Set Design for Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts 1906

Here’s Edvard Munch’s set design for Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts, and it looks like it's made with brushes and paint. Just looking at this, I'm reminded that the space of the theatre is such a special space. The surface here seems to ripple, almost like the application of paint. These dark, bold strokes are both the set and, in a way, the players. See that little dab of red right in the middle? It’s like a tiny heartbeat of emotion, sitting there in the middle of all the darkness. It reminds me of work by Francis Bacon, or maybe even some of Philip Guston's later paintings. There is a sense that paintings can be conversations, and there is room for new ideas. The dialogue between what is represented and how it is represented; that’s where the real mystery lies.