Hirschy Highlight: I’m not into Modern Art, but I’m into Midsummer Nights

Oh, Tate Modern. I loved one particular floor, where there were pieces of art that made me think and feel really inquisitive. Everything else, I’m just lost. I walked around and tried to find something that I really liked, and it took a while. There was a whole wall of just a collection of paper with lines in graphite dividing the paper differently…okay…? And…? There was a canvas just painted blue. Nothing else. Just blue. I just don’t see how that’s “art.” I know art is in the eye of the beholder, but as an artist, I just don’t see the beauty in a paper divided by lines or just one solid color.

Now, for the art that actually made me stand and look for a while, I LOVED. There was one painting with some added textures by Evelyne Axell called Valentine. It was made during the space race and meant to show the mixed perceptions of the first woman going to space, Valentina Tereshkova. The helmet is to resemble how she’s the first woman and the feminist movement that inspired women to work and pursue jobs that were once not available. But, the unzipped female silhouette refers to the sexualization Tereshkova faced for being a female taking a “man’s job.” I love this piece because it brings light to problems that people may not experience.

I also love a piece by Douglas Gordon called I am the curator of my own misery. These words are drawn on the museum’s wall in blue ballpoint pen. I love that the pens are laid on the ground below also. To me, it shows the personal touch of humanity and the fact that we hold the pen of our destiny. The thing about pens also is how they are “permanent.” You can erase pencil led, but not easily undo a stroke of the pen. This creates the feeling of either a possible self-deprecating “I can’t change this” or the feeling of you holding the pen of your own misery and possibly being able to change it. I wasn’t in love with the Tate Modern Museum, especially with all the floors of art that I didn’t really like. I tried looking at an exhibit that was made by an artist featured in the Crystal Bridges Museum, but you needed tickets… EVEN ON MY BIRTHDAY? Rude.

One thing that I did love, surprisingly, was A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Shakespeare Globe Theatre. I have a dreadful history with that specific play and was fully expecting to not enjoy the show. But, I think the cast and the directing of the show worked so well and created an amazing show. The costumes were very interesting, and the characters would add or take away pieces depending on the scene. The actress who played Hermia has dwarfism, which created a very interesting dynamic in terms of the script and how her love interests, Lysander and Demetrius, treat and interact with her.

When Lysander is in love with Hermia at the beginning of the play, he speaks on her level, but their chemistry and relationship didn’t make the action of lowering to his knees feel demeaning. Their chemistry and the love that could be felt from them didn’t make the interaction feel like an accommodation for Hermia’s height, but instead a natural progression of wanting to speak eye-to-eye to someone you love. It also made for some really cute blocking when Hermia was spun around.

But, when Lysander was under a spell to hate Hermia, he stays standing, leaving a large space between them and a significant height difference that emphasized the hatred and disconnect he felt for her. Even further, when Lysander referred to Hermia as a dwarf, which is written in the script, it redefined the word because of their previous relationship and demonstrated a very belittling interaction. A unanimous gasp fell through the audience, and it created a very interesting dynamic because of the casting they had done.

I thought the acting was SUPERB. I absolutely adored the comedic timing and all the decisions the actors had made to do with the script. They individually found a lot of humor in their lines and stayed faithful to their character even if no one witnessed their actions. Specifically, I’m referencing Sarah Finigan, who played Egeus and WORKED their double casting. As the lion when performing the “new play,” there were little faces and movements that they did that were absolutely hilarious and added to their character so much. I adored her performance.

While I loved this performance of this Shakespearean play, I’m not sure it has changed my mind about the play itself. I think the script is hilarious…when done correctly. There’s a lot of room for error, but only time will tell if there will be comedy in those errors. (pun intended.)