RICK BARTOW TAKES ON KING LEAR: The Artist’s Posters for the Shakespearean Tragedy

Considered a masterpiece of the Western literary canon, The Tragedy of King Lear is one of Willam Shakespeare’s greatest dramas   Its influence has been far reaching.  In 1892 The Yiddish King Lear was produced in New York City; Broken Lance, a film about the conflicts between a cattle baron and his three sons, was released in 1954; Akira Kurosawa’s Ran (1985) sets the story in Japan’s feudal era; Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Part III contains elements taken from King Lear; Jane Smiley’s 1991 novel A Thousand Acres, which was also made into a 1991 film, is a version of Lear set on an Iowan farm in 1979; and the 2009 novel Fool is a comic retelling of the story from the point of view of Lear’s court jester.  It comes as no surprise then that artist Rick Bartow should be inspired by King Lear.

During the course of his career, Bartow created a number of posters, some for exhibits, others for theatrical events. He made more than eight that reference King Lear. Whether this was for practical considerations or because this particular Shakespearean character held some sort of fascination for him is unclear.  It is also a fascinating mystery that in two of these works Bartow depicts himself as Lear.

King Lear by Rick Bartow, Wiyot, mixed media on paper, 19” x 16” (1997).   2016 Estate Gift Washing State University Museum of Art.

Image courtesy of the Froelick Gallery, Portland, OR.

 

The image and the words for Rick Bartow’s 1997 poster titled King Lear are superimposed over a page of Japanese characters.  The artist often used paper that contained writing and/or images.  He would simply paint, draw, or print over them.  Bartow had a great love for Japan and its culture so much so that he frequently used Japanese imagery, kanji, and allusions to ukiyo-e prints.      The portrait of Lear is actually the actor Johnny Stallings, who frequently played the role of King Lear.  The artist produced a number of images of Stallings as Lear and here, in addition to the highly recognizable nose, Bartow also portrays him with an extremely large ear and seemingly toothless.

King Lear: John Stallings by Rick Bartow, Wiyot, mixed media on handmade Japanese paper, 19” x 16” (1997).  Image courtesy of the Froelick Gallery, Portland, OR.

 

Created for the 2015 Open Heart Open Minds Theater production in the Oregon Penitentiary System, King Lear: John Stallings is a poster for a one-man performance of the play.  Johnny Stallings is an Oregon based actor and director who has also acted in a solo version of Hamlet.  In addition to Shakespeare, he has also acted in and directed works by Sam Shepard, Chekhov, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes.  In this poster for the play, Bartow depicts the tragic King as angry and snarling, teeth bared and, once again, he has painted the image over Japanese characters.  One can only wonder if the artist had seen Kurosawa’s Japanese version of the story, or if he intuitively felt that there was a connection between Lear and some aspect of Japanese history.

Johnny Stallings became good friends with Rick Bartow and the artist told him that he would be happy to design posters for his theater performances.  Bartow created quite a number of studies for King Lear posters as well as for Stallings’ productions of Hamlet, A Midsummer NIght’s Dream and his solo performances of Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself.

 

Japan Lear by Rick Bartow, Wiyot,ink, graphite on handmade paper,72” x 26” (1998).  2016 Estate Gift Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. University of Oregon.Image courtesy of the Froelick Gallery, Portland, OR.

 

            Japan Lear once again illustrates Rick Bartow’s connection to and love of Japanese culture.  This poster is done in the style of Hakuin Ekaku, usually simply referred to as Hakuin, which is his surname.  Hakuin became a Buddhist monk at the age of fifteen and at thirty-one was head priest of a temple.  He was noted for his compassion and desire to help all sentient beings.  Although he is well known for his paintings, Hakuin did not take up this art form until he was almost sixty.  Hakuin died at eighty-three in Hara, the same village in which he was born.  The artist is also known for his death poem, a type of poetry in which the author reflects on death in a general way and his own mortality, as well as observations about life.  Over a large calligraphic character 死 shi, meaning Death, Hakuin wrote.

