Painted Desert
Commissioned by Arizona’s Mesa Arts Center, the Painted Desert series grew out of a conceptual art project combining photography, costume design and immersive theater. Working with the Phoenix-based Vessel Project, I created a series of photographs of elaborately costumed figures set against the majestic and otherworldly badlands of the Painted Desert.
The photographs were presented as part of an atmospheric performance in front of live audiences at several venues in Arizona, including the Spark Festival in Mesa, the Public Art Program in Glendale, and the Phoenix Art Museum.
When we presented the piece at the Mesa Arts Center, the entire complex became a moving art gallery of sorts, with images flowing across walls, ceilings, floors, and even people in the audience. The Vessel performers themselves became living screens for the projected images.
As a photographer, I have shown my images in a variety of formats and venues over the years, including magazines, gallery shows, books, and film. But this was the first time I had used photography as part of an interactive performance piece.
The project was covered by the local news media and even garnered some attention from the academic community. It was described in Louis E. Catron and Scott Shattuck’s book, The Director’s Vision: Play Direction from Analysis to Production as well the scholarly journal Theatre Topics (see “Four Principles about Site-Specific Theatre: A Conversation on Architecture, Bodies, and Presence“).
The Vessel Project is the brainchild of Rachel Bowditch, a respected performance artist and theater director who teaches at Arizona State University. To find out more about her work, check out the Vessel Project or her personal website, rachelbowditch.com.
Copyright 2023 by Scott London. All rights reserved.