ART AND ACTIVISM: Inspiring People’s Souls from the Brooklyn Museum to the Riant Theatre’s Strawberry One-Act Festival

 Wadsworth A. Jarrell (American, b. 1929). Revolutionary (Angela Davis), 1971. Acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 64 x 51 in. (162.6 x 129.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of R.M. Atwater, Anna Wolfrom Dove, Alice Fiebiger, Joseph Fiebiger, Belle Campbell Harriss, and Emma L. Hyde, by exchange; Designated Purchase Fund, Mary Smith Dorward Fund, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, and Carll H. de Silver Fund, 2012.80.18. © Wadsworth Jarrell

Introduction by Nik Whitcomb

Nik Whitcomb

Often art is merely seen as a source of spectacle. Audiences, especially those of the modern day, experience it with the sole purpose of being entertained and going home with a smile on their face. This, however, was not the reason for the creation of art. It is something that has been a part of society from the beginning of time and came about as a method of storytelling. Stories are still told through art today, but I was reminded of the impact that art can have on our trip to the Brooklyn Museum this past week.

Ai Weiwei, 2012. Photo by Gao Yuan

            Currently the museum is featuring four exhibitions centered around activism: “According to What?” by contemporary Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei, “Submerged Motherlands” by Brooklyn-based environmental activist Swoon, “Chicago in L.A.” by feminist artist Judy Chicago, and “Witness: Art and Civil Rights in the Sixties” by a collection of civil rights activists of the time.

Norman Rockwell

As a Black man it was interesting to see my history displayed through art in the “Witness” exhibit, but I also noticed the impact that the art had on those around me. I heard a woman behind me say, “This was just a little over fifty years ago. This is not ancient history,” as I was walking through and the experience became much more intense. That was when I realized that this was not a “feel-good” type of entertainment. It is fun to look at now, but when it was created this art was tackling big issues and giving a voice to those that are often silenced. This is something that is lost in most modern art today and it is in our mission at the Riant to present purposeful and timely pieces that highlight real things that are happening in our society today.

Conscious Dilemmas Exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum
By Catherine Macleod Daigle

As Nik mentioned, the Brooklyn Museum has aimed to confront how modern art is combined with social justice movements. Instead of stories being just for entertainment, stories become a way for people to confront dilemmas surrounding them. Both artists and audiences can benefit from using art as a way to think about issues we struggle with in the 21st century.

 

Think about the famed Frida Kahlo for instance. She channeled the pain from her traumatic life into her art in order to process everything around her. Viewers can look at this pain, and be inspired to think about the many important topics she brings up, such as the loss of a child or the difficulty of grasping one’s own identity. While this isn’t activism per se, it does inspires activist-like thinking.

 

The Brooklyn Museum expands upon these ideas with an exhibit on the Civil Rights Movement, as well as showcasing work by Ai Weiwei, the famed Chinese modern artist. His exhibit spans both the 5th and 4th floors of the building and studies the freedom of expression in countries around the world, focusing on the United States and China. By juxtaposing all his ideas in one place, he reveals the similarities between them and how art is capable of uniting previously separated forces. 

Ai Weiwei (Chinese, b. 1957). R itual (detail), 2011-2013. From the work S.A.C.R.E.D., 2011‒13. One of six dioramas in fiberglass and iron,
148 3/8 x 78 x 60 1/5 in. (377 x 198 x 153 cm). Courtesy of Ai Weiwei Studio. © Ai Weiwei

The Riant Theatre, A Reflection Of Our Lives
By Nathiel Tejada 

The Riant Theatre has done and is currently presenting art contemplating activism similar to the different art pieces displayed at the Brooklyn Museum. Riant Theatre uses art as activism by presenting plays concerning many of the social issues we are tackling today. The Outing by Afrika Brown and Code of Silence by Van Fisher are two plays that deal with important and unavoidable topics surrounding us today such as LGBTQ acceptance, the AIDS epidemic, police brutality and community affairs. Instead of using theatre commercially for pure entertainment, Riant Theatre is using this type of art to affect and teach its audience members and hopefully open a constructive dialogue for healing and change. Performing works of art that are about different topical issues can do the job of spreading awareness and could inspire those experiencing it to share what they learned with others. Theatre, just like art displayed in any museum, should be used to tell a story, move people’s souls and create a reaction not passiveness. Thus, a story that’s told effectively through theatre can play an important role to bring about change, and serve as a catalysis of impacting someone’s life so that person can do the same with the rest of the world. 

