Deck the Hall with Dickens

 

Deck the Hall with Dickens 

By Tom Wachunas

   “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.”  ― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

   THEATRE: A Christmas Carol, from The Players Guild Theatre, at Mary J. Timken Theatre in the Fine Arts Building of Kent State University at Stark, 6000 FRANK AVENUE NW, NORTH CANTON, OH/ Performances through December 18, 2022 / Box Office 330 – 244 – 3224 / Dates, tickets, and performance information at:

  https://playersguildtheatre.com/a-christmas-carol

   Background, and cast/crew information at: 

https://stagemag.broadwayworld.com/classic/A-CHRISTMAS-CAROL-2022-The-Players-Guild-Theatre-21706

    As a consumerist society in a mad world, what practices have we adopted to truly honor and savor the who and the why of Christmas? Conversely, how many of us have become souled-out and surrendered to the what of the ‘holidays’ - namely all the feckless commercialism and trivial superficialities we routinely heap upon them? For the moment, let’s forget jolly old elves, Rudolf, and Red Ryder Range 200-Shot BB guns. For the moment, let’s celebrate the efficacious conflation of classic literature and enthralling live theatre as one powerful device by which we can embrace the essence of Christmas.

   To that commendable end, The Players Guild Theatre is currently presenting, for the 41^st year, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. This year’s exhilarating new production, in its new home, was adapted for the stage by  Beth Knox. The impressive scenic and authentic costume designs by Joshua Erichsen include meticulously rendered architectural facades and interior room sets that rotate scene-by-scene on an ingenious, large turntable. Beyond the luscious choral harmonies delivered by the Dickens Singers, the superb live music from the six-piece orchestra was arranged, composed and conducted by Steve Parsons, who also directed the amply talented cast.

  As the dark, sullen Ghost of Jacob Marley, Henrick Sawczak will sting you to your bones as he whips and cracks his heavy chains through the air and on the floor like bolts of lightning. Ashley Luli plays the Ghost of Christmas Past with charming, childlike innocence, imbued with a healthy dose of grown-up wisdom. Robert Trushel’s magnanimous Ghost of Christmas Present is all infectious ebullience until he leaves Scrooge on a very loud note of angry warning. As Fred, Scrooge’s nephew, Sam Marazita gives us a heartwarming picture of irrepressible optimism and willingness to love his unloveable uncle. Equally heartwarming are Matthew Heppe as Bob Cratchit, and Gabriel Amiot as his son, Tim, in their earnest and tender portrayals of high-spirited gratitude even in the face of cruel, humbling circumstance. All of the cast members – adults and children alike – perform with palpable, invigorating credibility.   

   Finally, then, Jim Graysmith’s presentation of Ebenezer Scrooge is an absolutely compelling embodiment of one man’s cathartic transformation from vitriolic misanthrope into lifelong disciple of selfless generosity and dispenser of joy. Even in the scenes when he’s not directly a part of the action, as he looks at the proceedings from a distance, we can still see clearly the sharpened, captivating expressions of genuine delight and wonder, or sorrow, or painful soul-searching on his face.

   In the 1843 introduction to his popular novella, Dickens wrote to his readers that he hoped his “Ghostly little book” would “haunt their houses pleasantly.” Did he have any idea of the urgency and relevance his story would still have nearly two centuries later? Talk about timeless storytelling.

    The Players Guild’s production isn’t about capturing the spirit of the tale only for the sake of feel-good entertainment. Call it a benevolent contagion, releasing that spirit into our active lives. The continued tradition of keeping this beautifully faceted, lustrous gem of a narrative shining is truly a necessary labor of love. Maybe all we should want for Christmas is to see more of us become redeemed Scrooges - instruments of hope, healing and light for those who desperately need it in an ever-darkening world.  

   Meanwhile, Thank You, Players Guild Theatre, for the blessing of your artful and inspiring agency in haunting our lives pleasantly.

