Brack, Katrin. Katrin Brack Bühnenbild / Stages. Berlin: Verlag Theater Der Zeit, 2010. Print.
The award is bestowed on this publication in recognition of the fact that performance design can be presented in a language different to that of the live event and still demonstrate its power. Katrin Brack's work is shown through the pages of this book / catalogue, overflowing with life and personality, and through the selection, editing and quality of accompanying images, both in terms of the scenographic aspect of the content and the publication's graphic design. It is also important to highlight that the winner of the award was chosen not by accident, but with the intention of placing the work of performance designers at the centre of the PQ.
“My spaces never really think about whether or not they are art,” says Katrin Brack. Nevertheless, why does this question always come to mind when we look at her stage areas? More often than not, it is the term “fine arts” that has been used to describe the creations of this exemplary stage designer over the years. Her creations include shrouds of mist that drift softly over the stage, productions under incessant rain, showers of confetti, drifts of snow … And then suddenly a lonely tree, a sky full of swings, light bulbs or sparkling garlands. Looking at the stage areas she creates, one sees animated sculptures, installations, ideas that become objects which have been transformed into a radical symbolism, into metaphors.
Her work addresses the emptiness of the stage with rigour – through a continuously felt presence of things that are absent – and reduction. We see space / time and how it brings volume by means of invisible and fleeting lines: a theatre of time.
This first comprehensive show of “Bühnenbild/Stages” captures the colours and forms of the artist: the images are taken from productions of the past 25 years. Contributions from: Samuel Finzi, Dimiter Gotscheff, Wolfram Koch, Thomas Thieme and Almut Zilcher.