What does your #activism look like?  Comment below or @RiantTheatre, #StrawberryOneActFestival #TheOuting #CodeOfSilence 

The Riant Theatre's Strawberry One-Act Festival & Strawberry Theatre Festival will be presented at the Theatre at St. Clement's, 423 West 46th Street, NYC
August 20, 2014 through August 31, 2014. 
For tickets go to www.therianttheatre.com or call 646-623-3488.

What THE NORMAL HEART, MOTHERS AND SONS, and Afrika Brown’s THE OUTING all have in common.

By Kristopher Karcher

What began as just an issue with the homosexual community, HIV/AIDS is now an epidemic that exists in every part of the globe in every sexual orientation, race, gender, and culture.  Not only is HIV/AIDS an incredibly important topic to have in the media, but very relevant thanks to the recent airing of The Normal Heart on HBO. The new adaption of the 1985 play by Larry Kramer, sheds light on the earliest cases of HIV/AIDS in the gay community. A silent killer, no one really knew what it was; just that it was mainly in the homosexual community. Some guessed it was sexually transmitted, but many thought you could get it just in the air. After a while, the disease was nicknamed the “gay cancer.” Gays at the time had just found their sexual freedom, and they were now losing it to some invisible force picking them off one by one. The epidemic made them afraid of the government, the medical system, and each other.

The 1980's were a terrifying time for the community.  And some are still scarred.  Recently I saw TONY Nominated Mothers and Sons, a beautiful play by acclaimed playwright, Terrence McNally.  The story follows a mother (Katherine) surprising her late son's (Andre) old lover (Cal) with a visit.  Cal now has a husband and kids, but is still obviously haunted with thoughts of his old partner, who died of AIDS.  Though many themes (such as LGBT acceptance) run rampant through the play, I did not expect McNally to touch on HIV/AIDS when I sat down in that theatre.  McNally examines 3 different generations and how they dealt-or didn't deal with-the AIDS crisis.  Katherine, of whom rejected her son's sexuality and didn't know how to deal; Andre, who was older and experienced the crisis of the 80's; and Cal, who was younger and didn't really experience the crisis until the 90's, when people had an idea of what they were facing.  The different experiences each of the three characters faced beautifully defines different generations dealing with the disease.

THE OUTING, like many plays in the LGBTQ genre, deals with the AIDS epidemic, but on a more modern timeline, somewhere around the late 90s early 2000s.  Salome, one of Jizelle's best friends, is infected by her ex, who left her and told her by writing it on her bedroom wall.  Salome announces she's going to retire for a bit to take care of her health, and then, theoretically, she's going to be okay.  At the time the play takes place, AIDS is no longer a death sentence, but it still blacklists a person.  There is still that rejection.  But in her community, Salome finds acceptance and support.  New plays about HIV/AIDS are just as important as the old ones, because they are documenting the experiences we have with the disease now as well as further educating those who know too little about the epidemic. 

In today's world there are documented cases of patients being cured of this disease.  Though nothing is set in stone and there is no set vaccination, we are progressing in ridding of this plague.  Unfortunately, not enough people are talking about this.  If there was a vaccine that cured cancer, it would make world headlines for a month.  Why do you think so many people talk so little of the HIV/AIDS crisis?  Yes, President Kennedy ignored using the word like Voldemort for quite some time, but it's 2014, why is this still an issue?  AIDS will continue to be a problem until it's just as heavily funded as breast cancer or leukemia.  So why don't people care?  Is it because it's primarily an STD or attained by drug use?  Do you think that's fair?  Comment below or @RiantTheatre.

THE OUTING by Afrika Brown will be performed in the Riant Theatre's Strawberry One-Act Festival in Series E on August 24th at 2pm at the Theatre at St. Clement's, 423 West 46th Street, NYC.  For tickets go to www.therianttheatre.com