My current scenic design project is "The Book of Longing", a book of poetry and song by Leonard Cohen with music by Phillip Glass. Phillip Glass selected the works that were put to his music for the project. From Leonard Cohen's book, he chose a series of pieces that portrayed the range of human emotion and put the final songs in random order. In a sense, he deconstructed the work and emotional life of the poet.
Through research, I discovered that the book is a result of over 20 years of work. Leonard Cohen said in an interview "I can hold in a great deal." My concept is based on this statement, and I created a collage to communicate my initial ideas.
In the foreground is a flower made of translucent fibers overlaying a dandelion. This represents the fragility of revealing emotional experiences, whether tragic, humorous, passionate, etc. The umbrellas in the background are the result of a need for protection. Finally, the overlaying image is an egg exploding in a hand (some of you may recognize it as the cover of the new YYY album). This is the moment when the work is released.
In essence, my scenic piece will be a deconstructed “cocoon”. Zaha and Maya Lin are my main sources for inspiration. Also, I am reading “Architecture and Disjunction” by Bernard Tschumi. More to come.
