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12.30.2001 00:31
Bill Van Siclen
2001: Stark
Divide
for art
world, too
Before and after. That's how most of us will remember 2001, a year in which so much seemed to changed so quickly.
For local artists and arts groups, the dividing line between pre- and post-Sept. 11 was as stark as any. One minute they were struggling with the usual problems of tight budgets and finicky audiences. The next minute the struggle was simply to find a reason to keep making art in the wake of the worst terrorist attacks in American history.
At Trinity Rep, for example, actors and administrators debated whether to cancel the Sept. 11 performance of
Noises Off
, a boisterous comedy by British playwright Michael Frayn. In the end, the play did go on -- a testament to the notion that laughter is nature's best anti-terror defense.
Meanwhile, organizers of Newport's annual
Visions
art exhibit nearly called off their show because of its proximity to Sept. 11. But after being deluged with more than 300 paintings, drawings, sculptures and other artworks -- many them dealing with the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center -- the exhibit went ahead as planned.
Other arts groups found that even familiar events and performances gained new significance, post-Sept. 11.
When the RISD Museum re-opened its 19th-century galleries earlier this year, few noticed. But over the last few weeks, museum officials say the galleries, which feature works by Monet, Renoir and Degas along with their American contemporaries, have been packed.
Likewise, recent installments of
WaterFire
have had a quiet solemnity that's often been missing in recent years as the event has grown into a bustling civic spectacle.
But if 2001 was a year divided by tragedy, it was also a year marked by new beginnings and renewed commitments.
In January, Trinity artistic director Oskar Eustis gave local theater fans reason to cheer when he turned down an offer to take over the storied drama program at Yale University. A few months later, Eustis was back in the news, this time with plans for a new drama school to be jointly operated by Trinity and Brown University.
The school, which may also seek affiliations with Rhode Island College and the Rhode Island School of Design, is due to open next fall, with the first students graduating in 2005.
Artistically, Trinity turned in another solid year, led by its two-part adaptation of John Irving's
The Cider House Rules
. The play, which dealt with hot-button issues such as abortion and drug addiction, was a triumph for both Eustis, who directed, and the cast, which proved equal to the novel's sweeping scope and quirky assortment of characters.
Among the smaller theaters, there were memorable productions from Sandra Feinstein-Gamm (
Macbeth
,
Grapes of Wrath
), Perishable (
Self-Defense
) and the newly resurgent 2nd Story (Henrik Ibsen's rarely performed
Little Eyolf
).
Classical music fans got their chance to cheer in May when conductor Larry Rachleff signed a new two-year contract with the Rhode Island Philharmonic. Rachleff, who divides his time between the podium at Vets and teaching duties at Houston's Rice University, is widely credited with turning the Philharmonic into a top-flight regional orchestra.
Elsewhere on the classical front, the newly rechristened Ocean State Lyric Opera (formerly the Ocean State Light Opera) mounted a sparkling production of Puccini's
Madama Butterfly
starring Rhode Island-born soprano Maria Spacagna. Meanwhile, the Providence Singers continued to make impressive gains under music director Julian Wachner, as demonstrated by a stirring performance of Mozart's
Requeim
in October.
In art, the RISD Museum kicked off 2001 with
From Paris to Providence: Fashion, Art and the Tirocchi Dressmakers Shop, 1915-1947
, a sequin-studded exhibit devoted to the dressmaking shop run by Providence sisters Laura and Ana Tirocchi. The museum finished the year with a spate of installation-style exhibits, ranging from the comic (Jonathan Bonner's
Front Pockets
) to the poetic (Ilya Kabakov's
10 Albums/10 Characters
) to the multicultural (David McGee's
15 Minutes: The Ballad of Then and Now
).
Other noteworthy efforts included
My Life Has Been a Painting
, RISD's posthumous tribute to the conflicted life and art of Providence-born painter William Congdon;
Centennial Arts & Crafts Exhibition
, the Providence Art Club's ambitious turn-of-the-millenium look at contemporary craft; and
Newport's Cultural Treasures
, a groundbreaking exhibit that brought together the "crown jewels" of more than a dozen Newport-area arts and cultural institutions.
In Hollywood
Many of the same trends were evident on the national level, as Hollywood and the major music labels scrambled to adjust to a post-Sept. 11 landscape marked by recession at home and war abroad.
Several movie projects were delayed or canceled after being deemed to violent for release, while other projects, such as the patriotic
Behind Enemy Lines
, were rushed into theaters. Meanwhile, a pair of escapist epics --
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
and the first installment of J.R.R. Tolkien's
Ring
trilogy -- were expected to be the year's big box-office draws.
In music, teen-pop acts like 'N Sync and Britney Spears continued to dominate the nation's airwaves, even as the Coen Brothers'
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
sparked a new wave of interest in traditional folk and bluegrass.
Youth ruled on the local level, too, with So Blu,
the debut album from Providence's Blu Cantrell, reaching No. 8 on Billboard's Top 200 in August (her single,
Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops)!
, was No. 11 on Billboard's year-long chart). Dare to Dream
, the third release from Hope Valley teen Billy Gilman, went gold in June; his first album,
One Voice,
stayed on the charts far enough into 2001 to rank 10th for the year, even though it was released last year.
On the other hand, the music industry's most visible response to the Sept. 11 attacks -- October's Concert for New York City -- was dominated by graybeards like The Who, The Stones and Elton John.
In television, the halting recovery of father Jim Hansen and the wedding of wayward son Robbie dominated the third season of NBC's
Providence
. The all-too-real attacks on New York and Washington also dealt a major blow to "reality-based" shows such as CBS's
Survivor
, NBC's
Fear Factor
and (the worst of the lot) Fox's rude-and-lewd
Temptation Island
.
The double whammy of terrorism and recession also resulted in the (temporary) demise of
One Union Station
, the public affairs program produced by Providence-based NPR affiliate WRNI. The show, a mix of hard news and features with a local twist, is due to return with a revamped staff and format next month.
Bill Van Siclen and other Journal
arts writers share the At Large column.
Reach him by e-mail at bvansicl@projo.com.
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