Proposal+B

=Life Without Instruction= = by Sally Clark //A Playgoers' Companion// =

"Artemisia Gentileschi’s work is widely “interpreted as direct reflections of her personal experiences, with the inevitable implications that she could not have painted them if she had not actually experienced harassment, betrayal, torture, and rape, and that the power of her best work derives from some essential (hence essentialist) femaleness, where to be female is to be defined by one's body (including one's sexuality), by what is done to that body by men and by one's feminine passions. ”

__Characters__

//17th Century Italy//
 * Carravaggio** was born at the castle of Carravaggio in Milanese, in 1569. It was Caravaggio who among all the Italians first gave up the customary Mannerism and took up the study of nature. He was an influential Italian painter in the Baroque period. He utilized great contrast between light and dark in his paintings. He was one of the first artists to use real models and portray them realistically in his painting.

**Artemisia Gentileschi** was the daughter of Orazio Gentileschi, and was born in Rome 1590. She was a popular and highly successful painter of the Italian baroque period. Her most notable paintings are herself portrait of Susanna and the Elders, and her rendition of Judith and Holofernes. She is also widely known for a rape trial that took place in Rome in 1612. A few of her most powerful paintings have been privileged as definitive and then interpreted as direct reflections of her personal experiences, with the inevitable implications that she could not have painted them if she had not actually experienced harassment, betrayal, torture, and rape, and that the power of her best work derives from some essential (hence essentialist) femaleness, where to be female is to be defined by one's body (including one's sexuality), by what is done to that body by men and by one's feminine passions. She was a women painter during a period when the status of painting was strongly debated by men for men, when the emerging academies excluded women, and when the art world was dominated by men. She learned the principles and practice of painting form her father, whom she surpassed in the portrait style of painting.


 * Orazio Gentileschi** was born at Pisa in 1563, and was a disciple of Aurelio Lomi who was his half brother. He was distinguished greatly by his works in Florence, Genoa, and Rome, as well as in France and Savoy. His reputation was so great that he was invited by Charles I to London, were he had considerable appointments as well as in Whitehall.


 * Agostino Tassi** was an Italian painter who worked mostly out of Rome where he was a specialist in quadratura (quadratura is a tradition in Baroque art in which tools such as foreshortening, and other effects are used to create the illusion of three-dimensions on an otherwise two-dimensional or mostly flat ceiling surface above the viewer). His most famous work is the architectural background for Guernico’s fresco, Aurora located in the Casino of the Villa Ludovisi. He also painted landscapes that were influenced by Bril and Elsheimer. In 1621, Tassi was accused of raping Artemisia Gentileschi, and was suspected of killing his wife. Tassi greatest pupil was Claude Lorrain.

//Who are Holofernes and Judith?//

In the book of Judith, Holofernes is an invading general of Nebuchadnezzar. When Holofernes was dispatched to siege Bethulia, the town surrendered without resistance. While he was drunk, a Hebrew widow named Judith entered his camp and seduced him. Judith beheaded Holofernes, returned to Bethulia with his head and the Hebrews defeated the invading army.

__Sally Clark__ 

Canadian playwright Sally Clark's background in art (specifically painting) comes to the surface in her //play Life Without Instruction//, as the play combines the two mediums of play-writing and performance. A student of the arts (she attended UBC, York, and the New School of Art according to [|her website] ), Clark uses her knowledge of art history and her own experience as a painter (Grace, 123) to skillfully weave these two artforms together. The play premiered on August 2, 1991, at Theatre Plus Toronto under the direction of Glynis Leyshon (Grace, 133). Another place of production was the Frederic Wood Theatre of the University of British Columbia where it was directed by Robert Metcalfe and was performed September 29- October 9, 1999 (Grace, 133). In additon to combining Clark's two artistic talents, the play also contains several elements that connect it to her other works and may represent general themes in Clark's writing. Her decision to incorporate a second storyline into the play which elaborates on the characters can also be found in her play //Jehanne and the Witches// which uses the play-within-a-play strategy to similar ends (Whittaker). Another common theme seems to be victimization of women, which is clearly revealed in //St. Francis of Hollywood//. This play is about an actress who is placed in a mental institution and eventually lobotomized simply because she did not conform to the social norms of the period, thus making her a victim of a male dominated society just like Artemisia (Bell).  __History__ 

The story of Artemisia as portrayed in Clark's //Life Without Instruction// is, for the most part, historically accurate. She was a successful painter during the 17th century and was a rape victim in 1611. The trial took place in 1612 and many of the events depicted in the play (Tassi's accusation of incest betwee Orazio and Artemisia, Artemisia's torture, etc...) are actually recorded in the trials records (Grace, 120). Clark even took quotes almost directly out the trial's records and placed them in her play including Tassi's declaration that Artemisia had told him that "[her father] wants to use me exactly as if I were his wife" and Artemisia's outburst during torture: "This is the ring that you give me, and these are your promises" (Grace, 120-121). However, Clark did make several additions which should be noted. The first is the interrogator's declaration of having tortured Tassi. In the actual trial, only Artemisia was tortured, thus making Clark's inclusion of this detail something of a mystery as it serves only to lessen the horror of the trial and make Artemisia less of a victim of a male dominated society (Benedetti, 47-48). Secondly, near the play's end, Tassi declares that he murdered Caravaggio, something which did not happen and is added only to further vilify this character (Benedetti, 48). Finally, some credit should be given to Clark for properly portraying the emotions of Artemisia in response to her rape. Several historians, including Cohen, have voiced the argument that women at this period would not have recognized rape as a violation of their private person as much as they would have considered it an attack on their public image and their honor (Grace, 121). This is one of the reasons why Clark portrays Artemisia as hesitant to go to trial, because it would further damage her public image.

//Compiled from Group Wikis by Mare Spence, Kendra Murray, Whitney Slipp, Michael Woodside along with Josh Underhill.//