Marianna Oakley, born 2 January,1963.
Graduated from Tbilisi State Academy of Art. Majoring in Art History (1981-1985).
Science degree PHD in 1993.
Chief researcher in “George Chubinashvili National Research Center For Georgian Art History and Heritage Preservation”. Object for the research – Art of Scenography and Modern Georgian Art.
Head of Academic Council.
Visiting associate professor, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi state University. Department of Art History, Undergradute and Gradute Program.
Marianna Oakley is curator and organaizer of several exsebitions, among them:
Davit Sulakauri- Retrospeqtiv personal exhibition. Georgian National
Museum. I. Grishashvili Museumof the History of Tbilisi.
“Petre Otskheli – Retrospective”. P. Shevardnadze National Gallery, Tbilisi. Curator of the exhibition.
Alexander Bandzeladze – “Abstraction Experiments. Beyond the Borders”. Curator of the
exhebition.
“Georgian Stage Design”. Georgian Embassy in Berlin, Germany. Curator of the exhibition.
“A Refuge for Artistic Expressions. XX Century Georgian Scenography. Paris – Berlin – Tbilisi. European House, Tbilisi. Curator of the exhibition.
“Georgian Stage and Cinema Painting – Retrospective”. Pier Cardin center, Paris. Curator of the exhibition.
Core works and publications:
Teimuraz Murvanidze. Book-albom. Texst.
Simon (Soliko) Virsaladze. Book-albom. Texst.
Teimuraz Ninua . Book-Album. Texst. Art-book.
Koka Ignatov. Book-Album. Texst.
“Scene Painting. Collection of the Shota Rustaveli Theatre (1920 – 1950)”. Album, text – co. – Dali Lebanidze, Elene Tumanishvili.
Dato Sulakauri. Book-Album.
Prague Quadrennial, Georgian pavilion “ Woman’s voice”. Catalog
text.
“Soliko Virsaldze”. Album – Monography. Author of the texst.
Nino Chubinishvili. Artist portrait. Jurnal “ Georgian Antiquinties” “
“Guranda Klibadze and Her Artistic World”. Journal “Academy”,
Tbilisi, State Academy of Art.
Guranda Klibadze. Exhibition Catalogue – “Monotypy”. Author of the text.
“Sergo Kobuladze and His Theatrical World”. Conference on modern and
Contemporary Georgian Arts. “Heritage and modernity”. Tbilisi.
20th century Georgian stage design – “Tradition and Innovativeness”.
International conference of Modern and Contemporary Art
“Memory, Art and Art History in the Search for Identity”.
Marianna Wrights a lot of articles about theatre, art exhibition, modern and contemporary Georgian Arts.
Member of OISTAT.( International organization of stage design and tecnic).
Member of ICOM (international Council of Museums).
Georgian Women Set Designers in the Context of Contemporary Crisis Challenges
The greatest historical tradition of Georgian art, Georgian spirit, and the theatrical nature of the Georgian people has determined a peculiar, independent side of Georgian theatrical and decorative art. From an artistic and stylistic perspective, Georgian scenography has always been at the forefront of our art. The geopolitical position of Georgia shaped its unique character: on one side, an emotional, decorative Eastern environment, and on the other hand, a rational, constantly progressing, changing, and searching for new artistic forms, laconic Western world.
The combination of these tendencies gave rise to the concept of Georgian scenography. The Georgians’ attitude toward life is partly based on theatrical aesthetics, where three main aspects are interconnected: the character, the setting, and the “active nature” of the environment, which plays a significant role in existence and permeates through its thinking and psychotype.
Georgian scenography is the consequence of the 20th century.
Throughout its century-long path, Georgian theatrical art has been characterized by concrete and abstract forms, a touching, unrestrained rhythm of futurism, and the vibrant colors of expressionism. All the above correspond to the emotion, excitement, and dramaticism of the performance. In the works of Georgian theater artists, the characteristics of the Art Nouveau style resonated with a unique strength, representing a distinctive blend of architectonics, romantic, and naturalistic elements, ultimately manifesting in unmatched decorativeness.
In the most difficult periods for the country, the theater became a “niche” for artists, allowing them to freely express their views on the form and essence of art. The theater space emerged as a unique realm for bold theatrical experiments, relatively protected from harsh reality.
The artist plays a role in the performance as a co-creator of the concept alongside the director. Their individuality determines whether they prioritize the construction of a visual “icon” during the performance, or focus on picturesque decoration, the interplay of individual objects or costumes, color combinations, specificity or generality, narrative or brevity, and plastic “modulation” or graphic solutions.