With Eyes to See and Ears to Hear

With Eyes to See and Ears to Hear 

 …Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will… – Romans:12:2 

    Holy Season’s Greetings to all of you! Here’s my annual “Christmas image.”

    At one point in painting it, I thought very deeply about what the writers (scribes, actually) of the Gospels must have experienced as they wrote God’s own words. I am certain that the faithful scribe pictured here was utterly transfixed and forever transformed, filled with an indescribable joy and an awesome hope beyond words. This image represents John, a most beloved disciple of Jesus, in the midst of delivering (in Greek) what we read today in Scripture as John 3:16: 

 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 

Not a fantasy. Not a fiction. A fact. The perfect gift. The perfect peace and good will.

 Be BLESSED!

Confabulations Extraordinaire

 

 Confabulations Extraordinaire

Sherri Hornbrook, (left) Honor, (right) Wings

Emily Vigil - Doing Dishes Together: Portrait of Us

Emily Vigil: Skipping Stones

Eleanor Dillon Kuder - Enduring Influence

Eleanor Dillon Kuder - Places She Called Home

Sherri Hornbrook -
 (clockwise from top left) Blossom, Departure, Nest, Pendulum

By Tom Wachunas 

  “Stop thinking about art works as objects and start thinking about them as triggers for experiences. What makes a work of art good for you is not something that is already inside it, but something that happens inside you.” ― Brian Eno

   “Nothing as drastic an innovation as abstract art could have come into existence, save as the consequence of a most profound, relentless, unquenchable need. The need is for felt experience - intense, immediate, direct, subtle, unified, warm, vivid, rhythmic.”   - Robert Motherwell

Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks. - Plutarch

 

EXHIBIT: CONVERSATIONS – paintings by Sherri Hornbrook, Eleanor Dillon Kuder, Emily Vigil / The Lemmon Visiting Artist Gallery, in the Fine Arts Building at Kent State University at Stark, 6000 FRANK AVENUE NW, NORTH CANTON, OH, THROUGH DECEMBER 9, 2022 / Gallery hours Monday – Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

   When it comes to paintings – whether making them, looking at them, or talking about them – I confess I’m an inveterate Romantic with an “unquenchable need.” Like many of us, I look for more than facile faithfulness to the familiar, or something more than skillfully rendered prosaic realism devoid of poetic spirit.

  The most compelling paintings aren’t just mute, decorative wall ornaments. They transcend static, generic images of mundane banalities. Rather, they’re events still forming, conversations still transpiring, or on the verge of commencing.

   Those conversations begin with the painters’ often intuitive methods for responding to their own mark-making - their storytelling, as it were. Such personal narratives are born out of a call-and-response process which evolves in real time across the picture plane.

    On one level, a “finished” painting is a private dialogue between marks and mark-maker. But the dialogue need not end when picture is mounted on wall. It can grow and expand when we viewers become third-party makers by virtue of our practiced, intentional looking. When we allow ourselves ample time to free our own intuitions, we can hear with our eyes. We can interpret messages or meanings as we see fit, or if not, find sublime contentment in savoring the potency of pure mystery. Either way, paintings can in fact speak in our real time if we imagine them first as inhaling our willful gaze, and then exhaling the “words” – indeed the life - of the painter. It is a powerful agency, stunningly present in this spectacular exhibit, bejeweled as it is with 56 works by three remarkable artists: Sherri Hornbrook, Eleanor Dillon Kuder, and Emily Vigil.

   Eleanor Dillon Kuder’s mesmerizing, mixed-media figural pieces are airy and mystical portraits of a kind, aglow with saturated, vibrant color. Recumbent or ascending women (perhaps self-portraits?) float, seemingly immersed in deep meditation, seeking or already embracing beauty at once electrifying and serene.

   There’s also an aura of meditation and spirituality in the soft chromatic translucency of Emily Vigil’s small-scale watercolors. In one series, her grid motifs of gently modulated colors are pixelated, in-the-moment flashes of personal encounters and memories. Additionally, there are equally elegant works from another series of compositions more directly representational in nature, called “Dishes Done.” These still-lifes from the kitchen are intriguing metaphors for intimate domesticity.

