins' two ballet students alone in a ballet studio.  Instead they seemed more comfortable emphasizing the work's balletic narcissism and downplaying it's sexual tension.  The work sagged as a result.

Janie Taylor & Sebastien Marcovici in 'La Valse', photo by Yana Paskova for NYTimes

In the weirdly sinister world of 'La Valse' Janie and Sebastien dance together in a fairly brief section in the middle of the ballet, but just as they are beginning to build an intense relationship it is cut short by 'fate'. 
  

Janie Taylor & Sebastien Marcovici in Balanchine's 'La Valse',
photo from NYC Ballet website probably by Paul Kolnik

Jared Angle, as the death figure, lures Janie with foreboding gifts (black necklace, black gloves, black frock) and then sweeps her into a dance of death. It's rather odd that the couple who first came to our attention as the leads in the 1998 SAB workshop performances of Balanchine's 'Gounod Symphony' -- Janie and Jared -- should be the couple that danced the last waltz of Janie's ballet career.  Jared made his debut in the role this week.  He is chilling and implacable. Janie is covetous and vulnerable.  Janie dies, Jared disappears, Sebastien despairs.

Sebastien Marcovici (left), Janie Taylor and the company in final moments of 'La Valse',
photo from NYC Ballet website, probably by Paul Kolnik

The white-gloved arms and hands of the soloists and corps are so important in setting the creepy mood for this work. The entire company provided a wonderful framework for the two principals' farewell.  I single out Kristin Segin & Troy Schumacher, Faye Arthurs & Andrew Scordato, and Gwyneth Muller for special praise for their work in establishing the ominous atmosphere in the early sections of this ballet.   


Between the two farewell ballets we had the new work, 'Acheron', by the British choreographer Liam Scarlett to Poulenc's 'Organ Concerto'  and Balanchine's 'Walpurgisnacht Ballet' to Gounod's ballet score from the opera 'Faust' (which I'll discuss in separate posts).


The guest conductor for these two works was Henrik Vagn Christensen.  Here he kept the players together, but offered no special insights on these iconic, well-known scores.  I would characterize his approach as generic rather than inspired.

Janie and Sebastien are off to Los Angeles where Sebastien will become the ballet master of L.A. Dance Project, Benjamin Millipied's West Coast company.  I wish them well in their new endeavors.  Their special gifts will be missed at NYC Ballet.

'The Monuments Men'

We went to see George Clooney's 'The Monuments Men' yesterday afternoon.  It takes the very serious and seriously interesting story of the Allies search for art and architecture looted, stolen and destroyed by the Nazis during World War II and turns it into a kind of 'Ocean's 13.5' caper movie.  It's entertaining, but Clooney has trouble deciding if it's a comedy or an action movie or a serious look at a very difficult and disturbing aspect of that war.

The cast includes serious actors (Cate Blanchett, Hugh Bonneville), major stars (Clooney, Matt Damon), character actors (Bob Balaban, Jean Dujardin, Dimitri Leonidas) and comedians (Bill Murray, John Goodman) which adds to the confused tone.  The result is lots of loose ends and unexplored subplots.

Tying the plot to two masterpieces of western art -- the Ghent Altarpiece by Van Eyck and the Bruges Madonna by Michelangelo (more below) -- looted by the Nazis greatly simplifies the potential sprawl of the subject matter. Focusing on these works, lends some narrative structure to the film, but what about the art stolen from Jews? art looted from French museums? art seized by the Russians? architectural treasures destroyed by both the Axis powers and the Allies during the war?  All of these questions are raised during the movie, but none are adequately addressed.

It is a most unsatisfying gloss on questions that remain unresolved to this day.  George Clooney is to be commended for raising the subject, but not for providing much more than that in this disappointing movie.

We've seen both works more than once and they are indeed significant works of art.

Michelangelo's 'Bruge Madonna'

'Madonna with the Infant Jesus' by Michelangelo, marble, 1501-1504,
Church of Our Lady, Bruges, Belgium,
photo by Blomme/McClure, 1971 

This photo was taken in 1971 before an anarchist attacked Michelangelo's 'Pieta' at the Vatican.  Both sculptures are now protected by bullet-proof glass.  There is a distinct resemblance between the Madonnas in Bruges and Rome. Both are stoic and a bit sad.  In Bruges, the Madonna regards her child taking his first steps into the world with both resignation and apprehension.  In Rome, of course, she knows that her apprehension was well-founded as she cradles her dead son following his crucifixion.

