(BOSTON – Date) The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (ICA) presents the Boston premiere of Disfarmer by Obie-award winner Dan Hurlin, on Friday and Saturday, May 14 and 15 at 7:30 p.m. Disfarmer is part of the line-up for Emerging America, a new theater festival organized by the ICA,  American Repertory Theater and Huntington Theatre.  Tickets are $25, or $20 for members, students and seniors, and can be purchased at www.icaboston.org or by calling (617) 478-3103. For more information on Emerging America, visit www.emergingamericafestival.org.

 

This haunting and original work of puppet theater explores the world of Mike Disfarmer (1884-1959)—an eccentric, reclusive Arkansas photographer who left behind a body of work now considered one of the most significant in the history of portraiture. For over 40 years, Disfarmer shunned family and neighbors, as he operated the only portrait studio for miles around in rural Arkansas. Using plate glass photography long after it was obsolete, and despite his disdain for people, Disfarmer created images that exhibited exquisite artistry and profound empathy for their subject.

 

Hurlin takes puppetry to exquisite heights with the unique “tabletop” style: the handlers operate in full view of the audience, not just manipulating but interacting with the puppet hero. Working with a script by Sally Oswald, a country-meets-avant-garde score by Dan Moses Schreier, and Disfarmer’s own photographs, Hurlin examines Disfarmer’s world, illuminating the contradictions in the life of this American hermit and portrait artist. The production also features projections of Disfarmer’s photographs and images produced by old optical techniques; and a sound score with haunting music from antique recording technologies (such as Edison Wax disks), re-contextualized and mixed with modern sampling techniques. Disfarmer himself is represented by a series of puppets, each an exact reprint of the last, except two inches smaller. Disfarmer shrinks like the rest of rural America, until he is completely gone, and the audience is left with the quiet and nervous expectancy of standing perfectly still for a long exposure.

 

About the ICA
An influential forum for multi-disciplinary arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art has been at the leading edge of art in Boston for more than 70 years. Like its iconic building on Boston's waterfront, the ICA offers new ways of engaging with the world around us. Its exhibitions and programs provide access to contemporary art, artists, and the creative process, inviting audiences of all ages and backgrounds to participate in the excitement of new art and ideas.  The ICA, located at 100 Northern Avenue, is open Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 am - 5 pm; Thursday and Friday, 10 am - 9 pm; and Saturday and Sunday, 10 am - 5 pm.  Admission is $15 adults, $13 seniors, $10students, and free for members and children 17 and under. ICA Free Admission for Youth is sponsored by State Street Foundation. Free admission on Target Free Thursday Nights, 5 - 9 pm. Free admission for families at ICA Play Dates (2 adults + children 12 and under) on last Saturday of the month. For more information, call 617-478-3100 or visit our Web site at www.icaboston.org.

 

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