Departments
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Week of 11 June 1999 |
Vol. II, No. 35 |
Feature Article
Grants to aspiring artists soften realities of marketplace
By Hope Green
To even the most talented young visual and performing artists, the search for a sustainable livelihood in their chosen field can be a daunting prospect. Leaving behind the supportive environment of a college campus, alumni of academic arts programs must confront the exigencies of renting studio space, buying equipment, and traveling to auditions before they can gain recognition -- and just maybe draw an income -- for their creative endeavors.
Five new alumni of Boston University's School for the Arts, however, have received some generous financial assistance to help them on their way. The graduates each have won a $15,000 prize as recipients of the annual Esther B. and Albert S. Kahn Career Entry Awards.
Whether they perform onstage, toil behind the scenes, or create marquee posters in an art studio, the award winners express a desire to build support for fellow artists during their careers and to broaden the demographics of their audiences.
Matt Gabor (SFA'96,'99), who completed his M.F.A. in the theatre arts division's directing program, says he is intrigued by "highly stylized" productions using masks and puppetry, in part because they attract new and younger audiences to live theater. Yet he is conscious of a tendency on Broadway to sacrifice substance for spectacle. Either the hit shows are visually stunning or "humanistic, small, and naturalistic," he says, "but not a lot of people are combining the two."
Gabor hopes to strike such a balance as he begins his directorial career, his proving ground being the Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago, where he interned last fall. The low-budget production company is dedicated to launching the work of new playwrights; at present Gabor is directing a staged reading of a play by Tanya Saracho (SFA'98), who won a Kahn prize last year. He has directed several plays for the theatre arts division at SFA, most recently Bertolt Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle.
For Kelly Kaduce (SFA'99), who just earned her master of music, the Kahn is actually her third large prize this year. In April, the soprano won another $15,000 in the Metropolitan Opera's National Grand Finals, after winning $4,000 in the Met's regional competition.
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The 1999 Kahn Career Entry Award winners, with Esther Kahn: (from left) Matt Gabor, Jelena Vukmirovic, Kelly Kaduce, Olga Gourko, and Horia Mihail. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky |
Citing a desire to broaden opera's audiences, Kaduce says that as an artist, "you need to remember your job is to serve society. You're not there for any other reason, and I think a lot of times artists forget that."
Perhaps one day Kaduce will be accoutered backstage by fellow Kahn winner Jelena Vukmirovic (SFA'99), who completed her M.F.A. in costume design. Born and raised in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, Vukmirovic plans to remain in the United States, and this September she will begin an internship with United Scenic Artists, a union that is based in New York City.
Lamenting the weightlessness of many Broadway productions, Vukmirovic says she aims to avoid the predictable in her costume designs, instead adding symbolic content with imaginative choices of pattern, fabric, and color. Many of the popular hits "are loud and dynamic, which is good," she explains, "but after the show is done, the audience feels exhausted in a way, and happy, but they don't go home and think about the play."
While Vukmirovic worries about her family in Belgrade, "they feel good about my being here," she says, "because they know I'm safe and they know I'm doing something I've always wanted to do."
At SFA, Vukmirovic designed costumes for student productions of Kurt Weill's musical Happy End, Benjamin Britten's opera Albert Herring, and a play by Nagle Jackson, Molière Plays Paris.
Horia Mihail (SFA'99), a pianist who earned an artist diploma, is another Balkan peninsula native. Once a child prodigy in Brasov, Romania, he now ranks among that country's top concert pianists and has won international competitions. His performances at BU have earned critical acclaim, and he has also played with the Boston Pops Orchestra.
With the financial cushion provided by the Kahn award, Mihail plans to spend more time preparing for competitions, recording, and organizing a debut recital in New York. Eventually he would like to teach in the United States between performances, returning every summer and at Christmas to Romania where he augments his mother's $100-per-month wages as a dentist.
Regardless of his career path, Mihail hopes always to maintain a sense of intimate communication with his listeners. As he writes in his Kahn essay, mere talent and experience do not guarantee that connection. Rather, a good performer "must go through a process of analysis and synthesis" of the composer's work, a role that is "crucial to the audience's understanding and appreciation of music."
Olga Gourko (SFA'99), who completed her B.F.A., is a graphic designer. Aside from being an accomplished painter, she has also served as assistant designer and photographer for The 1999 Bostonian yearbook, art editor of the Brownstone Journal, and a contributing writer for the Daily Free Press.
While many in her field are employed in corporate public relations, Gourko plans to build a clientele consisting of musicians, theater companies, and visual artists. She will use her Kahn prize money to buy a computer and pay living expenses while gaining a foothold as a freelancer in New York City, where her first assignment is an international electronic-music festival slated for February 2000. Although she will design all the event's publicity materials free of charge, she expects the experience to significantly enhance her portfolio.
Daughter of Helena Gourko, a research associate in the GRS Center for Philosophy and History of Science, Olga admits she has chosen a difficult career path with uncertain remuneration. "But I believe I can use my skills and also my dedication and my way of thinking to promote the arts through design," she says. "That is my life goal."
A head start for young
artists
The Esther B. and Albert S. Kahn Career Entry Award Fund was
established in 1985 with an endowed contribution of $1
million from Esther Kahn (SED'55, Hon.'86).
Each spring, students completing their last semester of graduate or undergraduate studies are eligible to compete for the award. The SFA faculty selection committee considers 12 semifinalists, who are required to submit essays in which they discuss their roles as artists in contemporary society.
The fund, the first of its kind in the country, has provided more than 80 outstanding young artists the freedom to pursue their careers.