Expressions

Inspiration for the title of this gallery came from the Head of a Devotee. In studying it for the first time (in the basement of the museum, the best backstage tour I’ve ever had in Williamstown!), I looked at it and thought it cried out for a voice. I thought about all the different emotions or qualities the head could possibly express.

In my role as a theater producer, I am very accustomed to taking something on paper (a script) and vivifying it — putting it together with a director, a designer, actors, a stage, and an audience to give it voice and shape and context. My instinct in curating The Gallery of Crossed Destinies was to give these works of art a voice of some kind.

I wrote some of my favorite playwrights, many of whom have been part of the Williamstown Theatre Festival in the past, and some who have not yet been a part of the Festival. I showed them images of the art selected for this exhibition and asked them if they would either write something for it or if they had something “in their drawer” that might accompany the work. The one exception was that I couldn’t help but pair a monologue by Samuel Beckett with the aforementioned Head of a Devotee. The result is a combination of new works or found work that in some way, shape, or form offers these pieces an expressive voice.