Week 10-Jackie Gonzalez-Inside the Dramatic Imagination

The Dramatic Imagination felt like a shot of energy in 61 pages; it truly is a very inspirational text that I have a lot to learn from and is the designer’s holy text of design wisdom. I also appreciate the fact that Robert Edmond Jones was a scenic and lighting designer, a hybrid designer, and something that I aspire to be. One of the main takeaways that I got was that small gestures are in reality incredibly powerful and the atmosphere is everything. I learned that you can easily make something beautiful, but can you create a beautiful moment.  

One of my favorite moments in the book is the one where he is working on a period piece and he sends a young designer helping him on the production to go find research images. He comes back with accurate sketches and images, but Robert looks at everything and finds that they are missing something, a theatrical feel to them. The young designer asks him what they should do and he says, “We have got to stop copying”. I love this part tremendously and spoke to me on another level. Although there is a popular quote that artists love to reference, it is that stealing is art, which is really interesting and something I feel sort of indifferent about. Anyhow, theatre is so open ended, even with a period piece, you can still make things interesting or have creative freedom/ you don’t have to get every single detail perfect. 

This book brought up a precious memory of the first time I “lit” something and I found such a sense of joy that I got to see my ideas come to life. Last winter quarter, I took Jaime’s Intro to Lighting Design course and the last project we had to do was to read “Eurydice” by Sarah Ruhl and tie three cues with color to three scenes within the play and have a concept or feeling behind them. The first concept I came up with was not my favorite one and felt so meh, and something in the back of mind said try again, there is something better. I spent a good chunk of time contemplating what the heck I was going to do, and one day, something just clicked and I was able to come up with something on a deeper level. After that I was able to take that feeling and translate it to instrument choices and color to create an atmosphere that the class and I would be able to experience the feeling of my concept all together. Now that I think about it, I wouldn’t have able to do it in any other field of design other than lighting. The stage really was a canvas that day. 

The first time I ever lit a stage featuring Merle as my model 

         The first time I ever lit a stage featuring Merle as my model 

The quote, “We use light as we use words, to elucidate ideas and emotions. Light becomes a tool, an instrument of experssionism, like a paint brush, or a sculptor’s chisel, or a phrase of music” helped guide me to that memory.

Furthermore, it reminded me of my favorite concert memories where the lighting design was a large part of why I enjoyed the show and was able to really feel the music. Please excuse me as I step away from theatre for a second, but still staying "on stage". It is challenging to explain, and it may sound corny, but it is incredible how beams of light can turn into art which help tug at your heartstrings, fill you with energy, or heighten your emotions at certain moments during a performance. That is mind blowing, especially when we see our designs come to life and see how they affect us and the audience. I understand why we say brushstroke instead of instrument.

(Harry Styles concert 2018, lighting design by Eighteen Twenty Six productions)

(Rex Orange County concert 2020, lighting design by Jed Skrzypczak)

Robert brings up names of famous painters throught the book and my mind started to lead me to how lighting design or light installation can be art or a piece of art in a museum. I interpret this as the student is now the teacher as lighting design can be considered art in today’s day and age, but back in the day, few people like Robert Edmond Jones, would consider lighting design to be an art. I wanted to take a second to appreciate this lighting design instillation by Swiss multimedia and lighting instillation artist Lori Hersberger, called Phantomstudies (2008).

Phantom studies by Lori Hersberger

Then looking back at Rembrant's work, one of the artists Robert mentions, and looking at how he uses lighting to show the character and soul of the subject. This portrait dates back to 1632, and it so interesting to see how far lighting and art has come, yet still maintaining the a similar goal which is making you understand or feel  something without having to explicitly stating it. 

Portrait of young woman by Rembrandt

The dramatic imagination is a designer's cup of tea on a cold day, it will warm you right up and inspire you to think deeper about our compositions as well as challenge us to create an atmosphere that will allow the audience to melt into the moment, lead the attention to the actor, and not be too explicit as to what will happen at the end of the performance. Robert Edmond Jones taught me a lot and gave me a slice of wisdom to take with me on my creative journey.