DATELINE NEW YORK: The essence of Ukraine in photos

by Helen Smindak

Scanning Tania D'Avignon's rare photographs of contemporary Ukraine - or leafing through her photo album "Simply Ukraine" - is akin to driving through the Ukrainian countryside, stopping wherever the spirit moves you to chat with villagers, admire the traditional ceremonies of a Bukovynian wedding, or exult in the intoxicating beauties of a land rich in architectural and natural wonders. You can celebrate Easter Sunday festivities with the residents of Horoshova village in the Ternopil region, observe a Lviv artist at work in his studio or get a close look at upper-echelon public figures like Presidents Leonid Kuchma and Leonid Kravchuk.

Through the magic of photography and Ms. D'Avignon's unique insight into Ukrainian life, the Ukrainian Institute of America made such an excursion available to New York area residents during the week of June 10-18. The photographic essay "Kaleidoscope Ukraine," sponsored by the Daria Hoydysh Endowment for the Arts, included 150 color and black-and-white photographs, pristinely set in white-matted black frames that focused attention on the glowing portraits.

Taken between 1989 and early this year, Ms. D'Avignon's prints offer an emotional look at the very heart and soul of Ukraine - the way its people live and how they look, and the beauties of its landscapes, villages and towns. Her stunning photos include portrait studies of a little Hutsul girl, of an old woman with a market basket and a work-worn couple standing outside a small home garlanded with drying corn; a village nestled in a misty valley; dome-topped churches; close-ups of stately hollyhocks; bright poppies swaying in the breeze; a field of yellow sunflowers seemingly standing at attention, their smiling faces turned to the sun; and a snow-covered cottage on a wintry evening.

There are patriotic scenes shot in Kyiv: the student hunger strike and the Rukh demonstration in 1990, the Ukrainian flag being brought into Parliament in 1990, and the proclamation of Ukrainian independence on August 24, 1991. From Chornobyl, there is a sad photo of sunbeams falling across an old spinning wheel in an abandoned house. A series of pictures taken in the Carpathian village of Mizhhirria focuses on villagers herding flocks of sheep and goats to high mountain meadows for communal grazing; the milking contest held on the first day of herding and its attendant festivities (known as "mishannia") are documented with intense clarity.

Ms. D'Avignon, a Boston resident who holds a degree in journalism and art, has been focusing her artistic endeavors on capturing the essence of Ukraine on photo film for several years. While working as an independent photographer with National Geographic magazine on projects in Ukraine and Crimea in the late 1980s and early 1990s, she was drawn to the country of her birth and decided to chronicle a pictorial record of the people and the land. At present, she divides her time between Kyiv and Boston.

In 1989 Ms. D'Avignon was invited to display her work in a feature exhibit in Ukraine - the first Western photo journalist awarded such an honor. After Ukraine became independent, she was invited to photograph the country's presidents. She has served as personal photographer to numerous U.S. officals during state visits, among them President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright.

Her hardcover photo album "Simply Ukraine," containing photos taken during trips to Ukraine in the 1960s and later, was recognized as the outstanding book of 1988 in Ukraine and received the country's grand prix that year. Published in Kyiv by Artext Management, with text in both Ukrainian and English, the large volume is an inspiring book to peruse and to display in one's home as an impressive (and educational) coffee-table accessory.

Life is a dream

An allegorical play by the 17th century playwright Pedro Calderon de la Barca was revived at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine last month, thanks to a spirited translation by the Rev. George Drance and an inspiring performance by the cast which premiered the play at Milwaukee's Marquette University last winter.

De la Barca, who is well-known for his comedies, often developed the theme of a secular comedy into an allegorical play, or auto sacramentale, with the same title but with a cosmic scope. His allegorical play "Life is a Dream" was the basis for the spectacular drama about the creation of the universe presented at St. John the Divine for three nights in early June.

Imaginatively directed by the Rev. Drance, a member of the Jesuit order and a veteran of New York's theatre scene, the production encompassed elements of vaudeville and melodrama (music, dance and puppetry) as it dealt with a world of cosmic struggle dictated by the presence in life of good, evil, reason, will and wisdom.

Famous Broadway director Andrei Serban, who attended one of the stagings, said he was "genuinely impressed" with the production. His sentiments were echoed by a group of Long Island residents who had traveled by special bus from St. Vladimir's Ukrainian Cultural Center in Uniondale to see the production.

The spectacle of the creation of the universe was portrayed by black-robed, masked figures, a procession of colorfully costumed beings, a devil in a sequined cape, swirling banners, representations of birds and fish carried on poles, and surreal off-stage voices quoting scripture. Improvised lighting (flashlights and lamps) created surprising visual effects that added to the play's mysterious ambiance. The musical score, combining melodies and part-spoken, part-sung chanting that often built up to exciting climaxes, was written by the award-winning composer Elizabeth Swados. Alfredo Galvan assisted with the translation.

Towering 11-foot puppets representing Power, Wisdom and Love, which helped set the tone of the work, were adapted from traditional Byzantine renderings of archangels often seen in Ukrainian churches. The Byzantine touch was a reflection of the Rev. Drance's Ukrainian Catholic Church upbringing and the fact that he holds biritual privileges in both the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Latin rite.

Currently a faculty member of Fordham University's Theatre Department, the Rev. Drance plans to teach theater full time at a Jesuit school either in the United States or abroad. A graduate of Columbia University with a master's degree in acting, he has acted and directed in over 15 countries on five continents and has toured the past four summers throughout Europe and Asia with La Mama's Great Jones Repertory Theater.

