The man in "The One and Only" is set up to stay in position for a very long time. The blue fabric of his right sleeve forms into the shape of a metallic armrest, from which he clutches the corner of a large, rippling fabric. While his other arm rests on a long pole suspended from the ceiling, he crouches down so that his face is inches away from the fabric, looking at or for something unknown to the viewer. Above his face, where his head might be if he was sitting upright, a plaster face mask hangs from ropes. Its wide-eyed smile contrasts the shocked and agitated expression of the man, though the creases between the mask’s downturned eyebrows tell a different story about its happy smile.
Below the billowing red fabric, sitting on a tabletop, sits an obscured object. Its shape is barely defined by the fabric, buried beneath layers of red, but a sliver is visible that appears to be a dark bust. For one reason or another, it has been concealed, and the tiny detail that consumes the man’s attention leaves us to ponder what this other face might look like. We can perhaps infer that the white, happy face publicly shown is the opposite of the hidden face, which must not be happy. The tiny detail the man is looking at is directly between these two faces, and the man is set to ponder this division for a long time.
Jocelyn Furniss (Guest Writer)
BAK a Day, March 26, 2023
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Ladies and Gentlemen. Boys and Girls.
We present… The One and Only!
Multiple identities of humankind. The master of ceremonies. The shrouded guest. The common man.
All drawn into this magical moment. Who and what will be revealed and by whom?
The drapery of blood red does add a sense of death and doom. This is not a moment to celebrate.
We are all observers. Or are we also not complicit?
What can we learn from the moment of mystery?
Bernard H. Pucker, BAK a Day, June 7, 2022
Vilna Gaon Museum of Jewish History (Samuel Bak Museum)
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