The senior exhibition of Anna Fink held a theme of both art and theatre. Ms. Fink is involved in both subjects and therefore wanted to find a way to integrate them into one exhibit. The exhibit used different artistic styles in order to tell a theatrical tale. The tale was of Greek mythology's Orpheus and Eurydice. This is a love story that tells of Orpheus, a musician, who loves Eurydice, whom dies. In desperation, Orpheus makes a journey to the underworld in order to save her and be with her. The lords of the underworld allowed him to take her if he promised not to look back at her the trip home. Unfortunately, he looked back and she was taken away from him forever. Despite his later death, he had lost his love. Anna's exhibit had different elements to her story to coincide with the myth: the meeting, the wedding, the death, the journey, the plea, the following, and the despair. Each was accompanied with a piece of art that illustrated the importance and helped the viewers to envision the story. The forest that represented the journey to the underworld started in the light, but became very dark near the end where it met the plea. She then illustrated the following through a video of a man's footsteps being followed by seemingly leaf shaped footprints, indicating that she had not yet become human. The illustration shows his steps turning around and her prints disappearing. The sinking moment of her exhibit was the display of the death of a musician, being a broken guitar. This is an illustration of how the music died when he did. This was all particularly hard-hitting after the meeting, full of joy and becoming one, and the wedding, a joyous occasion. The death prior to the forest was the point where the exhibit took a dark shift from the world to the underworld. Anna Fink very successfully integrated art into a story, or vice versa if one preferred, through music and themes.
The creativity that must have gone into this exhibit is by far above average. Anna incorporated many different kinds of art in order to tell the story. She used lights, fashion, video, music, and sculptures. All of these elements each contributed to the overall story and beauty of the exhibit as a whole. The way she hung the art of the journey along the ceiling in the viewers' path was a brilliant way to illustrate a trip through a dark place. The guitar as a symbol of Orpheus was an idea that showed his connectedness to Eurydice in the beginning and his brokenness at the end. The use of fashion on mannequins to demonstrate the wedding gave the viewer an idea what their wedding could have looked like, but at the same time it was a reminder that Orpheus and Eurydice were not together, or alive, to wear them. The mannequins held a cold reminder that these were simply the clothes and not the happiness or joy of the true wedding, which was in the past. This shift from the happy music at the beginning was an ease into the darkness of death that was to follow. Each piece of art represented a key point in the story and Anna used them to stimulate the viewers both visually and emotionally.
I really enjoyed this exhibit. Being a fan of mythology I was intrigued by a story that I had never heard before. It was nice to see someone use a story that has not been told to death and one that doesn't necessarily end so happily. Anna embraced the challenge to tell a story of many emotions because her art would have to reflect each one. It is a good thing she did because she did a great job. The beginning of the exhibit was light and happy, but it soon struck dark as the story (and the exhibit) continued. She was able to take us on the emotional ride without rough transitions or confusion. The art was meaningful and representative to the story. I think Anna successfully told the story while maintaining the art of the exhibit. To blend the two so nicely is simply serene.
