Bilingual edition (Romanian - English)
Texts by Andrei Șerban, Ana Maria Narti
Photographs: Mihaela Marin
English version: Samuel Onn
"In theatre, the event is the performance. Those yet to see the performance become witnesses to it through Mihaela’s photographs – perceiving, through the perspective of the camera, the vibrations detected on the actors’ faces and captured by the photographic lens. Those who have already seen it test or refresh their memory some time after the performance, or may even be surprised to discover something that leads them to change their initial opinion. When it is able to surprise and generate fresh impressions, photography affords a deeper perspective and thus becomes a work of art itself.
(…)
When I asked Mihaela to photograph two plays with unusual subjects – Cries and Whispers based on the film by Bergman and Lear with an all female cast – I suggested she take the bull by the horns and delve deeper into the subject, penetrating, invading the intimacy of the actors’ performance. From the outset I ensured Mihaela that she could adopt a new approach: the idea being that instead of more general, wider perspectives capturing the overall composition and the relationship between space and concept and showing the direction, we preferred the exact opposite – getting as close as possible to the protagonists, down the close-ups, in order to take a glimpse inside and try to understand them.
(…)
Each performance is presented as seen through Mihaela’s eyes and accompanied by my thoughts and observations. We also felt the need to introduce the impressions of a theatre critic, an old friend and collaborator, Ana Maria Narti. In this way, the image and written word, as witnesses to the theatrical event, act to complement one another.“ – Andrei Șerban
Since her first album, Dorian Gray, Mihaela Marin has made a name for herself in Romania as a photographer of the live arts. After publishing the albums Hamlet Machine (2007) and Faust (2008), she illustrated the Alternatives Théâtrales magazine – the issue dedicated to Romanian theatre (2010), and a volume signed by George Banu – The Cherry Orchard, Our Theatre (2011). She has held exhibitions in New York, Paris, Bruxelles, Berlin, Rome, Tel Aviv.
264 p.
