PRIMARY COLORS: An Interview with Tyler Marchant
Monday, July 29, 2013
A Director's Inspirations
In 'ART,' the character Serge purchases a piece of contemporary
abstract art: a white painting with white diagonal lines. His
substantial investment in the piece sparks a debate that threatens
to shred three men's friendships with one another.
The play raises more questions than it answers. What kind
of piece could cause an argument which devolves rapidly from the
quality of a canvas to the worth of a human being? Does a
strong reaction to a work of art, positive or negative,
automatically imply quality? Does a strong reaction to a
friend's choice imply care or its opposite? What lies in the
space between?

As MCT rehearses Yasmina Reza's provocative piece, director
Tyler Marchant took a few minutes to share his own
passion for 'ART.' In initial conversations with the production's
design team last December, Marchant confessed that he has loved the
play since he first became familiar with it. MCT Education,
irresistibly curious as to why, couldn't resist mining the story
behind the work in process in the rehearsal hall:
This is Piet Mondrian's Composition of Red, Blue,
Yellow, and White: Nom II, 1939. At The Museum of Contemporary Art,
Los Angeles Found at
http://www.moca.org/pc/viewArtWork.php?id=45
MCT: What first captivated you about this
play?
MARCHANT: I've always wanted to direct this
play. You could say it was on my "bucket list" of plays which
I desperately wanted to direct. I think the play is stylish,
smart, and incredibly funny. It also uncovers a wonderful
metaphor between art and friendship. I've always connected to
the play in terms of the three men having to re-define and
re-imagine their friendships-if they are to survive.
MCT: 20th century artist Piet
Mondrian's work is a fundamental influence on the design of this
production and on how you have framed (no pun intended) the
relationships among the characters therein. How did you come
to connect to this specific body of work as inspiration for
exploring the style and design of this work? For you, in what
way(s) does Mondrian's work illuminate the story of
'ART'?
MARCHANT: In investigating the play, I started to
think of the metaphor of art and hit upon the idea of distilling it
down to the primary colors. 3 men… 3 primary colors… I
started to muse on this, and eventually it took me to the work of
Piet
Mondrian. I had always admired Mondrian's
work without ever fully grasping it entirely. I loved the
search his art brought out in my own work and imagination. It
started to make sense when I thought about the play: a white space
separated by black lines started to look like a myriad of
canvasses. I started to see how the three men could become
the primary colors that so often permeate the work of Mondrian's
canvas.
This is Piet Mondrian's Tableau
2, 1922.
Copyright 2007 Mondrian/Holtzman Trust
Found at
http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/collection-online/artwork/3013
MCT: Are you a fan of abstract art in
general? Who are your favorites, if so?
MARCHANT: Yes. I have to say my first real
visceral connection to it was the Mark Rothko room in the Tate
Gallery in London. I was studying there as an undergrad, and
when I stepped into the room, his paintings seemed to dance.
I sat in that room for a long time, and a new sense of awe about
the art world started to come into my
being. Rothko's paintings taken in
alone are one thing, but when one is completely surrounded by them,
it becomes another experience. That was the beginning.
I love art that challenges me intellectually and emotionally-Rothko
did that in every way. I still search that out, and I still
am thrilled when I encounter it.
This is Mark Rothko's No.
14
Held at the San Francisco Museum of Modern ArtImage found
at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Rothko
What Will We See?
Are you a fan of contemporary, abstract, and/or contemporary
abstract art? Enjoy the following inspirations and leads
which both the design team and MCT friends have shared on the kind
of work we might expect to see onstage in Serge's purchase:
- For initial designs, Tyler Marchant recommended seeking out the
work of artist Robert Ryman, who works in white and texture.
- Visit YouTube. Barbara Brown Lee, former Chief Educator
at the Milwaukee Art Museum, hosts a series of fascinating short
lectures on works held by the MAM. Episode 1, "My KID Could
Do That!," features work resonant of the style of Serge's painting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QonQkYQkQY.
- Visit the Milwaukee Art Museum. If on display, the works
discussed in Barbara Brown Lee's lecture are held right down the
street from MCT, from Agnes Martin's white canvas Untitled
#10 to Ellsworth Kelly's Red, Yellow, Blue II,
featuring three panels of primary colors.
- Michael Wright turned up an article about abstract
expressionist painter Barnett Newman, whose blue canvas garnered
over $40 million dollars at auction.
See you soon-when visual art takes center stage-in the Cabot
Theatre!
< Back To News & Media