Van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece 
The Ghent altarpiece is an enormous amalgamation of 12 panels painted on wood by Jan Van Eyck for an altarpiece which was designed and possibly assembled by his brother, Hubert Van Eyck, for St. Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent.  The outer panels are painted on both sides and mounted on hinged doors which can be closed.  The upper register of four paintings on the obverse side compose a glowing 'Annunciation to the Virgin Mary':

'Archangel Gabriel Making the Annunciation' obverse panel from the 'Ghent Altarpiece' 
by Van Eyck, 1432, oil on wood panel, Saint Bavo Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium,
photo by Blomme/McClure, 1986

'The Virgin Mary Receiving Annunciation' obverse panel from the 'Ghent Altarpiece' 
by Van Eyck, 1432, oil on wood panel, Saint Bavo Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium,
photo by Blomme/McClure, 1986

The central panel in the lower register on the inside shows the adoration of the sacred lamb representing Christ surrounded by angels and worshiped by male martyrs (upper left), female martyrs (upper right), Old Testament prophets and pagan writers (left foreground) and male saints (right foreground).  To modern sensibilities these seem like strange dichotomies, but they probably made sense to viewers in 1432.

'Adoration of the Mystic Lamb' panel from the 'Ghent Altarpiece' by Van Eyck, 
oil on wood panel, 1432, Saint Bavo Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium,
photo by Blomme/McClure, 1986

The picture is filled with religious symbolism as well as a skyline of recognizable Belgian landmarks including the tower of Utrecht Cathedral just to the left of the sun.

'The Dying Gaul' at the National Gallery of Art

On my January visit to the National Gallery of Art, I became reacquainted with 'The Dying Gaul', displayed in the rotunda of the East Building in a special one-work exhibition.

'The Dying Gaul' installed in Rotunda of National Gallery of Art East Building,
photo from National Gallery of Art website

We had originally seen this world famous sculpture at the Capitoline Museums in Rome, where it sits in the center of a gallery surrounded by other statues from Roman antiquity.

'The Dying Gaul' at the Capitoline Museum, Rome, photo by Blomme/McClure 2001

'The Dying Gaul' from the rear in the Capitoline Museum, Rome, photo by Blomme/McClure, 2001

In both settings it is a splendid work of art from the first or second century A.D.  It was dug up around 1621-23 in the gardens of the Villa Ludovisi in Rome.  Experts believe that it is a copy of even earlier Greek bronze thought to be created to honor the victory of the king of Pergamon over the Gauls in the third century B.C.  The Gauls were known for fighting nude with only their weapons, so the depiction of the wounded warrior naked except for a sword, a trumpet and a necklace has been deemed an accurate portrayal of a Gaul dying on the battlefield.

Following its discovery, it became such a famous sculpture that Napoleon's armies took it to Paris for display in the Louvre from 1797 to 1816.  Upon its return to Rome, the Capitoline museum became a featured stop on the 'grand tour' during the 18th and 19th centuries, wherein European gentlemen furthered their appreciation of the antiquities.

Isolated in the National Gallery's rotunda with better lighting, I was more keenly aware of both the extraordinary realism and incredible beauty of this wonderful, justly famed work.

'The Dying Gaul' on loan from the Capitoline Museum, Rome, marble, 2nd or 3rd century A.D.
 on display in the Rotunda of the National Gallery of Art, photo by McClure, 2014

JR's Art Project for NYC Ballet Reconsidered

I was hasty in criticizing JR's photo-mural on the floor of the promenade at New York State (Koch) Theater for encroaching on Philip Johnson's gorgeous space.  I still do believe that the space is better left unadorned.  But on second and third viewing during subsequent visits, the JR work itself does have resonance.  It resembles one of those wonderful ceilings in baroque churches and palaces except that it's underfoot and the glorious gods and goddesses are beloved members of New York City Ballet.  The entire piece is in the shape of a giant eye which can best be appreciated from one of the upper rings.

JR's eye from the west end of the fourth tier, photo by McClure

It's interesting to see the audience interact with the piece -- something missing from my first view of the installation at a dress rehearsal.  With audience members walking over the floor, casting moving shadows and interacting with the images makes it more interesting.  Also, it's surprising to watch them searching for a favorite dancer.  And almost shocking to see them lie down next to them. 

Two people lying in the 'pupil' of JR's eye installation at State Theater as others walk by, photo McClure

The group of dancers forming the 'iris' are like carytids gracefully holding up some far off temple on the Acropolis -- particularly the gorgeous Faye Arthurs in a blush pink leotard.

Anthony Huxley and Faye Arthurs in JR's 'iris', photo by McClure

Here are a few other favorite dancers spotted around the installation in no particular order.

Harrison Coll and Rob Fairchild with admirers, photo by McClure

Silas Farley as part of the 'iris', photo by McClure

Ashley Bouder with an observer, photo by McClure

Olivia Boisson in anti-gravity mode, photo by McClure

Craig Hall dreaming among shadows and scuffs, photo by McClure