Art that sparkles, art that inspires
A thread of denial runs beneath “The Great Gatsby,” glittering in Overture Hall this week. Daisy Buchanan — pretty, passionate, trapped in a marriage with an unfaithful “brute” — babbles like she’s trying to separate her words from her own brain. The ensemble’s jazz hands look manic. Keep moving, they tell us. Don’t think.
I felt the contrast this week between that style of art (glitzy, escapist) and the 11-foot-tall protest statue made by jordan jamal powell karis, delivered to Madison from George Floyd Square. “My art and my creativity are just part of my expression, specifically grief (and) funneling emotion,” powell karis told Ashley Rodriguez.
My former editor Katie Dean used to say that we don’t only do features when there’s no news. And we do have plenty of cultural news to share this week: beautiful new Indigenous art celebrating the Teejop community; details about Madison Comedy Week coming up Aug. 3-8; my own short Q&A with a new leader at Overture Center…