CEREMONY (2011)
3 OIL PAINTINGS AND A DRAWING BY ERICH HECKEL (1883-1970)
Jan Vanriet decorated a ceremonial room. Two paintings refer to an old, popular Austrian tradition in which the inhabitants of snow-covered mountain villages evoke events from Christ’s birth story around Christmas. The tradition was especially popular in the 19th century, when these small communities were still very secluded and used to get through the long winter evenings rehearsing the Christmas play. The little boy in the middle painting comes to announce the next scene. In the typical pose of a messenger, he points his palms towards the audience. The painting on the right shows the devil’s hand, threatening with a strange-looking arrow. For Sauve Qui Peut on the left, Vanriet was inspired by the only stage-property in Tg STAN’s play Redde wie zich redden kan (Save who can save himself): a huge imitation crystal chandelier above the stage. The performance was an adaptation of Am Ziel, a play in which Austrian author Thomas Bernhard thematised power relations and the aesthetic, psychological and social impact of theatricality. Frauenkopf is a 1910 drawing by German Expressionist Erich Heckel.