Artist Statement

One of the physical elements the lighting design of Network aims to capture is the presence of lighting instruments within the studio space. As with the scenic design, part of the conceit for the lighting design is that we see elements of the studio in action with some systems straddling the line between diegetic light and ‘theatre magic.’

This gives the audience a peak into the ‘backstage’ workings of the studio, and meta-textually, the production we are putting on. The layout and lights selected are a mixture of period appropriate and contemporary fixtures which sometimes function in world as lighting for the ‘on-air’ segments and other times, as only for the purpose of lighting the theatrical performance.

The design works in a palette of strong contrast, with a soft vignette of cigarette smoke hanging in the air.

Locations outside the studio should be defined clearly and simply. This can be found in elements of texture or directionality, sometimes a bold color, perhaps a table lamp or video display in the background.

Other inspiration came from the cinematography of Gordon Willis, particularly how he lights the human form. Examples here from The Drowning Pool, The Godfather, All the President’s Men, The Parallax View, and The Purple Rose of Cairo show scenes similar to previous visual research, focused on people. Strong color and contrast, often following a conventional three-point lighting approach which helps shape scenes outside the studio space.

Lastly, scenes like Valhalla, like Visions, and moments before death, live in a world defined by abstract shape, by rays, god beams, simple color blocks, and a sense that we have stepped into a place out of time; where persons we can only just start to fathom might be the arbiter, where we glimpse something between the theatrical, and the natural.