But is it art? That question can pop up when people mull over the meaning – or lack of – behind a work of art.
The question also forms the crux of a play by French writer Yasmira Reza, which is the latest offering next month from Squamish’s Between Shifts Theatre.
The story centres on three friends and their feelings surrounding a piece of art, specifically a large abstraction entirely white crossed by white diagonal lines.
One of the group, Marc, is not impressed by the expensive painting, recently purchased by Serge, one of his best friends.
Marc feels the painting is a joke. Serge feels Marc lacks the proper standards to evaluate it. A third friend, Yvan, soon allows himself to be dragged into the debate over the value of the painting.
Beyond the question of what is art, the play also tackles related questions such as how much would someone pay for the artwork, or whether it matters who the painter was.
As well, the argument over the painting opens the door to other conflicts, as the polemics become more personal than theoretical, with the friends battling each other over their various failings.
It’s not important to know a Mark Rothko painting from a Mark Tobey though, as director Michael K. Hewitt emphasizes that the play is as much a mediation on friendship as it is on art.
“You might fight with someone, you might disagree. Half an hour later, you might change your mind,” he said. “It really explores that idea…. It really bounces back and forth. It’s like a game of ping pong.”
Art stars Travis Woods, Todd Weitzel and Harvey Spivey.
Woods has worked with Hewitt, but he has not been on stage in a while. The director has worked with Weitzel more recently on plays such at The Glass Menagerie and Boeing, Boeing, and while Spivey has acted before, Art means a chance for a much larger role.
The cast has been rehearsing the play since January, and the director has been impressed with the rapport among the players.
“The three of them are clearly supportive of each other,” Hewitt said.
The director pitched the play last summer for the upcoming season. He had first discovered Reza’s work through another play called God of Carnage but continued exploring her repertoire.
“I read Art and found it a funny piece,” he said.
Artistic director Kathy Daniels said the theatre group executive was all interested in Reza’s body of work.
“She’s a young playwright from France, and, man, she keep whipping off these amazing plays that are big prize-winners.”
Daniels says that the script asks a lot of provocative questions about art and commerce that should get people thinking and talking. As well, she said that there are not many dramatic pieces that examine friendship among men.
“I think it’s really interesting for the guys to see something, just to explore that a bit more,” she said.
Art will run at the Eagle Eye Theatre April 1 to 9, nightly at 8 p.m. There is no evening show on April 3, although there will be a 2 p.m. matinee, and no show on Monday, April 4. Tickets can be reserved seating at betweenshiftstheatre.com, in person at InBiz Print and Business Centre or at the theatre before each performance.
