Costume design for 'King Lear'
Costume Design
1955 (made)
1955 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Costume design by Isamu Noguchi for Harold Lang as Edmund in Shakespeare's play, King Lear, Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company, Palace Theatre, London, and European tour, 1955.
Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) was primarily a sculptor, although he was also known for designing the settings for the dance works of American modern-dance pioneer, Martha Graham. When he was commissioned to design King Lear for the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company in 1955, he had little experience of costume. However director George Devine and his leading actor, John Gielgud, had been impressed by Noguchi’s work for Graham. They believed that he could create appropriate designs for a stylised staging of Shakespeare's play, which, according to the programme note, ‘would be free of historical or decorative associations so that the timeless, universal and mythical quality of the story may be clear.’
Instead of painting or sketching his costume designs, Noguchi produced little paper figures. Though subsequently mounted on paper with the makers’ notes and instructions added, the figures were designed to stand upright, and the wire strut that supported each one is still attached. This design for Edmund shows the highly stylised armour, and a note indicates that it should be made in indigo blue, which would impart a wonderful sheen on stage. The actual information conveyed by the designs is not easy for a costume-maker to interpret. The armour forms a "cage" around the body - what materials will make it rigid yet allow it to fit comfortably on the actor? The bands are clearly not decorative, but how rigid should they be? How easy will it be for the actors to carry out the director's moves in the fight sequences? Unfortunately the director had not taken the costumes into account, and the stylisation which Noguchi envisaged did not blend with the realistic fight moves planned by George Devine.
Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) was primarily a sculptor, although he was also known for designing the settings for the dance works of American modern-dance pioneer, Martha Graham. When he was commissioned to design King Lear for the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company in 1955, he had little experience of costume. However director George Devine and his leading actor, John Gielgud, had been impressed by Noguchi’s work for Graham. They believed that he could create appropriate designs for a stylised staging of Shakespeare's play, which, according to the programme note, ‘would be free of historical or decorative associations so that the timeless, universal and mythical quality of the story may be clear.’
Instead of painting or sketching his costume designs, Noguchi produced little paper figures. Though subsequently mounted on paper with the makers’ notes and instructions added, the figures were designed to stand upright, and the wire strut that supported each one is still attached. This design for Edmund shows the highly stylised armour, and a note indicates that it should be made in indigo blue, which would impart a wonderful sheen on stage. The actual information conveyed by the designs is not easy for a costume-maker to interpret. The armour forms a "cage" around the body - what materials will make it rigid yet allow it to fit comfortably on the actor? The bands are clearly not decorative, but how rigid should they be? How easy will it be for the actors to carry out the director's moves in the fight sequences? Unfortunately the director had not taken the costumes into account, and the stylisation which Noguchi envisaged did not blend with the realistic fight moves planned by George Devine.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Costume design for 'King Lear' (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Paper collage with pencil, watercolour, and wire |
| Brief description | Costume design by Isamu Noguchi for Harold Lang as Edmund in Shakespeare's play King Lear, Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company, Palace Theatre, London, and European tour, 1955 |
| Physical description | Costume design. To right, attached paper figure with metal wire strut, in the form of a male figure in a schematic black helmet, the figure's right leg grey, left leg and torso brown, overlaid with black 'armour' across shoulders, down arms and in a band around the hips, the bands at shoulders and hips joined by two vertical bands running from the shoulder plates. The legs overlaid with black bands, the figure's left leg with a high black leg guard and three bands, the right leg with black knee band and brown leg guard, strapped to the back. To the left, a cut-out showing the armour with a dagger in the hip band. Beneath is a black rectangular shield with central red spiked boss. The page is annotated and has two typed labels: "Heavy arms"? and "3. Edmund basic & light armour, hat." |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label | 3
Costume design for King Lear
1955
For this Stratford production of King Lear starring John
Gielgud, the Japanese-American sculptor Isamu
Noguchi produced paper dolls instead of drawn designs.
This unconventional technique presented a challenge
to the costume makers, Carl Bonn and Colin Mackenzie.
Play by William Shakespeare, 1605–6
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
Paper, card and pencil
Designed by Isamu Noguchi (1904–88)
Museum no. CIRC.71-1960
(March 2009-September 2013) |
| Object history | The design was created by Isamu Noguchi for the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company's 1955 touring production of Shakespeare's King Lear. The play was directed by George Devine, with John Gielgud as Lear. The production opened in Brighton on 6 June, then visited festivals in Vienna, Zurich, The Hague, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Berlin and Copenhagen, before playing at London's Palace Theatre, 21 July to 17 September. It then went to Hanover, Bremen, Hamburg, Oslo, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, and finally came to the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon, 29 November to 17 December. The costumes were made by Carl Bonn and Colin Mackenzie. |
| Summary | Costume design by Isamu Noguchi for Harold Lang as Edmund in Shakespeare's play, King Lear, Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company, Palace Theatre, London, and European tour, 1955. Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) was primarily a sculptor, although he was also known for designing the settings for the dance works of American modern-dance pioneer, Martha Graham. When he was commissioned to design King Lear for the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company in 1955, he had little experience of costume. However director George Devine and his leading actor, John Gielgud, had been impressed by Noguchi’s work for Graham. They believed that he could create appropriate designs for a stylised staging of Shakespeare's play, which, according to the programme note, ‘would be free of historical or decorative associations so that the timeless, universal and mythical quality of the story may be clear.’ Instead of painting or sketching his costume designs, Noguchi produced little paper figures. Though subsequently mounted on paper with the makers’ notes and instructions added, the figures were designed to stand upright, and the wire strut that supported each one is still attached. This design for Edmund shows the highly stylised armour, and a note indicates that it should be made in indigo blue, which would impart a wonderful sheen on stage. The actual information conveyed by the designs is not easy for a costume-maker to interpret. The armour forms a "cage" around the body - what materials will make it rigid yet allow it to fit comfortably on the actor? The bands are clearly not decorative, but how rigid should they be? How easy will it be for the actors to carry out the director's moves in the fight sequences? Unfortunately the director had not taken the costumes into account, and the stylisation which Noguchi envisaged did not blend with the realistic fight moves planned by George Devine. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.71-1960 |
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| Record created | May 14, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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