Brand logos that appear this year in his speeches heroes And her Epidaurus they provoked backlash and controversy about the use of monuments and artistic expression. Do “firms” threaten ancient monuments? V question “K” answer the archaeologist Panos Valavanis and director Io Voulgarakis.

Herodeus, Epidaurus and the Firms

Nicola Zois

With a somewhat cynical approach, this is another Internet sensation: the corporate logos of Levi’s, McDonalds, Apple, Marlboro and other American companies on the set of the opera Madama Butterfly, presented in Herodium by the National Opera, caused a “buzz”. on social media, not so much for their dramatic value, but for their relationship to the monument. “Horror”, “shame”, “blasphemy” are some of the related comments.

A few days earlier, the Central Archaeological Council raised concerns about another logo, the Coca-Cola logo, which is part of the Medea set to be staged in Epidaurus in July by director Frank Castorf. The members of the council were not concerned about the only detail of the Medea (it is significant that scaffolding will “step” between the orchestra and the ancient stage, which is dangerous for the monument), but its actors will be called next week for clarification at the CAS.

File for approval

How did we get here? According to information from “K” from the National Opera, the organization, as every year, has compiled descriptions of the productions that it will present at the Irodeum into a file and submitted it for approval to the Ephorate of Antiquities of the city of Athens. which it received. This was not a foregone conclusion: in the past, the Lyrics were called to CAS for clarifications in their productions on Herodium, in 2019 this was done for “La Traviata”, in 2012 for “Tosca” (of which part of the scenery – the cross – was limited in size) . There were no problems this year. Otherwise, the same information says, production could not even reach Herodium.

Sources in the Ministry of Culture specify “K” that both monuments – Herodius and Epidaurus, as well as two productions – “Madama Butterfly” and “Medea” – differ from each other in many respects. “Medea” was of particular concern to KAS for reasons other than the logo, while it is important that it be presented in the most emblematic ancient theater internationally. Characteristically, while there is a special committee that approves Epidaurus sets before they pass CAS, the same cannot be said for Gerodeon. In his own case, the main problem for KAS is the preservation of the monument.

organic piece

Artistic Director of the Athens-Epidavros Festival Katerina Evagelatou expresses “K” assessment that in the case of “Medea” it will be clear that the logo in question is not an advertisement, but an organic part of the scenery. After all, the German director and his stage designer Alexander Denich in their other works used trademarks as symbols of the collapse of the culture of greed and consumption, which destroys historical memory. “This is what characterizes their artistic language,” says Ms. Evagelatos.

So perhaps another question that is up for discussion is whether there are still restrictions on the artistic use of monuments. “K” saw “Madama Butterfly” and asked the archaeologist and filmmaker a question. And if the valuation is allowed, the discussion could be reopened when the Rome Conservatory hosts an event next week that will showcase the famous fashion house’s new jewelry collection.

views

Physical and symbolic endurance

Panos Valavanis*

The desire of the authors (directors and stage designers) to connect classical works with the present day is understandable. Their need for originality and innovation is also understandable. However, the “new” approach to classical texts should not need external elements of impressionism, but deep interpretive approaches that appear to the viewer mainly through the speech and movement of the actors, against the backdrop of scenery that does not undermine the form, as well as the spirit of the monuments and their era.

Directing and scenographic innovations could be demonstrated in another space, in one of the thousands of modern theaters all over the world. There is no need to bring them to Epidaurus and Herodium.

We usually read in interviews of performers about how important a moment in their career is the presentation of their works in ancient theaters and what awe they experience when they come into contact with specific monuments. The same feeling should prevail in the show.

When we visit, or even more so when we are invited to some special place, even a house, we usually show our respect by behaving accordingly. Especially when we “use” the monuments of other times, cultures and ideas. Authors are obliged to respect monuments and their physical and symbolic endurance. Their creations should obey them, and not try to subdue them.

The creations of the authors should serve as monuments, and not try to subdue them.