若い衆や死ぬがいやなら今死にや

一たび死ねばもう死なぬぞや

 

Oh young folk —
if you fear death,
die now!
Having died once
you won’t die again.

 

Throughout his artistic career, Rick Bartow often took inspiration from Japanese pen and ink drawings, prints, and scroll paintings.

King Lear by Rick Bartow, Wiyot, mixed media – watercolor, graphite and colored pencil on paper, 11” x 17” (2009).  2016 Estate Gift Washington State University Museum of Art.  Image courtesy of the Froelick Gallery, Portland, OR.

Rick Bartow produced four King Lear images for posters that are remarkably similar, all of which are dated 2009.  It is probably impossible to determine in what order they were created, but some “appear” more developed than others though this is only an assumption.  One of the works seems to be a portrait of Shakespeare rather than of Lear.  This may be the case since often the image of a famous author is used to promote his work rather than one of an actor in costume unless, of course, the actor is more famous than the writer.

King Lear by Rick Bartow, Wiyot, mixed media – watercolor, graphite and colored pencil on paper, 17” x 11” (2009).  2016 Estate Gift Washington State University Museum of Art.  Image courtesy of the Froelick Gallery, Portland, OR.

           In a similar poster created the same year, the title King Lear has moved from the upper righthand corner of the page on the diagonal to more or less lower center.  In addition, the figure in the poster looks less like a portrait of Shakespeare and more like some actor who might be playing the title role.

King Lear by Rick Bartow, Wiyot, mixed media – watercolor, graphite and colored pencil on paper, 17” x 11” (2009).  2016 Estate Gift Washington State University Museum of Art.  Image courtesy of the Froelick Gallery, Portland, Or.

 

In a third version of the poster, the face is, again, somewhat different; the mustache is fuller, and there is the hint of eyeglasses, of all things, and the suggestion of a crown.  The title of the play is centered and written above it in pencil are the words, “Mr. Shakespeare’s.”  The addition of eyeglasses may appear baffling on an image for a 17th-century play, but it might have been a sly way for Rick Bartow to insinuate himself into the theatrical goings on in a playful way since eyeglasses were one of the images he employed to indicate a self-portrait.  Then, too, he may have felt a connection to Lear.

King Lear by Rick Bartow, Wiyot, mixed media – watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil on paper, 17” x 11” (2009).  2016 Estate Gift Washington State University Museum of Art.  Image courtesy the Froelick Gallery, Portland, OR.

 

Version four of the poster has a finished quality; it is the only one in which Lear looks out at the viewer and actually wears a crown.  The figure’s face has three eyes, with the middle one crossed out, perhaps suggesting Lear’s inability to see many things.  To the right of Lear is the suggestion of another face, which also looks out at the viewer.  Two eyes can be seen, and a nose is colored turquoise.  Bartow often used eyes in his work – sometimes to suggest the All Seeing, at other times to represent the artist, or scratched out to suggest a metaphorical blindness.    Who this semi-invisible person might be is a mystery.

Written at the top of the page in pencil are the words, “WM Shakespeare’s,” followed by the title King Lear writ large in brown with tinges of orange.  Around three sides of the poster is a quotation from Act III, Scene II of King Lear: “Blow, winds, and crack your checks! rage! blow! You cataracts and hurricanes, spout . . . .”   minus the punctuation and the word and between winds and crack.

         

    King Lear by Rick Bartow, Wiyot, gouache, colored pencil and ink on paper, 11” x 15” (2009).  2016 Estate Gift Washington State University Museum of Art.  Image courtesy of the Froelick Gallery, Portland, OR.

Photo of Johnny Stallings taken by Sumner  Walters in 1977.  Courtesy of Johnny Stallings.

