Transformationofspace

ThomasBeg h MADesignforPerformanceandEvents
Seminar 05/03/2012

TheLionKing(1997present) The Lion King (1997present) ScenographyofJosefSvoboda ScenographyofRobertWilson

PeterBrooksAMidsummersNightDream(1970) KeithSonnier MunichReGroup JamesTurrell

TheLionKing

IambowledoverbyTheLionKing.Atleastmyeyesare.Formyeyes,its anelatingboxofravishingmagictricks,anditsimagesstaywithmefor an elating box of ravishing magic tricks, and its images stay with me for days.ThemostbeautifulthingaboutTaymors visionisheraffirmationof thedoubleness,themetaphoricalforceoftheatre,wheresomethingor someonecanbethemselvesandatthesametimesomeoneorsomething someone can be themselves and at the same time someone or something else.Themenagerieofpuppetanimals,thecarnivalofgazellesspringing onperformersarms,theropeoutlinedelephantwithoperatorsinside, thepantherpaddingsoftlyonanelongatedpram,theflocksofbirdsand th th ddi ftl l t d th fl k f bi d d buzzardswhirledonthinwands... (Kustow.2001:169)

JosefSvoboda

Svobodasstageexistedasaplaceoftransformationandmagic,aplace thatwouldemployhightechnologytogeneratemysteryandmetaphors ofcomplexhumanexperience...Hisfundamentalconcernwastouse of complex human experience His fundamental concern was to use technologytorevealthehumanconditionofthedrama:toexplorethe abilityoftheatretomakeanauthenticnewrealityonthestage...(Baught 2005:88) Inascenography bySvobodathespectatorisabsorbedintothemental g p y y p worldoftheactionofthedramaasopposedtomerelyitslocation..the spectatorsareinvitedtolosethemselves,butnottotakeontheroleof voyeurs...(Baugh2005:91) voyeurs...(Baugh 2005:91)

RobertWilson

Alongwiththeatricalspace,thefunctionofasceneindramahasalso undergonechangesinpostmoderndrama.Thescenenolongerpresentsa undergone changes in postmodern drama. The scene no longer presents a plotbutisconceivedofmoreasalandscapeandaspatialimage...The theatreofRobertWilson,oftenlabelledatheater ofimages,readily comestomindasanexample...Flatcharactersorfiguresshowhardly comes to mind as an example Flat characters or figures show hardly anyinteraction.Alldependsontheimaginativeabilitiesofthespectator tocomposeacollageormontageofthetheatricallandscape.Itisonly throughassociativeprocessesthataninterpretationofthestage th h i ti th t i t t ti f th t presentationscanbeattempted.(Schmidt,2005:76)

PeterBrook

Whathecalledhiscelebrationoftheatreputemphasisonthe artificialityofthemediumanddemonstratedtheimpossibilityof designingarepresentationalworldfortheplaythatamodernaudience wouldbelievein.Thestagebecameablanksheetonwhichtheactors g madetheirownmagicthroughtheartoftheatreitself.(Bateand Rasmussen200:106)

KeithSonnier

Thelightnewlydefinesthearchitecture,relativizes thelengthofthe corridors,suspendsthemonotonyandallowsustoviewspaceas corridors, suspends the monotony and allows us to view space as differentiated.Theartistsmakesadirectreferencetothespatial dimensionofperceptionandthewayourperceptionchangeswith movement.Sonnier hascreatedaroomthatisexperiencedbythe movement Sonnier has created a room that is experienced by the passersbythroughthedynamicprocessoftraversingthepassageway. Thepassivevieweristhusintegratedintotheworkasanactive participant (Eh f i d 2003 38) ti i t (Ehrenfried.2003:38)

JamesTurrell

It's not easy to explain Turrell's work, but he stresses that there's no need to understand the science of light or perception; the point is to be open to the potentially transformative experiences. There's nothing to touch or smell; the light is as nebulous as seamist or smoke. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/arts/article23887739jamesturrelltripsthelight fantastic.do ...in a lucid dream, you have a sharper sense of color and lucidity than with your eyes open. Im interested in the point where imaginative seeing and outside seeing meet, where it b t h becomes diffi lt t diff difficult to differentiate b t ti t between seeing f i from th i id and the inside d seeing from the outside. http://beacquainted.com/archives/category/science http://beacquainted com/archives/category/science

Bibliography
Kustow, M (2001) theatre@risk. Great Britain:Methuen Schmidt, K (2005) The Theatre of Transformation: Postmodernism in American Drama. The Netherlands:Rodopi Ehrenfried, S. (2003) Verbingdung RotBlauBelb In: Raumschalger and Eberle (ed.) Keith Sonnier: Sculpture Light Space Germany:Hatje Cantz Publishers pp. 3839 Bate, J., and Rasmussen, Eric. (2008) A Midsummer Nights Dream. China:Macmillan Publishers Ltd. Baugh, B h C (2005) Th t P f Theatre Performance and T h l d Technology: th d l the development of scenography i t f h in the twentieth century. China:Palgrave Macmillan