This may be a general tendency of modern man, i.e., to subordinate and use everything (nature, animals, monuments, etc.) at his own discretion and in his favor, but we expect a different approach from especially sensitive artistic creators, an ascending approach.

This, after all, has been and remains one of the characteristics of great art throughout the ages.

* Mr. Panos Valavanis is Professor Emeritus of Classical Archeology at the University of Athens.

On stage I see anything

Io Voulgarakis*

I think that within the overall social conservatism that we’re experiencing, there are some cultural issues that come up. For example, councils and committees approving theatrical productions of performances presented at monuments and archaeological sites should, I believe, focus on safety issues, ensure that these monuments and objects are not damaged by any stage structure and do not endanger their stability, their materials, etc. I don’t understand why there are judgments and opinions – because that’s what it’s all about – the show’s storytelling.

For my part, inside the contract called “stage”, I can see anything. I see a church burning – we have to understand that it’s one thing when something like this happens on stage, and another thing when people really burn it to the ground – I see a giant poster of Coca-Cola and everything that each creator chooses in any case, presents and proposes.

Whether this sentence is pleasant to me or someone else is a subjective question – whether a particular setting “connects” with the corresponding space and communicates with it or not, all these are conversations that take place while drinking our drink. Do we know, moreover, what is the spirit of each monument, with which the theatrical performance is consistent or not? Has anyone come into contact with this spirit? I find it somewhat dangerous to conduct a discussion on such a basis and to make someone – anyone, not a particular one – the controlling bearers of such concepts.

It is impossible, because of the nostalgia that engulfs us every summer, to ban or “cut” some of the scenery.

In my opinion, that part of the stage ensemble that this or that creator wants to compose cannot be banned or “cut out” because of the antiquarian lust that has gripped us every summer. More precisely, I am not offended by the Levi’s or Coca-Cola sign in Herodium or Epidaurus, but I, as a viewer, may be offended by something else in essence – let’s say its slovenliness – even if it does not have logos, stamps or anything from all this.

* Mrs. Io Vulgaraki is a director and playwright.

The modern viewer communicates with symbols, loves logos

Maros Vasiliadou

The debate about whether advertising logos can be used as part of the scenography of a theatrical production played in an ancient theater is as old as the creation of logos. The visual identity of Coca-Cola began to be developed in 1890, McDonald’s in 1940, and the pop art movement used these symbols of visual communication – Levi’s jeans, Coca-Cola, Campbell’s soups, signs of prosperity in post-war America – as visual tools for ridicule. . consumer society culture as early as the 1950s.

Speaking to Olivier Pi a few days before he presented Madame Butterfly at Irodio, he told me that he was preparing a political spectacle that revisited the fashion for “Japonism” that swept Europe in the second half of the 19th century. centuries in the light of post-colonial perceptions. In 1853, US Navy ships approached the country’s harbor to convince the hitherto isolated Japan to enter into trade and diplomatic relations with the Western world.

So, at the premiere last Thursday, we saw a plastic cowboy hat with a US flag printed on it, changing heads, and teenager Cho Cho San in a Marilyn Monroe wig. As for the setting, in the first part above the staircase, which opens in the form of a Japanese fan, there are advertising banners in Japanese and English.

All this aesthetically expresses what Olivier Pi thinks about his direction: The modern viewer is a suspicious person who lives in his time, communicates with symbols and loves logos – Apple, Google, Facebook. Also, the viewer knows at least a little international history and recognizes that the atomic bomb fell on Nagasaki – the hometown of young Cho Cho San – leaving scorched earth behind, as evidenced by the images that replace the banners in the second part.

Whether the parallel of the tender, lovesick girl with innocent, violently Americanized 1850s Japan is true, and whether the Nagasaki disaster can be compared to the protagonist’s falling in love is an artistic debate, so it’s best to do it in artistic terms.

However, it is in this performance that there are several very strong points – the change of the stage of the orchestra, the poetic starry sky, literally embracing two lovers. We will judge this after we first decide whether the ancient theaters will put on performances like petrified monuments or living organisms.