Painting a Backdrop: Scene Painting and Digital Media

Abstract

This article examines the collaboration between the scenic designer and scenic artist during the process of painting a scenic backdrop. This craft has traditionally been supplemental to the scenic designer’s artistic vision, and this hierarchy has served to maintain it at an artisanal level. A shift to more industrial stagecraft practices, and the use of digital tools for visualization and fabrication, inadvertently undermine the traditional authority of the designer based on artistic authority. The experiences of the scenic artist when faced with interpreting digital images of set designs are telling of the occupational identities of those who practice this craft, and current struggles to adapt to changing working conditions. These changes are also contingent on out-sourcing, which can mean the geographical separation between craft work and design work in a globalized entertainment industry.