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Rhapsody in Blue (and Green, Red, Yellow…)

Photography Peter Frank EdwardsPhotos 22Issue May 2016
Jonathan Green at home near his painting Day Skyscape (oil on linen, 48 x 60 inches, 1999)As the visual designer for Spoleto Festival USA’s production of Porgy and Bess, he developed the looks for the characters, first by loosely sketching his ideas in acrylic on cardboard, visualizing, as he says, “how they dress, as people of their culture, displaying their Africanness.”Green, at work in his downtown studio, is dressed in what he calls his “uniform” (always a black T-shirt and pants).Recent works include Serenity Walk (acrylic on watercolor paper, 11 x 141/2 inches, 2016)Red Sky (acrylic on watercolor paper, 11 x 141/2 inches, 2016)Maquettes for the sets of Porgy and Bess at the Spoleto scene shop demonstrate Green’s direction, including Catfish Row, which will transform decoratively throughout the show as African design elements, such as diamond patterns, are added.Act Two, Scene Two’s Kittiwah Island continues Green’s vibrant aestheticA few of the artist’s interpretive sketches for the characters of Porgy and Bess; Green took on the visual designer role under the condition that he could do it from the perspective of Africans who had come to this country of their own volition. “I wanted to add back in what should have been there, add in elements of the African visual culture to the American culture,” he says.Rhapsody in Blue (and Green, Red, Yellow…)Rhapsody in Blue (and Green, Red, Yellow…)Costume designer Annie Simone will take her cues from Green’s interpretive sketches and his more specific costume sketches for ensemble members and lead characters, such as Sportin’ Life and Bess.... as well as Porgy and SerenaFrom Green’s “Rice Culture” series: Rice Culture Sunrise (acrylic on watercolor, 11 X 14 1/2 inches, 2012)African Tree Marking (acrylic on watercolor, 11 X 14 1/2 inches, 2012)Early Morning Husking (acrylic on watercolor, 11 X 14 1/2 inches, 2012)Rice Plantation (acrylic on watercolor, 11 X 14 1/2 inches, 2012)Pestle and Mortar (acrylic on watercolor, 11 X 14 1/2 inches, 2012)Checking Salt Water Intrusion (acrylic on watercolor, 11 X 14 1/2 inches, 2012)Hulling Home Rice (acrylic on watercolor, 11 X 14 1/2 inches, 2012)Rice Carriers (acrylic on watercolor, 11 X 14 1/2 inches, 2012)Strolling by a Sluice Gate (acrylic on watercolor, 11 X 14 1/2 inches, 2012)Rhapsody in Blue (and Green, Red, Yellow…)

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