 

Perhaps the most unusual piece in Rick Bartow’s King Lear Series is the one in which Bartow portrays Lear as both king and fool.  At first, I thought this image was another self-portrait because of the eyeglasses and the red nose, which the artist uses as a reminder of his past alcoholism as well as a nod to his continued sobriety.  However, Johnny Stallings indicated that this was not the case.  In an email he explained, “This is definitely one of a series of portraits that he made of me, from a photo taken by Sumner Walters in 1977, when I first performed King Lear.  Although it may resemble some of Rick’s self-portraits, he made it for me to use as publicity for my show, so it doesn’t make sense that he would put himself on the poster.  If you look at what is happening with the mouth, you will see the similarity to the other Lear posters. . . .  He was improvising, and so, by painting the nose red and putting the glasses on (I also wear glasses) it looks different from the other two. Underneath, it’s the same facial features.”

The figure sports a clownish grin and appears to be wearing a crown, which also resembles a jester’s cap. The overriding tones of this work are grey and black, making it darkly humorous.  Below the image are printed the words, “The Bard’s Masterpiece Performed by a Single Actor, Johnny S. Stalling,” which indicates that this was a preparatory work for a poster for one of Stalling’s solo performances of King Lear in the Oregon Penitentiary System.

King Lear by Rick Bartow, Wiyot, watercolor, ink and graphite, 11” x 15” (1997). Collection of Johnny Stallings.  Image courtesy of Johnny Stallings.

 

Created in 1997, another of Bartow’s studies for a King Lear poster again shows Lear wearing what appears to be a crown, but also subtlety suggests a jester’s cap, once again implying that Lear is both king and fool.  Also, in his one-man production of Lear, Johnny Stallings played both King Lear and the Fool.    In this work, also based on the photo of Johnny Stallings taken by Sumner Walters in 1977, Lear is angrily snarling.  Around the image at the top left of the page, Bartow has written “Johnny Stallings,” and beneath it, King Lear.

On the lower right side of page it reads, “Red Octopus Productions Shakespeare’s Masterpiece Performed by a Single Actor! Newport Studio Theater.”  Dates and time of performance: (April 11 12 8:00 PM) are given as well as a phone number for reservations and the price of tickets ($15.00).  To the right of this information are Bartow’s personal chops in red.

Around three sides of the poster, once again, Bartow has written the quotation from Act III, Scene II of King Lear: “Blow, winds, and crack your checks! rage! blow! You cataracts and hurricanes, spout . . . .” minus some of the punctuation (this time the exclamation marks are included) and the word and between winds and crack is omitted.

King Lear by Rick Bartow, Wiyot, gouache, ink, graphite and pastel., 11” x 15” (1997). Collection of Johnny Stallings.  Image courtesy of Johnny Stallings.

 

Once again, in 1997 Bartow created another King Lear poster for his friend Johnny Stallings.  In this version, the brushwork with the gouache is loose, and there is less written information than usual.  Bartow’s signature appears to the left of Lear ’s mouth while Stalling’s name is to the left of the figure’s jaw.  Below Lear’s chin, Bartow wrote “Will Shakespeare’s,” and under it, the title of the play, again, with loose brush strokes.  Beneath this he printed, “Shakespeare’s masterpiece performed by a single actor.”  As for his two signature Japanese chops, they are in the work’s upper right-hand corner.  In this version, Lear is angry, his is mouth open, but his eyes are closed.

Beyond simply helping out a friend, Bartow may have been drawn to creating the images for the King Lear posters because he was a student of literature.  He may have been attracted by the play’s many themes.  King Lear is a brutal play, teaming with cruelty and seemingly senseless disasters.  Everything that befalls Lear is a result of his being aged and exhausted and his lacking of self-knowledge. Rick Bartow’s art reflects his many intellectual interests.  Shakespeare’s King Lear was simply one of them. 

 

The author would like to express his sincere gratitude to Johnny Stallings, Charles Froelick, and Dulce Montalvo-Hilts for their invaluable assistance with this article.