   Sherri Hornbrook’s canvases are dense, dazzling adventures. They breathe with both visceral and delicate painterly gestures amidst all manner of complex organic shapes and lines, rich color harmonies and dissonances that dance together, all enmeshed with intricate, pulsing patterns. Dichotomies united: finite with infinite, calm with conflict, light with shadow. The stuff of being alive.

   To Eleanor, Emily, and Sherri, thanks for talking with us. Your eloquence is enlivening.    

Psychscapes

 

Psychscapes 

Reach

Take Care of My Flowers

Will-o-the-Wisp

Metamorphosis

Leverage

Imitation

By Tom Wachunas

“There is no shape to the feeling that has gripped me, no name. Manifested in amorphous sensations and rippling currents – bringing one moment a tear, then a smile; there is no comprehending this wave. A hummingness courses through my mind.”

― Radhika Mukherjee, from “Broken Shadows”

“Abstract art is uniquely modern. It is a fundamentally romantic response to modern life - rebellious, individualistic, unconventional, sensitive, irritable.”  - Robert Motherwell

 

EXHIBIT: Emily Orsich – First Solo Exhibit, at John Strauss Studio, 236 Walnut Avenue NE, downtown Canton, THROUGH DECEMER 16, 2022 / viewing hours Monday-Friday 10 a.m to 5 p.m / Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

   A recurring motif in Emily Orsich’s commanding paintings is a confluence of assertive boldness and delicate fragility, describing things simultaneously settled and tentative, solid and liquid. Her configurations are kinetic, intricate synchronies of opposites that nonetheless exist in an uneasy equilibrium.

   So what could these ‘things,’ these ‘opposites’ be? Maybe think of the painter as a cartographer, drawing in code, here mapping terrains of a kind, often inlaid with broad swaths of black and blood red - like rivers, deep-cut roads, or skid marks - juxtaposed with wandering crooked rivulets, amorphous translucent pools, and quiet, empty plains.

   Beyond sketchy, enigmatic connections to earthly geography, however, the expressive immediacy of these works also suggests metaphors for another type of terrain. Which is to say the artist’s state of mind and heart.  

   In this context, consider Orsich’s style of abstraction as a kind of writing. Think of her mark-making as a spontaneous cursive script, approaching a form of calligraphy both agitated and strangely elegant. 

   Could these paintings then indeed be narratives about Orsich, and by extension, all of us viewers willing to trust our own intuitions? Are these stories about navigating personal relationships? About resolving conflicts? Or finding joy amidst chaos? Or serenity in anxiety? Psychological balance? About growth, discovery, and catharsis?

   The answer’s in the looking. More power to ‘ya.

Compelling Drama, Mesmerizing Virtuosity

 

 Compelling Drama, Mesmerizing Virtuosity 

Pianist Michelle Cann

Gerhardt Zimmermann

By Tom Wachunas

…No, no, no, no, no, no, no /I'm overdue /I'm really in a stew/

No time to say goodbye, hello /I'm late, I'm late, I'm late

-      Lyrics from “I’m Late” from Disney film Alice in Wonderland

   Late indeed. With Thanksgiving nipping at our heels, I’m slowly returning to my writeful place here on ARTWACH, and very grateful for all the loving encouragement you readers sent my way following my previous post about my medical woes. So here’s a long overdue THANK YOU to the Canton Symphony Orchestra (CSO), now celebrating its 85the Anniversary, for yet another superb adventure into sheer musical excellence.  

    In writing about the CSO’s October 30 concert, Music Director and Conductor Gerhardt Zimmermann casually mentioned that a few of the selections were meant to “…help usher in Halloween the next day…” Fittingly, the intriguing thematic diversity of the program of four works certainly did include a few especially haunting journeys to the dark side.

