'Art': When meaning emerges from nothing

What if an object can dictate friendship, relationships and lives? Well, if the object is an artwork – a painting, it can certainly dictate emotions. But what if the painting is just plain white? 

Three best friends fight over a starkly white painting in the comedy-play 'Art'. Written by French playwright Yasmina Reza in 1994, Art is a French-language play that premiered at Comédie des Champs-Élysées in Paris in the same year. The play was staged in London in 1996 and on Broadway in 1998.

The critically acclaimed play was performed by Open Space Theatre in the Experimental Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on 24 May. The director, M Arifur Rahman, portrayed Marc, one of the three friends – the only three cast members. 

In the play, Marc is a pretentious aesthete and a self-proclaimed intellectual. The fight among the three friends Marc (Arifur), Serge (Ritwik Mahbub) and Yvan (Tahmid Suprav), begins when Marc unearths that Serge had acquired a two-hundred-thousand-franc (Tk20 lakh) painting by artist Antrios. Almost completely white, the five-feet by four-feet painting had only a few diagonal lines painted on it. 

Serge's extravagant purchase disturbs Marc, which he thinks Serge did to assert that he appreciates fine art. Marc finds the painting so ridiculous that he asks Yvan to pay Serge a visit and see the ridiculous painting. 

However, surprisingly, Yvan is touched by the painting. Marc thinks the painting is a "piece of s**t!" Such phrases are repeatedly used throughout the play, making it feel realistic and not too hush-hush. 

Their 15-year long friendship is shaken as the three of them explore the meaning of love and hate, friendship and fakeness, selfishness and benevolence, poverty, extravagance, status, ego and value of beauty, and all from extremely personal standpoints. Friendship, just like art, devoid of love, respect, independence and empathy, becomes empty. 

The painting, like the men's relationship, is both full and empty, ridiculous and wonderful, meaningless and deep. The subject-matter of the play, 'Art', was magnificently portrayed, as everything happens revolving around the white painting.

The play touches on how one cannot just turn into an aesthete overnight, and how one cannot buy art or status with money. The most interesting of the three is Yvan. Yvan was in the textile industry but moved on to a stationery shop. His financial status is not as healthy as his friends – yet, he is getting ready to marry his girlfriend Catherine. 

Yvan plays arguably the most intense character, even though he is the comic presence in the play. He describes himself as the "poor and lonely" friend in the trio, who tries to keep them happy throughout the 15 years of their friendship. At one point, Marc demeans Yvan saying, "How much do you earn in a month or a year? Not even close to what Serge paid for that painting." 

But it is also Yvan who tries to stay neutral through and through. In the background, his marriage with Catherine is shaken due to family drama. But his 'best' friends still undermine him. Why be friends then, Yvan points out, when everyone hates each other so much? 

Throughout the play, the three friends switch stances vehemently, as they probe different aspects of life. Just seconds before they were clashing, but as new topics come up, they take on a different tone. This goes to show how idealism is very much subjective, and people will only want to side with what they understand, as they fear what they do not understand.

To do the play justice, the actors showcased their acting prowess through very natural performances, something expected from theatre acts. Their hand gestures, throw and clarity of voice, spatial awareness and eye contact were so mesmerising that the audience stayed with them the whole time. Their dialogue flowed. Their comedic integrations were perfect and did not feel enforced. 

Near the end of a feature-length show, the three eventually decide to storm out of Serge's apartment and have dinner somewhere, as they had already spent the time they were supposed to see a movie, bickering among each other.