By Michele Markarian
‘Triptych (Eyes of One on Another)’ – Composed by Bryce Dressner. Libretto by korde arrington tuttle. Featuring words by Essex Hemphill & Patti Smith. Directed by Kaneza Schaal. Presented by Arts Emerson, in association with Celebrity Series of Boston and New England Conservatory at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont Street, Boston, through November 3.
Several different factors can draw one to see this show. Perhaps you’re an admirer of Robert Mapplethorpe, the controversial artist whose photographic work began in the 70’s until his premature death, from AIDS, in 1989? Or a fan of the poets Essex Hemphill or Patti Smith, whose works make up the text of the show? My curiosity was piqued upon learning that Bryce Dessner, a guitarist with The National, composed the score. Friends I ran into after the show were pulled by Roomful of Teeth, a Grammy-winning vocal project that they’d seen many times at Mass MOCA. Whatever your reasons, your emotions will certainly be aroused by this provocative, evocative, beautiful and sometimes disturbing concert punctuated by the written word, photographs, and the lonely, disinterested yet yearning presence of the graceful dancer Martell Ruffin.
“Does fear haunt the edges of the photographs?” is a line in the libretto from Essex Hemphill, an interesting question to ponder as you’re seeing photographs of a man hung upside down with chains around his genitals, or a hood over his head. Mapplethorpe’s work here is divided into three categories: X for sex (Patti Smith writes in her book Just Kids that he marked it such for people 18 and older), Y for flowers, and Z for male nudes. The audience is witness to all three. Fear is an apt word, as text from the Cincinnati obscenity trial is displayed and sung. Some of the photographs do inspire fear for their subjects, as sometimes it is hard to regard an image with objectivity, even though that’s precisely what Mapplethorpe was doing. According to Smith in Just Kids, “His mission was not to reveal, but to document an aspect of sexuality as art, as it had never been done before. What excited Robert most as an artist was to produce something that no one else had done”.
The marriage of poetry, photographs and music works beautifully, almost mystically, here. The libretto is gorgeous, as is the ensemble performing it. I had never heard Roomful of Teeth, but you can bet that if they’re playing anywhere near Massachusetts, I’ll be there. And seeing Mapplethorpe’s work in this context was almost spiritual – so much for mere objectivity.
On the train afterwards, one of my friends commented that although he’d seen many shows at Arts Emerson, this one seemed to generate the most discussion afterwards. What more can one ask from a work of art? For tickets and information, go to: https://artsemerson.org/
