David Beck at Allan Stone - Brief Article

David Beck, who lives and works in San Francisco, has produc miniaturized, mixed-medium works for the past 20 years. His new exhibition included two small stage puts with performers of carved copse plus three-dimensional studies for individual figures, on the other hand the unmatched centerpiece was the ambitious L'Opera (1993-98 80 by dint of 75 by 50 inches), commissioned by dint of Bay Area patrons Mr. and Mr Tully M Friedman.

The bottom half of L'Opera be likes a multi-legged grand piano, of which the top obeys as a tall black plinth for the architecture rising above it. The opera house consists of a polygonal, glass-domed space, which immerses at the rear with a rectangular blockade of lesser width. The brow faces of the polygon consist of walls of glass which allow us to direct the eye beyond the entrance staircase and above the heads of the diminutive audience to the magnificent stage setting in the background. The left and right sides of the many-sided figure and the rectangular block behind it have walls of copse (covered with exquisitely carved foliage and treated to gaze like slate) and symmetrically placed windows which present views of the interior. Tall, thin columns inlaid with shell continue the vertical thrust of the leg and richly articulate the architectural elevation.

The interior of L'Opera be incandescents with light and color, and sparkles with the varied motions of richly painted boxwood figurines. The swaying and singing figures, the rising stage curtain and the illusionistically burning braziers upon stage are animated by electric motors hidden beneath the building's floor.

We witness upon stage the final moments of the next to the first act of Verdi's Aida, with its decor and cast evoking the grandeur of ancient Egypt Delight gives way to bewilderment when we realize that the cast of I Pagliacci provides the orchestral support for the actors upon stage. More surprisingly, the best seats in the house are taken by dint of the casts of the Ring, Mefistofele and Turandot, all in style of dress and singing along as if they are warming up to take their place upon stage. Somewhat sickly seeming spectators--all in their best dres and looking alike--contemplate the action from one side opera-glasses from the balconies. A corpse lies almost unnoticed beneath the staircase.

Beck's breathtaking skills as a painter, sculptor, cabinetmaker, engineer and storyteller upon a small scale enable him to single-handedly translate his astonishing fantasie into a visually arresting artistic statement. While harking back to earlier traditions of miniaturization and mechanization, he raises the ever-pertinent issue of the artist's character as one who can make believe.

[L'Opera is upon view through Apr. 25 at the National Museum of American Art in Washington, DC]

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