Georgian scenography has gradually established itself within the contemporary trends of world theater art, evolving from simple set design to dynamic and effective scenography.
Each era has its own “thought.” Our modernity perceives everything through its prism, creating a new culture based on the reinterpretation of the “old.” This leads to attempts to “refresh” universal themes and gives rise to a sense of coexistence among different temporal layers. The creation of the new occurs through reinterpreting the existing and assembling a new “mosaic.” Consequently, new thinking, tastes, worldviews, and sensations confront the old, even as the latter continues to play an important role in the search for the new.
Using old patterns, the artist, based on their perspective, will frame them within their artistic vision, place them in a new conceptual context, infuse them with new issues, and align them with their creative concepts.
Umberto Eco said, “We should not destroy the past; we need to reinterpret it ironically but without ‘naivety.'”
A common characteristic of 21st-century Georgian theater, which is also emphasized in the painting, is the existence beyond time and space, parabolic storytelling, irony, and critique expressed through grotesque elements. This generates a sense of tragedy that fosters an understanding of life relevant to today.
The 20th century does not accept ancient art in the form it existed and exists, with all its beauty; instead, we embrace aggression in exchange for the triumph of “classical” beauty. The focus is primarily on destruction. Today, only fragments of old art are taken and recontextualized within a modern reality, which is a result of its own subjective experience.
The work of any artist is a second “self” of the artist, as the creator imbues it with emotion and a specific interpretable idea. Here, emotional and ideal thoughts come together, creating a dialogue with the viewer. To understand a work of art, the idea and form must converge; only then does it attract the viewer. This leads to a problem that the artist actively engages in resolving.
All of the above is very fitting for the women set designers who represented Georgia at the Prague Quadrennial in 2015: Nino Chubinishvili, Ana Kalatozishvili, Nino Kitia, Nino Chitaishvili, Nino Surguladze, Anna Ninua, Manana Gunia-Romano, Eka Sologashvili, Anna Mosidze, Tamar Okhikian, Teo Kukhianidze, and Nutsa Khidasheli.
The exhibition of works by these twelve set designers arranged an overall picture of the common trends and features of Georgian scenic design.
The last decade of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century were quite challenging for Georgia’s history in terms of the socio-political aspect. These challenges placed pressure on Georgian art, which was marked by tragic and tense moods. However, the Georgian people have always believed in a better future, which serves as the driving force of our lives.
The new reality set new tasks for the theater. The new reality presented the theater with new challenges. The search for new forms of self-expression reflected the personal self-awareness of individuals. Gender identity emerged as a central focus.
Through the language of art, women raise questions such as: what does it mean to be a woman? How does a woman perceive the world? In many cases, the work of women presents emotional manifestations and ideological layers such as spiritual expression, radicalism, suffering, aggression, and fear, which are dictated by the political and economic crisis in the country. For women artists, the act of gaining power itself became a creative process. They were merely removed from the role of muses, yet even in this situation—where they became sources of inspiration for artists—women defined the creativity of many geniuses. While they did not create, they can certainly be considered co-authors.
Women actively began to fight for their place and to defend their rights, and theater is one of the most vivid examples of this.
In contemporary Georgian theater, the role of the woman set designer has become prominent. If we trace the history of Georgian scenography, there has never been a period when so many women worked side by side, even in different theaters, at the same time. The ideological and artistic-visual concepts of these artists resonate with the contemporary search for political identity. The stage sets are understood in a visual context that is dramaturgically interpreted, flowing through the theatrical space and time, reflecting a dynamically unfolding plot. From the perspective of costume design, the artist follows a path where the actor becomes an element of the visual-plastic composition, animated in the scenographic action. At the same time, clothing and accessories enhance the spectacle of the performance.
It is important to note that, from the perspective of artistic form, the paradigm of self-reflection in artistic thinking is evident in the work of women set designers. In terms of combining the characteristics of old and new art—specifically, the use of classical forms and styles typical of traditional theatrical decorative painting in the form of “replicas” along with a new ideological interpretation based on them—this is directly connected to contemporary issues.
The art of these twelve women is vastly different from one another. The sense of identity crisis is expressed through themes of emotional suffering, duality, dreaminess, mosaic-like qualities, and compressed or suffocating spaces. The work vividly expresses a desire for aestheticism, which is perceived as a counterpoint to contemporary reality. At the same time, the decorative quality presented in the pieces, the emphasis on delicate beauty, the significance of color, and the refinement of the corresponding “chord” are key characteristics of Georgian painting. These artists are united by a strong, energetic essence, and each is in a state of constant renewal. This indicates that somewhere deep within their thoughts, there is a search for new forms and new realities.
