In celebration of playwright Samuel Beckett's 100th birthday, Ray Federman, friend of the famous playwright Samuel Beckett, read his tribute "The Imaginary Museum of Samuel Beckett" on Tuesday.
The presentation, provided by the Sophie Kerr Committee, opened with a critical lecture on Beckett's plays and then a reading from his novel, "Le Livre de Sam" (The Life of Sam) in French and English.
Federman first became a fan of Beckett's work when he saw a production of "Waiting for Godot" in the 1950s. He then became one of the first to write a doctorial dissertation on Beckett's work.
"Only fanatics read everything Beckett," he said, calling him "the last great artist of the twentieth century." In Federman's lecture, he said Beckett's work reflected an artistic tableau instead of the characters of the play.
"Beckett's resources," Federman said, "included the entire history of literature and philosophy." While different critics tried to search for meaning in Beckett's work, Federman made it clear that it always seemed not to help.
"Beckett's work seemed to defy any explanation and made a mockery of criticism. The meaning was neither secret not hidden." Federman then summarized the meaning of Beckett's work with the phrase, "What the hell am I doing?"
As he continued with the lecture, Beckett described the tableaus that Beckett painted in each of his plays, including "Waiting for Godot," the surrealistic overtones of "Endgame," and various others, which became even more fascinating, disturbing and funny.
Federman compares Beckett's plays to paintings, each with "form, composition, and color." Beckett's work does not need to have meaning for the same reason that paintings do not, they simply do not need it. "It becomes irrelevant to say, what does it mean," he mused.
In closing of the lecture, Federman concluded that "Beckett's work is always beautifully constructed tableaus." A question and answer session was held after the reading.
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