Contemporary Scenography: Practices and Aesthetics in German Theatre, Arts and Design

Description

Contemporary Scenography investigates scenographic concepts, practices and aesthetics in Germany from 1989 to the present. Facing the end of the political divide, the advent of the digital age and the challenges of globalization, German-based designers and scenographers have reacted in a variety of ways to these shifts in the cultural landscape. The edited volume, a compilation of 12 original chapters written in collaboration with acclaimed scenographers, stage designers and distinguished scholars, offers fresh insights and in-depth analyses of current artistic concepts, discourse and innovation in this multifaceted, dynamic field. The book covers a broad spectrum of scenography, including theatre works by Katrin Brack, Bert Neumann, Aleksandar Denic, Klaus Grünberg, Vinge/Müller and Rimini Protokoll, in addition to scenography in museums, exhibitions, social spaces and in various urban contexts. Presenting a range of perspectives, the volume explores the interdisciplinarity of contemporary scenography and its ongoing diversification, raising questions relating to cultural heritage, genre and media specificity, knowledge transfer, local versus global practices, internationalization and cultural exchange. Combined with a set of stimulating examples of scenographic design in action – presented through interviews, artists’ statements and case studies – the contributors develop a theoretical framework for understanding scenography as an art practice and discourse. Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Illustrations List of Contributors Foreword Notes Acknowledgements Contemporary Scenography Scenography is everywhere? Contemporary scenography and its contexts Reflections on contemporary German scenography: Investigating cultures of scenographic art and design Contemporary German scenography: Identifying key aspects and major trends A round-trip in three steps I Scenography in and beyond the theatre II Circulation of scenographic knowledgeand cultural transfer III Rethinking scenography Rethinking scenography: Scenography as dispositif: Notes on the analytical and methodological approach of this book Notes Part 1: Scenography in and Beyond the Theatre: Aesthetics and Epistemes Chapter 1: ‘I am Trying to Add More Layers to the Story’: From the Model to the Stage Notes Chapter 2: Notes on Bert Neumann’s Stage and Costume Designs Notes Chapter 3: Scenographic Materiality Scenography and new materialism Katrin Brack – a brief introduction Agential material and ‘thing-power’ Matter engaging with other matter: The agency of assemblages Discursive matter, or how matter comes to matter Scenography reconfigured Notes Chapter 4: Composing Scenography ‘Music with images’ (Bebilderung) – beyond a practice of Bebilderung David Roesner – No more décor Klaus Grünberg – Scenographic designs in the rehearsal and production processes: Autonomous role and heterogeneous interactions The making of De Materie Composing with scenography – Europeras David Roesner – Theatre and compositional thinking Klaus Grünberg – Europeras 1 & 2 Composing space and light according to musical criteria The instrument on stage – the stage as instrument: Stifters Dinge Klaus Grünberg – Creating a performance without a performer David Roesner – Stage as instrument Notes Chapter 5: Spatial Reorganizations and Moving Dynamics of the Active Spectator The theatre space composed as an ‘open system’: Bert Neumann’s ‘provisional architectures’ Augmented theatre: Performative constellations of theatre and computer-generated spaces – Sven Sören Beyer Immersion experiences created through stage design: Vegard Vinge/Ida Müller Spatial reorganization, audience involvement and changing modes of perception Notes Part 2: Circulation of Scenographic Knowledge and Cultural Transfer Chapter 6: Notation Assigning and arranging as spatio-temporal practices: A few notes on the history of dance notation Scoring practices Expanded choreography as scenography Scenae: To see and being seen Notes Chapter 7: One Cannot not Stage: Scenography – Beyond Theatre Scenography – a universal discipline of spatial design? Historic roots and terminology The art of scenographic design Parameters of scenography Methods – the score as design instrument Scenographic designs by Atelier Brückner – selected projects Expedition Titanic: The art of scenographic dialogue Grenzen (er)leben (Experiencing Frontiers): Narration as spatial experience GS Caltex Pavilion: The art of dynamic space TIM – State Textile and Industry Museum: Transformations on stage That’s Opera: Opera as a model for integrative design Epilogue – scenography beyond theatre Notes Chapter 8: The Art of Thinking and Designing Space Art or design? ‘Free’ or ‘applied’? Notes from the studio The creative process: Tools and strategies Notes Chapter 9: Don’t be Afraid of the Art of parCITYpation Performative architecture and scenographic design as an artistic practice of invention and intervention Expanding participation: Spatial design as a collaborative practice No spectators, only actors: Eichbaumoper (Mülheim an der Ruhr, 2008/9) Provisionary architectures – developing and testing spatial designs: Hotel Shabbyshabby (Mannheim, 2014) and Shabbyshabby Apartments (Munich, 2015) Changing the hidden ‘scripts’ of public space: Rush Hour Rest Stop (Durban, South Africa, 2014) Le Théâtre des Negotiations (Nanterre-Amandiers, France, 2015): A political, scientific, pedagogical and artistic experiment Scenographic interventions into the urban space: Forms of Turmoil (Milan, Italy, 2017) Notes Part 3: Rethinking Scenography Chapter 10: The Ungovernableness of the Scene Symbolon and diabolon Figuration of the non-figurative Unexpected leaps and the creative event of artistic knowledge Performing art statements Difference and withdrawal Notes Chapter 11: Scenography and Actor–Network Theory The starting point Anti-hierarchy between social and technical aspects Scenography as an actor The ends of the network Notes Chapter 12: Scenography Expanded scenography: Concepts and shifts in contemporary teaching, artistic research and education ‘You can have 100 ideas per minute’: Scenography, what is taught and how Fruitful interplay? On the relationship between theoretical discourse and scenography practice Work hard, play hard: On the importance of early practice Learning from one another Preliminary conclusion Notes Staging the unknown Notes References Index