Window art: Sleeping Beauty graces downtown display
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NORTHAMPTON - As job descriptions go, Anna Brahms has a pretty good one. "Creating beauty," she says, "that's my job."
Brahms' latest task is recreating four scenes from Charles Perrault's "Sleeping Beauty," which will be displayed in the windows of the Don Muller Gallery in Northampton through Jan. 4.
While "Sleeping Beauty" might not seem to be a conventional choice for a holiday display, Brahms found some thematic parallels between Perrault's story and the story of the Nativity, which she had first considered creating for the display.
Brahms said the Nativity had been represented in art many times before; she didn't feel like she had anything new to bring to it.
In Perrault's "Sleeping Beauty," angels descend from the heavens to bless the princess when she's born.
"It's about birth and awakening," Brahms said earlier. "It's going to be beautiful."
Brahms, who was born in Israel and studied art history at the University of Jerusalem, has had her work displayed throughout Europe, including at the Muse'e des Arts Decoratifs in the Louvre in Paris, as well as in the Ethnological Museum of Israel. Since moving in 1981 to the United States, Brahm's work has been displayed in Christmas windows at Tiffany and Saks Fifth Avenue, as well as at Lincoln Center's Gallery of Performing Arts and The Museum of the City of New York, all in New York City. She now lives in Conway, where she creates her art.
Each of the 17 figures for the Muller display took Brahms approximately two to three weeks to create. They stand between 12 and 35 inches tall with bodies made of cotton on a metal armature. Heads and limbs are formed of clay, fimo, prosculpt, papier-mâché, wood and plaster and are painted with acrylic paint. The hair is goat's hair or silk threads and the eyes are made of glass.
All told, Brahms says, the whole project took five months to complete.
Working with Brahms on the display were doll maker and seamstress Lilin Tseng of Charlemont and William Cudnohufsky of Ashfield, a woodworker and inventor who mechanically animated some of Brahms' creations.
Brahms, who has also crafted puppets, said seeing her creations put into motion is a bit like watching them come to life.
Last year, Brahms created her first display for the Northampton gallery - five scenes from Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol".
"People really liked it," Brahms said. "I love creating this street art."
Brahms said that she hopes that the display can find a home after the end of its run at the gallery in a different museum or a long-term display at an appropriate store somewhere.
For Brahms, the joy in her work comes from seeing people allowing themselves to envision the story coming to life.
"I like to create magic and beauty," Brahms said. "Sometimes it draws people into the story."
