In Blue: a Story of Missing Art, History and Friendship Coming to The Tank
Niki Hatzidis
In Blue, the latest production written and directed by Ran Xia, is being presented at The Tank as part of their director in residence program this December. The play is based on the mostly letter correspondence based relationship between painter Franz Marc and poet Else Lasker Schuler. In the play Else is on a search for Franz Marc’s lost masterpiece The Tower of Blue Horses. Xia describes In Blue as an interdisciplinary performance art piece in a theatrical setting that incorporates two voices with live music in an instillation based setting. “It’s the first piece of mine that incorporates all the things I am interested in.” A visual artist herself, Ran says she draws her inspiration from the intersection of legends, mythology and current events while also reflecting on how humanity mirrors animalistic behavior.
While researching Matisse and her favorite painter Franz Marc for a play she was writing about the use of blue in art, Xia came across a letter from Else Lasker-Shuler to Franz, one of many in what she came to discover was long-term, long distance friendship. “They were so extremely cute,” says Ran of Else and Franz, “they were like two kids playing.” It became clear that Else was a big inspiration to Franz and vice versa. The Tower of Blue Horses was originally a small sketch on the back of a postcard sent to Else. “That became the more fascinating aspect of that part of their life,” said Xia of their communication, “so I ditched Matisse.”
There has been a lot of mystery and conspiracy around the painting after it disappeared in 1945. It was part of a degenerate art exhibit curated by Hitler, and after a German war veteran protested about the painting’s inclusion, the 200m by 140m painting was taken down and never seen again. “That’s kind of sexy and romantic,” Ran states, “a missing panting, speculated to maybe have been destroyed.” Then began the nearly two year workshop and development process.
Although the play predominately focuses on Else’s search for Franz’s lost painting long after his death fighting in World War I, the main thread of In Blue is their friendship. What is most interesting in their correspondence is their origin story. Franz had depicted one of Else’s poems in an illustration that was published in a magazine. Else saw the drawing and essentially sent Franz a fan letter. The two then began sending each other letters, Franz sending nearly twenty-eight postcards to Else and her son. The two even used secret names for each other, Else calling herself Yousef from the biblical story of Joesph.
Ran says that the play showcases her artistic aesthetic of heavy and whimsy. The play discusses war, destruction, death, missed connection and loss. During their relationship, Else, a Jewish woman, was exiled from her only home, Germany. “They shared artistic expression, the colors they both used were so vibrant and child like in the way,” Xia says, “they see the world is very innocent and full of whimsy. You can see even after the effect of war and loss there is still that kind of child like strength and I think that is manifested in whimsy.” This was vital for Xia in capturing their interactions in the play. “It’s very important to me. And maybe the reason I resonate with them so much is because they really perceive the world in saturated colors, in animalistic instinct, and interact with each other like animals do.”
While writing In Blue, Ran was in the process of re-applying for her visa. Ran is originally from Shanghai. “Its a personal story for me because I didn’t know I would be resinating with Else’s personal experience because I’m not Jewish.” Last September Xia had submitted a nearly 500 page document in defense of her visa. In February 2019 she received notice that she needed to send over even more evidence. It wasn’t until August of this year that she knew she could stay in the country. “It was eleven months of living is this purgatorial space, of waiting and not being sure where I might be the next week or the next day.” Ran says the experience really anchored her in writing Else and Franz’s story. “I put a lot of my feelings and emotions into these two real people now partially fictional and partially me.”
Ran talked a little bit about her experience with diversity and privilege. “Growing up I was taught to give space to other people, because I’m from Shanghai, I’m relatively privileged. It’s not the same but we were like the white people of Asia,” Ran told me, “so I was taught to track my privilege and give space and make sure other people can get to opportunities as much as I could. I didn’t know I was a person of color until recently.” Xia explains the parallel of Else’s story and that of minorities in America today. "I think the experience of a Jewish woman in pre-nazi occupation, as well as after, is this unsteadiness, this lack of belonging. It is very similar to what people feel now in America and a lot of different places in the world with Neo nazi running around.”
Ran Xia’s In Blue featuring Alyssa Simon and Finn Kilgore will be performed at The Tank December 4-15th. Tickets and more information about the show is available on The Tank’s website. www.thetanknyc.org/inblue
Niki Hatzidis is an actor and award nominated playwright based in New York. NikiHatzidis.com