When stars are on stage, this designer makes it personal for each fan in the stadium
In the post-pandemic fervor for live music, stadium concerts have shattered records. But for British stage designer Es Devlin, who has crafted some of the most acclaimed pop spectacles in recent years including Beyoncé's Renaissance tour, stadiums have never been a natural habitat for music. "They were designed for gladiatorial combat ... [and] competition, not for communal ritual gatherings."
Devlin's commitment to elevating those gatherings has been the driving force of a career that has spanned opera, theater and yes, stadium extravaganzas such as the Closing Ceremony for the 2012 London Olympics and two Super Bowl halftime shows.
The new bookedited by Andrea Lipps who curatedat the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, brings together three decades of her draft sketches, completed stages and creative philosophy.