In the media

• According to the Sunday, June 25, issue of The New York Times, a new generation of Eastern European transplants is creating a velvet revolution in New York with a new brand of pop-cultural action. A prime example, offered in the newspaper's "Sunday Styles" section in the story "Eastern Bloc Party," is the Ukrainian punk band "Gogol Bordello," which performs Ukrainian, Russian and Gypsy songs on Thursday nights at Mehanata, a Bulgarian restaurant-bar-disco on Canal and Broadway. Eugene Hutz, 27, a D.J., model and lead singer of the band, who gives the Thursday night parties, says "The idea is to let loose and taste some life energy - it's a different culture in motion."
  
  
• "Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek recently played host to another kind of word game - the National Geographic Bee held annually by the National Geographic Society. The hourlong show, with several juvenile contestants, was aired by PBS on June 18. Less than a week later, Mr. Trebek made a guest appearance on the "Ainsley Harriott Show," the NBC variety/cooking show hosted by the jovial culinary expert Ainsley Harriott. Earlier in the CBS spring schedule, David Letterman of the "Late Show" joked about Mr. Trebek's poised demeanor by choosing "10 Ways to Irritate Alex Trebek" as his Top 10 subject for the evening.
  
  
• A June 13 rerun of a wintertime "Ainsley Harriott Show" focused on Olympic figure-skating champion Oksana Bauil teaching skating basics to the burly TV host at the Wollman Rink in Central Park. Ms. Baiul appeared in CBS-TV's June 18 airing of the sixth "Ice Wars" competition, competing as a member of Team USA. Wearing a modern version of a figure-hugging black cat suit, Ms. Bauil came first in the ladies' technical program. Although she successfully completed a triple lutz and a triple salchow while skating to the music of Britney Spears in her artistic program, her final mark was two-plus points less than the 99.0 scored by Kristi Yamaguchi of Team World.
  
  
• Maxim Belotserkovsky and Irina Dvorovenko, two outstanding dancers of the American Ballet Theatre who were promoted to the rank of principal dancer a few weeks ago, received an accolade from dance critic Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times. Ms. Kisselgoff said they outdid themselves when they stepped into the leading roles of "Swan Lake" on June 14, enhancing a 19th-century classic with "a splendid and mature performance" and bringing depth to the plot "with unusual technical polish." Mr. Malakhov showed off his amazing athleticism and virtuosity in the pas de deux from "Manon."
  
  
• Ukrainian-born Vladimir Malakhov was one of five principal male dancers from the American Ballet Theater featured in the segment "Men in Tights" on the CBS Sunday Morning show of June 18. Commentator Anna Kisselgoff, chief dance critic for The New York Times, pointed out that Mr. Malakhov was from Ukraine, defected from the Soviet Union in 1991 and joined the ABT in the spring of 1995.
  
  
• "Time Out" magazine, based in New York, recently ran a full-page feature and photos of New York's leading Ukrainian folk-art shops - Arka, Molode Zhyttia and Surma, with shop addresses and prices of embroideries, Easter eggs and other items included in picture captions. The accompanying story, titled "Little Ukraine," gave an overview of Ukrainian settlement in the East Village and Ukrainian cultural life of New York.
  
  
• Stamp collector Adrian Solchanyk's article on "Ukrainian Easter Eggs," which recently appeared in "American Philatelist," reviewed the history and process of Ukrainian Easter-egg decorating and included illustrations of stamps and envelopes issued in Ukraine carry depictions of Easter eggs.
  
  
• Ukraine made an appearance on the extremely popular ABC show "Who wants to be a millionaire?" The $250,000 question, posed by host Regis Philbin: Playwright Vaclav Havel became the president of Czechoslovakia, Ukraine, Poland or Lithuania? The correct answer - Czechoslovakia - enabled contestant Bob House from Georgia to continue in the game show and become its fourth millionaire in 10 months.

Summertime pleasures

As "Dateline New York" bows out for the summer, we leave you with a few suggestions for pleasureable summer browsing in the Big Apple.

You've just missed (by a few days) a United Nations international exhibition of women artists which ran through June and included a work by Ukrainian Brazilian sculptor Oxana Narozniak. "Progress of the World's Women" opened at the start of a weeklong special session of the U.N. General Assembly dedicated to reviewing and assessing the progress achieved in terms of implementing commitments agreed upon at a landmark U.N. conference in Beijing five years ago.

But, you can still visit The Ukrainian Museum (open Wednesday through Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m.) to view the museum's permanent exhibition, which now includes an exhibit of traditional children's folk costumes, toys and dolls in folk costumes. as well as an exhibit of woven and embroidered rushnyky (ritual cloths) and wedding trees, the symbolic representations of a long, prosperous and prolific life that are placed atop the korovai (wedding bread). Admire the display of Easter eggs, which remains in place through a good part of July, and stop in the gift shop to pick up an objet d'art for your own collection.

The Museum of Modern Art, on West 53rd Street near Fifth Avenue, is currently showing works by artists like Kyiv-born Kazimir Malevich who, in the wake of World War I, felt the need to do away with the past in search of new ideals. The exhibition "The Dream of Utopia/Utopia of the Dream" will run through July 26. While you're at the museum, ask to see the work of the late Ukrainian Canadian artist William Kurelek.

A rare personal appearance by video genius George Kuchar, whose mother was born in Ukraine, will take place July 22 at 7 p.m. at the Walter Reade Theatre (165 W. 65th St., plaza level) during the New York Video Festival presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center. The evening will feature a selection of Mr. Kuchar's short tapes from 1999 and this year. Mr. Kuchar's zany work "Secrets of the Shadow World" will be shown on July 23 at 2 p.m. and July 25 at 4 p.m. For tickets, call theatre box office at (212) 875-5600.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, July 9, 2000, No. 28, Vol. LXVIII

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