| The
paintings of Jonathan Green, which take as their subjects the people,
the daily life and the landscape of South Carolina's southeast coast,
speak a universal language of hope and love, work and play, youth and
old age, family and faith - a language spoken in brilliantly colorful
images full of motion and mood.
It is art rooted in the Gullah
heritage, a heritage wrapped in themes of family and community,
personal identity and expression, race and culture - a particularly
southern imagery that explores life and color in a way that the South,
with its often turbulent history of immigration, slavery, war,
prejudice and acceptance, understands with a real intimacy.
William
Starrett's Off the Wall & Onto the Stage translates these
extraordinary images to the contemporary stage in a visionary return to
classical ballet's blending of dance, music and fine art. Comprised of
a series of vignettes drawn directly from 22 of Jonathan's energetic
paintings, William's production explores the dynamics and inner
meanings of the paintings. The costumes, the landscapes and the people
in Jonathan's works literally come to life in dance set to music rooted
in the history of the region, including gospel, jazz, folk songs and
hymns. This unique commingling of the arts is an exhilarating testament
to the lively, multi-cultural reality of the South, and one with real
significance for America and the world.
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