POETRY AND POTTERY: Medea on Fire

I recently saw Euripides' Medega performed at Karamu House. I was encouraged to go not so much for the play itself, but to see the pottery Cleo Ferguson made as props for the chorus. The pottery and the play were excellent.

For those of you who may have managed to forget the plot, Medea is about as feminist as it is uplifting. Briefly, it tells the story of the sorceress Medea who, jilted by her lover Jason (of Golden Fleece fame), carries out a horrifying revenge. Certainly most of her anger is justified. Not only had she been "the woman behind the man" in helping Jason obtain the golden fleece, but she had abandoned her family and homeland and had two children by him in the process. Now, years later in Corinth, Jason has expediently decided to marry Creusa, the daughter of Creon, King of Corinth.

With much breast-beating and weeping, Medca elicits the compassion of the women of Corinth, who keep vigil over her. The extent of her anguish frightens King Creon, and, being about as sensitive as Jason, he banishes her and her children from Corinth. Medea persuades him to allow her one more day in Corinth to prepare her children for the trip. She then asks Jason to see her and convinces him that she forgives him and realizes that his marriage to Creusa will help his political career. To prove her goodwill, she sends her sons to Creusa with wedding gifts of a golden robe and crown. The gifts, however, are steeped in poison, and both Creusa and Creon meet agonizing deaths.

Unsatisfied by their deaths, Medea then murders the constant reminders of Jason-her two sons. In the final scene, she and the bodies of her sons rise into the heavens in a chariot sent by her grandfather Helios, the sun god. Jason falls to the ground, overcome with grief.

Appalling as is the story, it does reveal the intense fear Greek men felt toward women. Fortunately, the adaptation and direction by Lucia Colombi allows the injustice Medea suffers to come across. The staging and acting were excellent and offered an interesting blend of classical Greek tragedy and elements of African dance, music, costumes, and setting. Margaret Ford-Taylor was especially powerful as Medea. Her rolling eyes and hissing S's as she spat her curses were spine-tingling. Equally impressive was the chorus of Corinthian women. Seated on stage as silent supporters throughout much of the play, they periodically attempted to console and later restrain Medea. I found that my own reactions closely mirrored theirs-outrage at Jason's callousness, fear as Medea's grief turns into destructive hatred, and finally, torment as her hatred overcomes even her love for her sons. The women of the chorus are the only players whose sensitivities are not lost in the power play of female passion versus male opportunism.

The urns and fire pots carried onstage by the chorus were a subtle but effective addition to the production. They added to the visual impact of the play in a number of ways. Inspired by Greek water jugs, or amphoras, the urns gave color and accent to the well scene. The bowls, with their open flames, imparted a sense of high drama and ritual that was wellsuited to the chorus' role. Used in the final scene, the flames heightened Jason's emotions as he grieved at the ritual graves of his children.

Lucia Colombi asked Cleo Ferguson to design and make the urns and fire pots about a month before the opening of the play. Cleo performs many roles behind the scenes at Karamu House. As visual arts coordinator, she teaches pottery and sculpture, supervises other art teachers, and helps with the selection and hanging of art shows in Karamu's gallery. Recently she opened and now manages Bokari, the Karamu gift shop where many Cleveland artists, including Cleo, display their work.

The fire pots were a particular challenge to Cleo. She chose a fairly complicated design which required that she throw the bowl and its four-footed base separately. Making them took a lot of energy and concentration. Not only did she need to make twelve fire pots in less than a month, but because of space limitations she had to make them in several groups. I was fascinated to learn it was an eight-step process

Margaret Ford-Taylor as Medea

involving careful timing and numerous stages of throwing, drying, trimming, carving, glazing, and firing.

The finished fire pots are representative of Cleo's style as a potter. She originally studied sculpture and is interested primarily in form. Some potters, she explained, are interested more in glazes, and their pieces tend to be designed to accent different glazing techniques. Other potters, like Cleo, use glazes to enhance the form. Her special interest is bowls, which she designs as very open pieces that appear to reach out in a giving, generous quality. Her style is especially appropriate for the pieces in Medea, since

these are the same qualities that the women in the chorus radiate.

Cleo does not define herself as a feminist artist, but art and politics are both important facets of her life. For many years Cleo felt that the two conflicted because of the huge amount of energy each required. She is now more comfortable with both as important ways of expressing herself. She feels she puts more of

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photo by Janet Century

her artistic creativity into teaching, rather than producing. She also enjoys displaying other artists' works, of which she says, "They provide the tools, and I create an environment for them." From talking to Cleo, I realized that her art is very much a reflection of her own giving and generous qualities.

If you would like to see some of Cleo's pottery, as well as other pieces by local artists, go to the Bokari shop at Karamu. It's open during every performance and by appointment at other times. I hope you'll take the opportunity to see a play while you're there.

-Linda Jane

What She Wants wishes to thank Karen Quay for all her support over the past five years. Through her insight and skill as a group facilitator, Karen helped us clarify our values, our politics, and our identity as a newspaper. Karen is leaving Cleveland for Jackson, Mississippi. Best wishes to you, Karen.

May, 1979/What She Wants/Page 13