Future Perspectives on Interior Design



From film to interior design, considering mise-en-scène



By consciously borrowing from cinematic theory and theatrical traditions of space this interdisciplinary approach to interior design seeks to re-evaluate interior decoration theoretically. 



‘Mise-en-scène’ and ‘staged space’ helps to frame an approach that proffers an alternative reading of the discipline.  An approach that looks to the past to proffer a future perspective and challenges the prevalence of more architectural readings of the interior 



Keywords: interdisciplinary, future perspectives, interior design, staged space, filmic space, atmosphere, mise-en-scèn

Whitehead, Jean

Falmouth University Research Repository (FURR)

         Creating Interior Atmosphere: mise-en-scène and Interior design Jean Whitehead, Senior Lecturer, Falmouth University, U.K.The Mae West Room by Salvador Dali, 1974, Getty images  Lecture content • Introduction, an interdisciplinary approach • Decorative theories, interior atmosphere • Filmic Space, introducing mise-en-scène • What’s in a room? Interior ingredients…  From film to interior design, considering mise-en-scène INTRODUCTION                  Future Perspectives on Interior Design From film to interior design, considering mise-en-scène By consciously borrowing from cinematic theory and theatricaltraditions of space this interdisciplinary approach to interior design seeks to re-evaluate interior decoration theoretically.‘Mise-en-scène’ and ‘staged space’ helps to frame an approach that proffers an alternative reading of the discipline.Keywords: interdisciplinary, future perspectives, interior design,staged space, filmic space, atmosphere, mise-en-scène                           ======Theories of the decorative versus the architectural… What is interior decoration and where has it gone? Bloomsbury UK web site Interior Architecture = 168 results Interior Design  310 results Interior Decoration  3 results Source : Bloomsbury RIBA UK web Site Interior Architecture = 36 results Interior Design 133 results Interior Decoration  3 results Source: RIBA bookshop Laurence King UK web site Interior Architecture = 14 Interior Design  40 Interior Decoration  4 Source : Laurence King  From film to interior design, considering mise-en-scène DECORATIVE THEORIES    -interior decoration noun 1. interior design. 2. materials used to decorate an interior (surface finish). http://www.dictionary.com/browse/interior decoration?s=t                 what is Interior Decoration? Individual expression A stylist’s approach: ‘I love old Hollywood glamour, I loveglamorous interiors...but then Ialways want to make it a bit edgy and throw some rock androll vibe in there.’ Abigail Ahern                     the desire to decorate – the collective experience A collective approach: ‘in the beginning it was all white, then everyonestarted drawing on thewalls, and then everything was covered. It was like a disease.’ Fort Thunder commune, Rhode island, USA/1995 Post-consumer waste becomes interior decoration                             -‘ ’The  desire to decorate - Interior assemblage Assemblage – ‘A process comparable to collage in which the art object is built up from 3-dimensional found materials.’ Read [1945], 1994:24 The artistic approach: Schwitter’s saw the poetics inthe cast offs and the unwanted and used these to create athree dimensional architecturalassemblage1923 39 (destroyed 1943) Merzbau, or the Cathedral of Erotic Misery, Kurt SchwittersImage courtesy of DACS 2007                   ́’the desire to decorate – faux expressions The theatrical approach:‘To Reno Dakota, all theworld’s a potential stage including his own home....hisdecorating style, which hecalled DECAY DECOR DAKOTA is a complex studyin faux finishing.’ Reno Dakotas apartment, East Village, NYC, 1983 onwards                The desire to decorate, stylistic and thematic interiors -Maximalism versus minimalism Hassan Abdullah, Whitechapel, London John Pawson, Own house A maximalist philosophy that can be summarized as "more is more", contrasting with the minimalist motto of "less is more". Decorative Atmospheric       What is interior atmosphere? Atmosphere noun 1. The pervading tone  or mood of a place, situation, or creative  work:  2. the hotel has won commendations for its friendly, welcoming atmosphere. Oxford dictionary, n.d.    What is interior atmosphere? Atmosphere is capable of ‘unify[ing] a diversity of impressions in a single emotive state.’ Gernot Böhme Atmosphere as ‘spatialised feelings.’ Tonino Griffero ‘Magic of the real world.’ Peter Zumthor  From film to interior design, considering mise-en-scène INTRODUCING MISE-EN-SCÈNE                - -̀́Introducing mise-en-scène - Staged space Film interiors + atmosphere + interior mise en scene ‘In discussing the decorated interior, it is no coincidence that the French word decor has dual meaning and translates as both stage scenery and interior decoration .’ Rugoff, 2010:11 cited in Whitehead, 2018: 28                                                              - - - -What about interior decoration’saffiliation to the stage set? ‘It is the art of the stage setwhich rids atmospheres of theodour of the irrational: here it is a question of producing atmospheres’…(of) ‘manipulating material conditions, of things, apparatus,sound and light.’Böhme, 2013 Image courtesy of the Guardian/sets act one beowulf boritt Introducing mise-en-scène - Staged space’to setting the conditions’, referred to as ‘generators’                  Introducing mise-en-scène - Staged space Illusory interiors: Scenography, art direction and production design are allconcerned with a films visualidentity, it’s illusory atmosphere, it’s narrative. ‘Carefully constructed man-made sets or adapted locations help to set the tone of a film by spatially reinforcing its narrative or characterisation.’                                  - _ _ _ _What about the interior and mise-en-scène? ‘A you would expect from theterm’s theatrical origins, mise-en-scène includes thoseaspects of film that overlap withthe art of the theatre: setting,lighting, costume, and behaviour of the figures. Incontrolling the mise-en-scène,the director stages the event for the camera.’Bordwell and Thompson [1979] 2001:156 Image courtesy of http://georgehurrell.com/wp content/uploads/2011/06/hurrell on movie set wm.jpg Mise-en-scène literally translates as ‘putting into the scene.’ Introducing mise-en-scène - Staged space Mise-en-scène CINEMATIC INTERIORS – NARRATIVE AND SETTING                                –Theatrical scenery Cinematic interiors – narrative and setting Cinematic pioneer and theatrical illusionist Georges Méliès Méliès moved from simple recordings of his stage shows to fantasy epics.These "trick films" combined fantastic yarns, intricate painted sets, and elaborate costumes with specialeffects such as slow motion, dissolves,and superimpositions.  is inevitably a ‘tableau’ that uses acombination of  painted scenography, acoustics, costumesand special effects A Trip to the Moon, 1902 director Georges Méliès Images: pera museum                   –-Cinematic interiors – narrative and setting German Expressionism Cinematic representation of an altered mental state‘psychological‘ interiors. The sets became non realistic,geometrically distorted,exaggerated by painted lights and shadows.The sets become characters in their own right and contributetowards the mise-en-scène The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, director Robert Weine, 1920                         Cinematic interiors – narrative and setting ‘Taken in its broadestsense, the film set is a discrete but ever-present character, thedirector’s most faithful accomplice. It is simplya question of finding for each film the setting best calculated to situate the actiongeographically, socially,and dramatically.’Barsacq, [1970] 1776: 122 The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, 1919, director Robert Wiene, Getty Images            –Cinematic interiors - narrative and setting , The Royal Tennenbaums, director Wes Anderson, 2001‘His cinematic environments, because of their sectional ‘dollhouse’ quality and their ‘planimetric staging’ immortalise the interior as a recurring motif or habitual presence.’Bordwell 2015: 238 cited in Whitehead, 2018: 25 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrxJrnVUO7QWhat is a mise-en-scène?‘His cinematic environments, becauseof their sectional ‘dollhouse’ quality and their ‘planimetric staging’ immortalise theinterior as a recurring motif or habitual presence.’ Bordwell 2015: 238 cited in Whitehead, 2018: 25 The Royal Tenenbaums director Wes Anderson What is a mise-en-scène? Production design + interior designhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFRCazQPLbEPeter Greenaway – The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover https://www.diomedia.com/stock-photo-the-cook-the-thief-his-wife-and-her-lover-fr--ndl--br-1989-helen-mirren-michael-gambon-liz-smith-date-1989-image5762745.html              –Cinematic interiors - narrative and setting ‘Slow horizontal tracking shots reveal these coloured spaces as a painted frieze.’ Whitehead 2017: 143 Image from diomedia Peter Greenaway The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover                          ̀Interior mise-en-scene as ‘staged space’ ‘Staged space quickly transcends its physical setting through the arrangement of its ‘setting’ the interplay of props, the use of colour and materials , through to the application of light andshadow, all of which holistically combine to tell a story. This is in essence an interior assemblage – elements that have beenbrought together or composed in the creation of a specific interior scene.’ Whitehead, 2018: 15                          Understanding interior mise-en-scène – the set as a character ‘Taken in its broadest sense,the film set is a discrete but ever-present character, thedirector’s most faithful accomplice. It is simply aquestion of finding for eachfilm the setting bestcalculated to situate theaction geographically,socially, and dramatically.’ Barsacq [1970] 1976: 122 Satis House the lair of Miss Haversham Great Expectations, 1946, director David Lean                              ’̀́’Understanding interior mise-en-scène – the set as a character Mise-en-scene is used infilm studies in the discussionof visual style. For thestudent of film a useful definition might be thecontents of the frame and the way they areorganised.’ ....’What arethe contents of the frame? They include lighting, costume, decor, properties and the actors themselves.’ John Gibbs Dracula s castle Bram Stoker s Dracula, director Francis Ford Coppola, 1992                                                    - - ̀̀Understanding interior mise-en-scène – the physical & psychologicalsetting In films interiors and buildings become settings that have psychologicalmeaning, they act as ‘metaphors’ for the character or the story to create visually complex atmospheres.The constructed mise en scene communicates the intended sense of time and space as required for the story through the design of a physical setting. Thissetting is then enhanced through the use of elements that enrich the film psychologically. These two elements together create a rich atmosphere – a mix of thephysical and the actual, the psychological or interpreted. Bothcontribute to the mise-en-scene and how the story is told.                  Understanding interior mise-en-scène – the set as a  character Mise-en-scène is essentially theart of ‘presenting’ and by this means it successfully projects an ‘expressive’ visualcoherence to its audience.A Clockwork Orange, 1971, director Stanley Kubrick, Getty Images                        ’ ' ‘Staged space’ In essence staged space is concerned with theassemblage of key interior ingredients that worktogether to holistically construct a specific scene. Ithas physical, psychological and narrative properties.The Actress stage set, 1928 Canadian actress Norma Shearer on the set of 'The Actress (aka 'Trelawney of the Wells'),directed by Sidney Franklin, Getty Images                     Developing interior mise en scène The physical mise-en-scène – is concerned with the design of the physical environment its ‘interior setting’, backdrop orsceneryTypical interior elements – it is all about the final arrangement, shapeand finish of the walls, floor and ceiling and the use of props (furniture,fixtures, equipment and accessories).                            Developing interior mise-en-scène The psychological mise-en-scène – In contrast this includes elements that work with the setting and aim to enhance a specific ‘mood’ whilst at the same time hoping to elicit a particular emotional response.Typical interior elements - this is concerned with how lighting, colour,scale and composition are used to enhance the setting and impactupon our ‘reading’ and ‘perception’ of the space.   From film to interior design, considering mise-en-scène WHAT’S IN A ROOM? INTERIOR INGREDIENTS…                An interior mise-en-scène toolkit : What are the ingredients that inform an interior mise-en-scène? Or the deployment of temporary interior ingredients or ‘props’ that set the‘scene’ and create a certain mood orambience.5 x key ingredients: The interior Scenery, Interior Props, Special Effects, Light and Shadow, Colour           What’s in a room? Mise-en-scène ingredients What if the interior 'setting’ is conceived as a scenic backdrop, a physical ‘skin’ that can be endlesslymanipulated and transformed expressively. The famous miniature family theatre, owned by Mr Stanley Lupino, the well known comedian, 1940, Getty Images       Interior Scenery and mise-en-scène Surface + layered + manipulated or three dimensional interior settings or scenic backdrops                        ‘ ’What’s in a room? Mise-en-scène ingredients What if accessories,furniture, fixtures and equipment, in essence ‘interior 'props' could be utilised to enhance and give meaning to theinterior setting. Props , sets and props waiting to be loaded for a journeyto York, 1947, Getty Images       Interior Prop’s and mise-en-scène Accessories + furniture + fixtures + equipment                           ‘ ’ What’s in a room? Mise-en-scène ingredients What if an interior mise-en-scène could exploit 'specialeffects' in thecreation ofenvironments thatdeliberately playwith our perception of space. Flying Ladies, 13th December 1932: Four of Daly's chorusgirls are hoisted aloft on 'invisible' wires during a rehearsal forthe pantomime 'Mother Goose'. Getty Images         Illusory + implied + sensory approaches to space, the use of scale Spatial perception and mise-en-scène                        ‘ ’ --What’s in a room? Mise-en-scène ingredients What if light and shadow had thepotential to taintpsychologically anyinterior mise-en-scène.Studio Portrait , Swedish American actress Greta Garbo(1905 1990) as Irene Guarry during filming of the romantic drama 'The Kiss', directed by Jacques Feyder. Getty images          Light & Shadow and mise-en-scène Natural (day) + artificial (electric) + candlelight + digital light                Painting fifteen miles of scenery for London pantomime,1932, Getty Images What if an interior mise-en-scènecould exploitcolours psychologicalaspect ortendencies. What’s in a room? Mise-en-scène ingredients      Colour and mise-en-scène Colour + pattern + graphics                                             This approach aims to proffer: • A timely scholarly reappraisal of ’decorating’ as an area of expertise withinInterior Design.• A revised and expanded definition of thedecorative interior that encompasses mise-en-scène, spectacle, staging, ambience,perception and its impact upon the humanexperience in its theoretical reimagining of the subject.• An exploration of ‘what is’. . . an interior mise-en-scène through its physical,psychological and narrative qualities.• Applied knowledge of how to ‘analyse’ and then ‘create’ a specific mood ininterior design through the use of key design ingredients.The end Thank you      Images courtesy of: Bloomsbury Getty Images Rex Individual architects and design practices Jason Joy - Bradford Royal Teaching Hospitals 

Creating Interior atmosphere: Future Perspectives on Interior Design

https://repository.falmouth.ac.uk/5279/7/J_Whitehead%2C%20Creating%20interior%20atmosphere%20-%20Final%20version%20%281%29.pdf

Creating Interior atmosphere: Future Perspectives on Interior Design

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