When Art Devolves into Horniness and Pimping: Reflections upon Questionable Creativity in Ntozake Shange's "a photograph: lovers in motion"

CLA JOURNAL 9 When Art Devolves into Horniness and Pimping: Reflections upon Questionable Creativity in Ntozake Shange’s“a photograph: lovers in motion” Trudier Harris In 1981,Ntozake Shange published Three Pieces, a small volume of three plays thatincludes“spell#7,”“aphotograph:loversinmotion,”and“boogiewoogie landscapes.” Set in a well-appointed and meticulously decorated San Francisco apartment,“a photograph,” which might arguably be considered a plurality rather than a singularity, focuses on Sean David, an aspiring photographer, his friend Earl, and the three women in Sean’s life: an attorney (Nevada), a dancer (Michael), and a model (Claire). Declaring his desire to become the best photographer in the world, Sean might better be described as a hustler who uses all the women in his life sexually and abuses them emotionally and/or financially. An insatiable sex addict, Sean maintains that multiplicity in sexual relationships is the only way he can exist in the world. Having trained women to accept his view of the world or, having selected women who are too weak-willed to oppose his practices, Sean is unashamed and aggressively vocal in what he does. Although the characters talk about love, and though “lovers” is a part of the title of the play, there is very little love exhibited. Instead, sex reigns throughout. Given the fact that Michael, the dancer, equates the ability to be an artist with the ability to love, including loving one’s own work, the central prong of the conflict during the play is the inability to become true artists because of the lack of ability to love. What characters mouth in professing love is not matched in healthy ways by actions in the play, so love and art remain at opposite poles. What is apparent is that sex and art, or sex and declarations of art, seem to exist on the same plane. The play therefore becomes an interesting mixture of declarations in contrast to actions, professions of art instead of the achievement of art, sex in the place of love/art, class distinctions in education/lifestyle, and disturbing stereotypes that invariably raise questions about Shange’s overall objective in creating such characters. From the beginning of “a photograph” and Sean’s declaration of the status he hopes to achieve as a photographer, it is clear that, though he may take numerous photographs, he is missing some key ingredient in terms of what it takes to make a true commitment to artistic achievement. Sean’s vision of himself as an artist exists more in the realm of conversation, specifically conversation that relates to storytelling.Inotherwords,Seantalksagoodgame,andhetellsstoriesaboutartists, particularly Henry and Alexandre Dumas, whom he has taken as his inspiration (he even has Dumas novels in his apartment). He asserts that he is going to “be the 10 CLA JOURNAL Trudier Harris alexandre dumas of my time.”1 There is a great gap, however, between conversation and creation. Nonetheless, the Dumases do serve as Sean’s sexual inspiration and succeed in highlighting the dissonance between sex and love. Not only is Sean inspired by the Dumases because they are artists, but their personal sexual lives also interest him. He states that “alexandre dumas took to women/ adulation/ scandal & wine,” all of which seems to define him (68). Indeed, he uses the Dumas biographies of multiple relationships and illicit sex as inspiration for his own. Just as Dumas senior had many women around Paris and sired an illegitimate son, so, too, Sean believes that any woman in the San Francisco area that he wants should be available to him.2 He comments to Michael when she notes that other women have been having sex with him in his bed prior to her arrival there: “you know somebodies have been sleeping here/ & you know yr here now & that is all you need to know…” (68). Sean thus uses history as inspiration for sexual engagement as well as for emotional detachment. Although he has sex with all three of the women in the play, he has no lasting commitment to any one of them. Even at the end, when he professes to love Michael, there is little that has gone before that would inspire readers/viewers to believe his declaration...