“How do spaces shape the human experience? In what ways do rooms, homes, and buildings give us meaning and purpose?”[1] This review is a part of a series based of a podcast by TED Radio Hour, titled 'The Power of Spaces'.
The podcast is an insightful listen, particularly for an architect or lover of spaces. From the spaces of a home, to hospitals, theatres and stages, sculptural structures, places of worship, and the space a country occupies. To “explore the power of the spaces we make and inhabit.”[2] And what reveals to us, the meaning of a space.
Part 4 of The Power of Spaces, continues to delve into the multi-faceted nuances of architecture. Part 4 is about what I'd like to term as sculptural space. Sculptures which form part of spaces that have the power to shape experiences. This review moves away from the words of singer-songwriter David Byrne, to artist and stage designer, Es Devlin. In her words, read on to know how Devlin constructs sculptural spaces.
Finding pleasure in pain. An Afrofuturist scarred mask as the main stage design of The Weeknd's Coachella 2018 performance. Designed by Es Devlin. | (Devlin 2018)
Review
Spaces can make or break an experience.
Spaces are powerful. They have the power to "create intimacy on [a] grand scale."[3] How an architect or designer creates that kind of intimacy is a big question. Beyoncé's 2016 Formation tour featured a 60 foot high revolving monolith which was designed by Devlin, who had also created the tour's set. "A glowing cube projecting Beyoncé as larger than life. With video imagery of Beyoncé so close up, the audience felt intimately connected to her. The massive monolith structure almost seemed alive as it rotated, splitting open to reveal acrobats flying mid-air."[4] By creating a dynamic sculptural structure, which is at once aesthetic as well as functional, it allowed for an artistic expression that had adventured into new territory. An undipped territory where new things could happen.
In a stadium of thousands of deafening, screaming fans is the experiencing of a rainbow of human emotions. From euphoria, being starstruck, burgeoning with happiness, mixed with some sadness and pain, to bursting joy. A sold-out stadium is a crazy place to be in.
The sculptural space that an audience takes up space in, is a physical manifestation of the intended experience that is thought of by the performer and designer/architect prior to the performance. A space, that is built up from an abstract concept, poetry, or in this case, music, and processing that into a physical manifestation. A space that an individual can take up, experience along with the performer and music. A space and an experience that is made for you, not to forget.
"The effervescence of music is made of air, of breath, of frequency, and made of vibration. How do I capture that into something that's concrete without killing it?"[5] questions Devlin. Conceiving a stage is to place an audience within a space that allows for intimacy, for connection with the performer and the music. Devlin calls her work "stage sculpture", but what is really being sculpted is the experience of the audience. It's a large responsibility that designers, directors, and architects take on.
"When you design a pop concert, the prime material that you're working with is something that doesn't take trucks, or a crew to transport it. It doesn't cost anything, and yet it fills every atom of air in the arena before the show starts. It's the audience's anticipation."[6]
"Often, the space is a really important protagonist [in the creative process]. Each corner of an inch of a stadium, café, or opera house has the possibility of equating to a certain experience. We each experience space differently. Spaces "are protagonists in [our] life, they're like [our] friends",[7] or foes.
Part 5 of 'The Power of Spaces' continues with the words of architect, Siamak Hariri, in the building of spaces of worship. Spaces which are uplifted by faith; a place to feel safe.
Reference
TED Radio Hour. 2020. “The Power Of Spaces.” National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/23/894580784/the-power-of-spaces.
Image
Devlin, Es. 2018. “THE WEEKND AT COACHELLA.” Es Devlin. https://esdevlin.com/work/weeknd-coachella.
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