   The evening commenced with César Franck’s 1883 macabre symphonic poem, Le Chasseur maudit (The Accursed Huntsman). The work was inspired by a ballad by German poet Gottfried August Bűrger, and tells the tale of The Count of Rhine who, on one fateful Sunday, decided to forego obligatory church devotions in favor of galloping into the woods to hunt, happily blowing his horn. The absolutely sumptuous sounds of the CSO strings and bright percussive chimes calling the faithful to worship on a sunny day soon enough gave way to the piercing clarity of the naughty horn calls. The hapless hunter proceeds to ride his way into the darkness wrought by his guilty conscience and subsequent pursuit by Satanic demons. For desecrating the Sabbath, the hunter became hunted by Hell itself. In telling the story, the orchestra quite effectively soared to chilling depths of aural scariness.

   And then, a mesmerizing respite from bittersweet morbidity transpired, thanks to the exquisite technical virtuosity of guest soloist Michelle Cann. Her dazzling piano wizardry was truly a wonder to behold as she brought to light and life the effulgent lyricism of Piano Concerto in One Movement, composed in 1934 by African -American composer Florence Price (1887-1953).

    Cann returned after intermission to further regale us with jaw-dropping panache in her rendering of Richard Strauss’s complex and rowdy Burleske for Piano and Orchestra. When the enthralled audience clamored for an encore, Cann eagerly obliged. With stern authority, she pounded the keyboard with the first three brooding chords of Rachmaninoff’s iconic Prelude in C sharp minor.  But then, not missing a beat (and no doubt in a Halloween spirit of clever mischief), Cann immediately unleashed a raucous and riveting mashup of Rachmaninoff’s motifs into a blindingly fast and seamless hybrid of jazzy- boogie-woogie - ragtime variations. At once brilliant and hilarious.          

   The evening concluded with yet another fierce trip into doom - Tchaikovsk’s magnificent 1876 Symphonic Fantasy, Fransesca da Rimini. For this narrative, Tchaikovsky sourced Dante Alighieri’s iconic 1321 allegory, The Divine Comedy, particularly its visit to the second circle of Hell, where sins of the flesh are punished, the sinners whipped mercilessly by roaring winds in eternal darkness. In a stunning interlude - slowly developed with achingly sweet melodies - Fransesca da Rimini and her lover Paolo are allowed to rise above the torture and tumult long enough to recall their carnal happiness in one of Tchaikovsky’s most heartrending love themes, only to be sent back to explosive torment. When the last frenetic cymbal crashes and violent drum rolls sounded the anguished finale of this work, please don’t think me too frivolous when I say I could practically hear a replay of the rattled lion’s chant in the Wizard of Oz movie, “I do believe in spooks, I do believe in spooks, I do I do I do I DO!”

   And so once again, when all was played and done, I too remained a believer. Certainly not in fictional ‘spooks’ as such, but far more importantly, in the Canton Symphony Orchestra as a palpable aesthetic force, haunting – and blessing – us with its always potent and inspiring embrace of pure, artful sublimity.

https://www.cantonsymphony.org/

Bent but not broken

 

Bent but not broken

By Tom Wachunas 

   To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. – Ecclesiastes 3:1

   But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed… -2 Corinthians 4: 7-9 

   Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things…  – Philippians 4: 8 

   Maybe subtitle this one Confessions of a recovering critic ?

    It’s not for want of subject matter that after September 27, my usually regular though quirky writing routines, rituals and processes ceased altogether. Call it floundering in a mode of unproduction. Sadly, I have been wholly unable to offer my assessments and appreciations of some recent local arts events and exhibits. This situation has been a distressing consequence of recent medical issues that left me in various stages of hurt-filled immobility and an otherwise depressed state of heart and mind. The time, energy, and ability required to effectively focus on composing arts reviews have been sorely compromised. Diagnosis from Omni Orthopaedics: “Invertebral disc disorders w radiculopathy, lumbar region (M51.16), Spondylolisthesis, lumbar region (M43.16).” Translation: Profound pain.

