PROMETHEUS
The legend of Prometheus tells of the titan who stole fire from gods and brought it to men, thus giving rise to human existence. Because of this action of defiance and rebellion, Prometheus was chained by Zeus and sent into exile to the ends of the Earth…
In collaboration with Dutch Nationale Opera & Ballet of Amsterdam, OOOPStudio created the visual design for the scenography of the dance show Prometheus accompanied by the music of Beethoven. This all-embracing artwork is a perfect blend of various arts and professionals working together to produce a complete and harmonious product, in which each part is fundamental and in dialogue with the others.
The achieved images are the result of a multisensory inspirations and interaction with the musical context and the movement of dance, evoking the processes that lead to the birth of the human being, the true protagonist of the whole story. The sense of becoming is connected to the transformations of the matter projected into the scenography, from arid earth to clay, then to fire and lava. Each element has been transformed, digitized and processed according to the visual rendering and style of OOOPStudio, bringing a unique artistic vision into the show.
The photogrammetry technique, scanning bodies three-dimensionally and creating hundreds of shots, made it possible to process a 3D model and create a single digital sculpture using the “virtual” materials applied throughout the scenography (earth, clay, lava …). Then, the abstract texture is adapted to realistic shapes, with light and shadow effects that make the bodies come alive and animated. The sense of realism perceived looking at the scene is not due to the similarity with reality but to the accuracy of the movements of the lights on the architectural surface, thanks to a technology capable of connecting a completely abstract and digital environment with the realism of the stage.
Fire, the leading element, has been developed starting from a digital simulation, calculating all its physical properties and transformations, until obtaining an image rather different from the real but which strongly recalls it. The architectural elements revoke the great past and ancient buildings, such as the Roman amphitheatre, the library of Celsio in Ephesus and medieval cities, but it is also inspired by a more modern landscape and futuristic cityscape. Everything is graphically reworked not aiming at deceiving the eye, but rather to recalling the sense of technology, as this is the leitmotif of OOOPStudio’s narrative style, related to contemporary and technological visions.
The removal of the original colours of the architecture aims to perpetuate a sort of continuity with the stylistic approach of the studio: bright white and black represent the aesthetic idea of the digital binomial of 0 and 1. Lights and colours want to be a sort of extension of what is happening on stage, following the salient moments of the narration and the music, working as a perfect background to choreography.
Production: Dutch Nationale Opera & Ballet
Choreography : Wubkje Kuindersma-Ernst Meisner-Remi Wörtmeyer
Set Design & Costumes: Tatyana van Walsum
Light Design: Carlo Cerri
Visual Design: OOOPStudio
Dramaturgy: Willem Bruls
Conductor: Marzio Conti
