Kanye West: Analyzing a Pop Culture Icon March 2017 | Page 10

The Art of Staging
K
BY FELIPE ROMERO
anye West has innovated in many
ways, and part of it has been the
way he stages where his perfor-
mances take place. He takes seriously
staging as an art form, and does his best
to connect with his audience, trying not
only to give a concert but to give his
public an experience. From dancers to a
flying stage, West hasn’t stopped impres-
sing with his innovations on stage.
Two women have been behind these de-
signs: Vanessa Beecroft and Es Devlin.
Beecroft’s art is based on live female fi-
gure and femininity in contemporary
culture. She has in common with West,
for instance, that they both admire fe-
male figure and have been involved in
controversy many times. On the other
hand, Es Devlin is a Stage art specialist
who started working with Kanye for
Glow in the Dark Tour. She sees the sta-
ge as an extension of the artist, and has
helped Kanye in his latest tours, even
though she has said that he really is the
director of every decision.
Since Glow in the Dark Tour, where
West started adding narrative to his per-
formance, when he represented a lost
space traveler trying to get back home,
exploring loneliness. On Watch the
Throne Tour, where he performed with
Jay Z, they stepped on four 5-meter high
screens projecting sharks. Es Devlin ex-
plained the idea saying the following:
“two men at the peak of their creative
powers, elevated on thrones, up there,
we look up to them, we recognize their
authority, and yet as audience members
we’re also putting ourselves in their po-
sition… They’re still tiny, they’re still
human sized, they’re vulnerable, they’re
exposed…”
During his Yeezus Tour, Kanye wore a
custom mask made by belgian designer
Martin Margiela. In that performance
we could see him at the peak of his power
and angry ego, but finding himself being
hunted by his demons. Near the final
part of the show a representation of Jes-
us appears, Kanye takes off his mask and
bows, what could be a demonstration of
his traditions faith and his willing to let
his ego aside.
Probably West’s most innovative idea on
stage has been the floating stage he used
during his last tour, Life of Pablo. Once
again it has been a good way to connect
with his audience. This time fans are a
major component of the show, there is
nothing else but him on his flying sta-
ge and the public moving, dancing and
singing to his music. To understand a
little better what motivates Kanye ideas
of staging we can take a look to what
Es Devlin said: “Although his music is
the most electronically modified thing
you can imagine in some sense, what he
responds to visually and emotionally is
pure nature”.
PHOTO FROM RAPDIRECT.NET
The Art of Staging | 11