   Butt, after surgery on October 18, I am slowly on the mend. Soul-renewing gratitude, rather than physical pain, is progressively filling my days.

   In wrestling with (and frankly resenting) this recent absence from my love for looking at and writing about art, I’ve had ample time to prayerfully examine (or brood about) the motives driving that passion. My sense of…purpose.

   Yes, over the years, I have remained acutely aware and thankful that ARTWACH has garnered certain “rewards” in the form of heartfelt comments and sincere praise for my insights and writing skills - all God-bestowed, I assure you. But at its core, ARTWACH isn’t about ME. So despite all the I-me-mine content of this very post, I am nonetheless compelled to remind you that the ARTWACH raison d'être was intended from its beginnings in 2009 as a you-we-ours platform. It is a place, a context, meant to serve, inspire, and elevate our community, our culture, by embracing and assessing, savoring and celebrating, the abundance of truly remarkable art and artists flourishing in our midst.

   I’ll be back. Meanwhile, THANK YOU ALL for your caring and attention. Be well, and happy hunting.

Farewell and Hello

 

 Farewell and  Hello 

  

                               

Announcement from The Canton Symphony Orchestra

   The Canton Symphony Orchestra (CSO) announces the departure of long-term President & CEO, Michelle Charles with a heavy heart. Her last day of service will be on Friday November 25th, 2022.

   On Monday, November 28th, 2022, current Community Engagement & Education Manager, Rachel Hagemeier, will become President & CEO. Rachel will be the youngest person to ever serve in this position at the CSO at 25 years old.

Here is the Press Release from the CSO:

  "Michelle Charles has served as President & CEO of Canton Symphony Orchestra for eleven years. Previously serving in all capacities of the organization as chorus member and volunteer, board trustee and staff, she was a driving force behind the increasing notoriety of the Canton Symphony. Charles was the catalyst for several major activities that solidified the Symphony's position in Stark County. Under her leadership, she oversaw the funding, construction, and eventual operation of the Zimmermann Symphony Center as part of the 2011-2014 capital campaign. The endowment of the Canton Symphony grew from $1.5 million to over $4 million during Michelle's time with the CSO. During her tenure, Canton Symphony brought in many internationally acclaimed guest artists including Grammy-Award winners Bela Fleck and Sylvia McNair and collaborated with numerous organizations including the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum, Canton Museum of Art, Massillon Museum of Art, Stark Parks, and the Dancing Wheels. “I have loved every minute of my time with the Canton Symphony”, said Michelle. “I will certainly miss the staff, musicians, patrons, and donors once I leave but I am excited for my next chapter in my professional career.” Beginning November 28, Michelle will be working at The Summit, a public alternative radio station in Akron.

   On Monday, November 28th, 2022, current Community Engagement & Education Manager, Rachel Hagemeier, will become President & CEO. Hagemeier was the first and obvious choice to replace Charles, demonstrating an unmatched reverence for all things relating to music and education. Her tenacity to accomplish above and beyond what is needed has propelled Canton Symphony's educational initiatives into an unprecedented era of engagement. Just recently, Hagemeier was named one of Stark County's "Twenty Under 40!" list, produced by ystark!, a department of the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce and The Canton Repository.* When asked how she felt about this transition, she said, "To be the next President & CEO of the Canton Symphony Orchestra is a dream come true. In my three years here at the symphony, I have seen the impact classical music can have on a community, and I am overjoyed to continue being a part of this incredible work. This symphony has been rooted in Stark County for 85 years and I am ready to take us into our next chapter of music making. Canton is a special place filled with talented, hard-working, and creative people, and I am lucky to be a part of it."

 

The Canton Symphony Orchestra board, staff, and musicians are thrilled to welcome Rachel Hagemeier into her new position. They are confident that under her supervision, classical music will be alive, well, and growing into the foreseeable future."