Significantly, the artists place their characters (as envisioned by the director) in a “confined,” “charged” space, based on the arrangement of the decorative system. This develops the Shakespearean imagery of “the World is a prison,” a metaphor attributed to the Danish prince Hamlet. It seems to reflect a global totalitarianism from which our country is constantly trying to escape. The scenographic symbols are used minimally, allowing the viewer’s imagination to fill in a cohesive artistic image and create a unified impression aimed at breaking through the “airless space.”
The decorative system also has an ideological load, which gives it the possibility of “spectacular” decoration, and within the limits of conventionality takes over the plastic-visual embodiment of the dramaturgical and intellectual side.
Overall, the color palette of the decor and costumes, based on black, white, and red, with their contrasting opposition without semi-tones, effectively conveys the dramatic structure of the play. It aligns with the mood and carries an ideological-emotional tint reflective of the events occurring in the world today.
The costume becomes not only a colorful spot that produces a dynamic artistic palette in movement but also a symbol and an object through which the inner world of the character is expressed. It reveals their nature and partially discloses the artistic subjective features of the character.
Costumes often dominate the structure of the performance, which, according to V. Berezkin, relates to the principle of “the artist’s theater” as a distinct form of stage creativity. The artistry of the costumes is frequently defined by the director’s vision, rooted in the source material. In this case, the costume is not an isolated object but emerges as a scenographic character. The director determines how to have the costume appear episodically, at culminating moments, or throughout the performance, to arrange a visual counterpoint to the overall decorative system. In many cases, the costume is given an independent significance and is closely connected to the actor, building a variety of forms. The costumes in these works possess their feature —grotesque, expressionistic, bouffonade, comedic, or “circus-like.” Sometimes, it is simple, aesthetically refined, and worthy of admiration for the stylistic qualities of a historical era. As noted above, clothing serves as a psychological accent and conveys the appropriate mood.
The visual and artistic integration of the image and the costumes by the artists, along with the tradition of their identification with one another—that is, understanding them together—can be found in Georgian ethno-folklore tradition. “Berikaoba” is a festival that dates back to pagan times and represents the first example of Georgian theatrical performance. It was an improvisational mask theater, associated with a cult-religious spectacle, where a street procession was accompanied by music and dance. The “beriks” wore bright clothing and masks. Even today, as in those times, the irrational emotions arising in society were shaped into specific archetypes, reflecting passion and character.
Georgian women set designers strive to assert their intellectual and emotional positions through various artistic techniques. In their works, one can discern themes of protest, love, aggression, and lyricism. This serves as a declaration of their approach and feelings, reflecting a sense of incompatibility with today’s disharmonious, nihilistic world.
Synthesis of tradition and new artistic thinking – this is how contemporary Georgian theatrical and decorative painting can be described. Devotion to form, a quest for color, and polyphony (typical of Georgian folk music), as well as vision and analysis of events through the prism of today’s problems, make our contemporary art more relevant. It poetically celebrates the present while simultaneously exposing its darker aspects in the context of a rapidly changing, dynamic world. In the turmoil of these feelings and their struggle, new truths and values ultimately emerge.
Unfortunately, today’s reality paints an even clearer picture of a deepening crisis. There is complete chaos, fear, and confusion, leading to an increasingly bleak and hopeless outlook. Most theatrical productions have become politicized, reflecting the drama of existence and intertwining with absurdity and dark humor. This is also interesting because it involves a position and a certain ideological struggle. The difficult political backdrop and socio-economic situation, which led to the establishment of a selective funding system for theaters, have forced artists to partially or completely halt their activities. Some of the set designers showcased at the Quadrennial have moved abroad to preserve their profession and continue working: Manana Gunia is now with the Astana Opera and Ballet Theatre in Kazakhstan, while Ekaterine Sologashvili primarily works in painting in Slovakia. Nino Chubinishvili from Tbilisi fully embraces the design direction and creates graphic illustrations, while Nutsa Khidasheli has completely left the profession. The others continue to work in theater, although their roles are not regular or stable. Their names rarely appear on theater posters. While there are exceptional cases we hope for, the work is not adequately funded.
History shows that such situations often serve as a prelude to the emergence of a “new wave.” Unfortunately, the political and economic crisis has largely been directly linked to creative activity.We hope that ahead lies a new path of revival that will bring new opportunities and recognition to Georgian theater and scenography.