A Mountain of Color, Texture and 3D “Infinity” Looks
The album Lenny Kravitz is supporting with his 2012 tour may be called Black and White America, but the colors revealed in the jagged-edged lighting and set design, a collaboration between LD Steve Cohen and production and set designer Es Devlin, are anything but.With shades that shift from stained glass hues to sprayed pastels, the looks and shapes cover the gamut from retro to futuristic. The lighting complements the video content crafted by Memo Aiken and the creative design team, all to the exacting specifications of the multi-disciplined artist himself.
Steve Cohen, Lighting Designer:
“I met with Lenny after he had had a couple of meetings with [set designer] Es Devlin. The prospect of working with her was exciting, given the amazing things I have seen her do over the years. We actually never met before, and set eyes on each other for the first time in Amiens, France, at rehearsals, when all the elements were onsite. We did, however communicate by phone, and email constantly through the process. It was interesting for me to develop a lighting design to another’s set design, having done both for years. Of course, I came up with a couple of designs that were “mine” and, to her credit, she drove me down the path to support the overall, as opposed to having two separate visions… It’s one thing to say you’re a collaborator, another thing altogether to actually collaborate, and I learned, once again, that the sum is greater than its parts.
“Lenny is an artist with many different disciplines. He designs furniture and fashion, along with his music. He is also a great student of history — he loves anything that relates to the stand-out looks, feel, and sound of the 1920s through the 1980s… it’s evident in his music, and the arrangements. That is where we met, aesthetically. He liked crisp musical cues and big, powerful looks, which I gave him, but, moreover, he liked the sense that we were creating an art piece that was “familiar.” He was very involved with the video imagery — that’s where most of his notes were, so I made sure that the lighting, in color and feel, married with this imagery. Once we developed the language together, there was trust, and the show began to light itself to a great degree.
“The shape of the backline “mountain” is pure Es Devlin. How it’s accomplished is quite simple when you break it down, but then I would be giving up a secret that is not mine to tell. Suffice it to say, her solution to create that three-dimensional infinity, gave us unlimited flexibility. The video art, live captured, effected I-Mag, and lighting made the concept come alive.
“The video art was provided, primarily, by Memo Aiken, with Robin McNichols onsite. There was a lot of content required, and a short budget. With the Maxedia, I was able to take the raw clips and re-color, format, blend and layer much of the original materiel, and get 10 pieces out of one. I would build the looks, light the songs, then we would send a live video back to Memo, and, in some cases, they would re-build the clips based on my manipulation. It was a great process, and, moreover, it allowed Lenny to really participate, give notes on texture and color, and have him invest in every aspect of the design. It was a great experience all around.”
Es Devlin, Production/Set Designer:
“Lenny and I first met while he was playing at the U2 stadium shows in Seattle, WA. In our talk, he brought up that he had seen a black glass mountainous installation in Paris, and that became our visual starting point. So our first meeting was face-to-face over the course of three days in Seattle between Lenny’s rehearsals. The rest of the design process was by phone and email.
“When I got back to my studio in London, I worked with my team to refine the physical model and produce 3D CAD models and Photoshopped renders illustrating proposed lighting and video looks. Tait Towers have a long standing working relationship with Lenny, and they were fantastic and supportive of the project.
“This was my first collaboration with designer Steve Cohen, and he was an inspiration — his practice as a fine artist; he paints rich, colorful works. He’s an amazing lighting designer and brought out Lenny’s range of visual and cultural references… very impressive, and his instincts were always true. The project was a great pleasure to be a part of.”
Jesse Blevins, Lighting Director:
“This show is a blast to be a part of. Lenny is very passionate about the entire production. He has a very clear opinion of what he wants to see and hear. The show has been very consistent. We have had to scale down in some venues due to the spaces available, of course; there are the usual tweaks, tightening up timings and building some suitable transitions once we got a feel for the show’s flow in a live environment. But not much outside of that. There was plenty of time also to get material together for five or six ‘maybe’ songs, so when Lenny does decide to mix it up, we’re ready for it.
More photos: www.plsn.me/kravitzmay2012
