August Wilson Month
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That's what February has seemed like. There was the third annual "August in February," Feb. 13, with more visibility than ever because of the participation of James Earl Jones. There was the Feb. 17 naming of the August Wilson Center for African American Culture. And there was the very select, very intense "Art for August," Jan. 27-Feb. 24, in which 13 local artists responded in many media to Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle of 10 plays.
In Mary Thomas' review ("Reflective exhibit by 13 artists honors playwright August Wilson," Feb. 21, 2006), as here, you can see the piece that moved me the most, Vanessa German's "1839 Wylie Avenue." It's telling, given the abused history of the Hill, that that address is now a vacant lot. But it's also the address of the house where the 285 year-old Aunt Ester lives in "Gem of the Ocean," Wilson's 1904 play which the Public Theater will stage this spring. And it's the house over which the development wars rage in Wilson's 1997 play, "Radio Golf," which just closed in Seattle and is about to open in Baltimore, on its way (we hope) to Broadway next year.
German's piece represents Aunt Ester herself, or at least much that she stands for, with its formal turn-of-the-century gown and quilting motif, its bustle made up of baby shoes (Ester's many children), and the wooden tabernacle in its chest which opens upon a mirror -- in which, of course, we see ourselves. It's as if we have looked into Aunt Ester's capacious soul, which is exactly what happens in "Gem of the Ocean" (and also offstage in "Two Trains Running").
There are also shamanistic objects at the figure's wrists, such as feathers and keys. The latter echo details of Aunt Ester's costume, as designed on Broadway by Constanza Romero, the playwright's wife. At the exhibit-closing reception last Friday, Wilson's sister, Linda Jean Denoya, made a connection for me between those keys and the tragedy of the title character in "King Hedley II," who attains the keys to the kingdom -- forgiveness -- just as the violence of life breaks over him.
Among other Wilson friends and family at the reception were his sister Freda Ellis and her daughter, Kim Ellis, an academic and performer who will do her one-woman show here in April. "Art for August" was a wonderful idea. I wish it could have continued longer, but I doubt the idea will die.
The month has given us other, related exhibits. At the Carnegie, Mark Clayton Southers has curated "Documenting our Past: The Teenie Harris Archive Project, Part Two," an exhibit of 214 Pittsburgh Courier photos selected from 6,000 of the 80,000 the museum is cataloguing. (There was a similar sampler exhibit in 2003.) Southers, of course, is artistic director of the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre, but he was invited to create this exhibit because he was also a Courier photographer.
There is another exhibit of historic photos of the Hill in Pitt's Frick Fine Arts gallery. Last week, Larry Glasco, the historian of black Pittsburgh, gave an intriguing slide lecture about the multicultural history of the Hill, including plenty of images and information about August Wilson territory. Glasco's work is a counter to the tendency to think of the Hill as overwhelmingly black, which may derive from the focus of the nine Pittsburgh Cycle plays set there.
This month even gave me a chance to honor Wilson's work with a program at Pitt's Hillman Library. It was the day of the big Super Bowl celebration, but actors Eileen Morris, Jonas Chaney and Tre Garrett were still willing to join in reading scenes from the 10 plays while I provided a brief narration.
Perhaps it has felt like August Wilson Month to me mostly because I'm now teaching a course in the Pittsburgh Cycle at Pitt. Also, this was the first Black History Month since Wilson's death. But the fascination with his work will continue, most immediately with three of his plays scheduled to be produced here later this year.
Pam Panchak, Post-GazetteVanessa German with "1839 Wylie Avenue" at the exhibit "Art for August."
Click photo for larger image.
First Published February 28, 2006 12:00 am
