The Artful Recluse

I went to see an exhibit at the Asia Society called "The Artful Recluse".  The subject was Chines art in the mid 17th century, after the fall of the Ming Dynasty and the invasion by the "barbarian" Manchus.   Artists retreated from the chaos of regime change to the countryside, and concentrated on landscapes and otherworldly thoughts.  

What intrigued me most in the exhibit were the scroll paintings; more precisely, images painted on very long rolled up pieces of scroll paper.  You can't actually look at these in a single focus; you need to actually move your eye to see the whole thing.  (Though actually, the whole thing is not usually visible; usually only about 10 feet or so is shown at the most.)   Needless to say, you can't easily find an image that would fit on your computer screen.  The scenes themselves are impossible in some ways; like a widescreen panorama that makes sense from moment to moment, but represents something which could not possibly exist in reality.   (Like the long panning shot at the beginning of Peter Greenaway's film of the Tempest.)   No pictures to be found...

Eliogabalo

Last night we went to see a production of the opera "Eliogabalo", an opera composed in the mid 17th century by Cavalli.  The production had a novelty component; it was being presented in a very small Lower East Side nightclub/burlesque theater/strip club called "The Box", where the shows normally start at 1 AM.  Having seen opera productions with scenes updated to be set in a strip club, we were now going to see an opera in an actual strip club.  The problem was that the only tickets available were either in seats at tables for $175, or standing room for $50.  We went for the standing room, assuming that we would manage somehow.  The problem was that the standing room was at the bar, which was mostly separate from the room where the opera was, with only a partial view of the stage, and the only sound was through some poor quality speakers!   Not to mention the sound of drinks being mixed, etc.  Needless to say this was worthless, and after about 15 minutes we decided to leave.   The opera and its staging received good reviews in the Times, and would have been interesting from the seats.   We talked to the producer, though, and he was extremely apologetic; he promptly refunded our money, and offered us free tickets to their next production.   So it was a major disappointment, but kudos to the producer for being so quick to make amends.


Note the musicians hidden in the back...