Part 599: A Treasure Map to the Past
I return to my blog after a bad case of the flu and holiday obligations. Before returning to the life and times of Thomas G. Moses in 1908, however, I am taking the chance for a little self-reflection. The end of the year provides me with an opportunity to contemplate why I write a blog. Curiosity is my incentive. For years, I have spent every spare moment researching historical scenic art and scenic artists from long ago. This intense focus was primarily to satisfy my own interest about historical theatre practices, traditional materials and long-forgotten visionaries. My research wasn’t for any particular publication or event. Like many, I never stopped being a student. I love learning about new things, whether they pertain to theater, people, places, events, or art. At first, I simply wrote them down in a notebook and tucked away each paper into a neatly-labeled file. They were always intended for future reference. Maybe, I was waiting for the right time to do something with the information – like now.
All academic intentions aside, it is exciting to explore unchartered territory, especially when it involves creating art and architecture. I find historic buildings and scenery on a stage far more thrilling than blueprints, scale models, or brilliantly-painted designs. Existing scenery is transformative in nature, as each backdrop has the possibility to dance with the lighting. Settings for the stage offer much more than a pleasant composition, for they are interactive. It is this aspect of illusion that intrigues me, as well as the technique behind the trade.
Historic backdrops are riddled with clues, and I often feel like a detective while looking at a scenery collection. I regard each piece of scenery and machinery as a puzzle, always trying to assemble the border before moving to the center. You just have to know what shape to look for, and then identify the connections. It may take me years to make one small connection, or find the missing piece; those moments that result in a brief “ah-ha.” More so than each revelation is the search. Along the way I often will find supplementary information that wasn’t even on my radar at the time. Sometimes, these unanticipated discoveries are much more significant than what I was looking for in the first place. The life of Thomas G. Moses has created the road map for my research, but there are so many interesting rest areas and side trips along the way.
What I have realized over the years is that when examining extant scenery, it is important to remember that many of the clues are on the back, or hidden beneath a patch or between sandwich battens. Charcoal notations, studio stencils, union bugs, maps and other cartoons are all awaiting discovery. There are the visible signs on the surface, yet often the most significant finds lay hidden and are not discovered until a restoration. Between sandwich battens there is a plethora of information, such as mechanical drawings or the organization of line sets. Battens provided a form of durable paper on site as members of the installation crew solved problems, whether mathematical or aesthetic. More tomorrow.
If you are interested, there are many more examples that I posted to my FB Group Dry Pigment.
To be continued…
