SymbolismIn 20th Century Arts

Outline1. What is Symbolism?

2. Symbolism’s Impact on the Arts

3. Rise of Russian Symbolism

4. Russian Impact on Theatre

5. Notable Symbolists and their contributions

François Sarcey:"When I understand a few phrases here and there, I

tell myself: this is a Decadent poet. When I understand practically

nothing, I say to myself: this must be a symbolist"

What is Symbolism? Began in late 19th Century Europe and flourished in

Russia

A complex, imaginative and colorful movement

A philosophy that reflect purity of vision > observation, abstraction > ordinary

Explores images, metaphors and inner realities of human experiences that cannot be directly perceived

Basis for artistic and intellectual movements such as Expressionism and Surrealism

Impact on the Arts Symbolist wish to create a certain state of the soul

Works tend to revolve around dreamscape Fairy tales (love/death) > social issues

In Visual Arts:- Color (blue/green), Flowers (lily/rose) and animals (swan/peacock) became important inspirations

In Literature: symbolists write in a poetic language- verses are musical - words that suggest > state- poets write with free verse, away from constraints of structures

E.g. The Intruder: "the rose-leaves are falling”

Guess!

Impact on Theatre Director is an important member in theatrical

production

Infuses all the other arts into Symbolic Theatre

2D type of scenery to 3D scenery

Focuses on the human consciousness and emphasize on moral problems

- psychological > external actions

- Loses human characterization, dramatic action and realistic stage-settings for theatre effects of mystery and mysticism

Aims for a stage with qualities of rhythm, tone and harmony in the unfolding movement of its actors and accented by the play of varied lighting

Rise of Russian Symbolism

An intellectual and artistic movement

Russian Symbolist movement affected all the art media

1st generation - 1890-1900 “Silver age”

2nd generation – 1900-1910 “Blue rose movement”

Focuses on intrinsic experience of art making

Evolution of modern Russian painting

See painting not only as an exercise on color and

life, but also as a philosophic force

Mikhail Vrubel’s Morning

Russian Impact on Theatre

20th Century Moscow art theatre – only carrier of the great European theatrical culture during that time!

Russian Theatre > the other European Theatre

- greater, deeper, fuller and mightier

The essence of Russian theatre is not an ensemble but an unity

- Elements in theatre are closely connected to each other, inter-dependant on one another

- The elements of Russian theatre cannot be altered;

it is only possible to alter the placing of the emphasis

Important Russian SymbolistsAlexander Scriabin(1871-1915)

Symbolist poet, music composer, pianist

Andrey Bely (1880-1934)

Symbolist poet, prose writer and dramatist

Vyacheslav Ivanov (1866-1949)

•Symbolist poet and classicist• Revive the Dionysian origins of the theatre to Symbolist theatre • Attempts to write Russian symbolist drama and stage it appropriately were not very successful

Opposed by Andrew Bely in 1907 • mocked the Dionysian approach • pointed out the impossibility of symbolism in the theater - would destroy the barrier between viewer/actor

Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov (1873-1924)

Symbolist poet. - insisted that the theatre be stripped of extraneous production values and handed back to the actors

Andrey Bely Bely believe that drama is the highest poetic art

Bely’s attribute to drama - atmospheric and musical.

‘Man must live by his creative imagination and re-fashion reality according to his inner vision’

Bely conceives, the stage is the incarnation of the dream, and the fictive world of the drama infects people as with a fever, through the creation of a life that is lofty and meaningful.

He creates a new stage space that opens out onto infinity.

His plays abounds in strange optical effects:

- pulsating intensities of light and the refraction of radiance become the dramatic action, replacing psychology and plot.

Alexander ScriabinScriabin had always wanted to express himself in word and gesture of sensory images

He sees colors for keys and musical notes

Scriabin hear colors. Color is a means for conveying Scriabin’s sensation or ideas.

He is also interested in dance as a symbolic gesture

Experimented with dance forms that might interpret the mood of the piece - realize that music reveals its own shape and how it may be expressed in motion.

Scriabin’s Prometheus Prometheus was a combination of symbols of dance, visual, music and colors (light machine)

Scored for orchestra due to thevarious tone colors

In Prometheus, fire is light, life, struggle...

Usually got to do with mystical views.. second line of Prometheus for a light machine to produce a color for the rood of the harmony indicated above

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3B7uQ5K0IU

Petrushka

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbWDG3LU4bc

References: Bowlt, J. E. 1973. Russian Symbolism and the ‘Blue Rose’

Movement. The Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 51, pp. 161-181.

Efros, A. and Gordon, H. 1929. The Russian Theatre and its Artists since the Revolution. College Art Association, Vol. 1, pp. 6-9.

Gerould, D. C. 1978. Andrei Bely: Russian Symbolist. Performing Arts Journal, Vol. 3, pp. 25-29.

Matlaw, R. E. 1979. Scriabin and Russian Symbolism. Duke University Press, Vol. 31, pp.1-23.

Schumacher, C. 1996. Naturalism and Symbolism in European Theatre 1850-1918. USA: University of Cambridge, pp. 208-120, 227.

Tisdel, F. M. 1920. Symbolism in Theatre. The Sewanee Review, Vol. 28, pp. 228-240.