Perspective in Stage Design: An Application of Principles of Anamorphosis in Spatial Visualisation

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to demonstrate the various models of perspective anamorphosis used in the visual arts, which are also applicable to stage design. Through comparative analysis, borderline conditions emerge through which certain perspective models assume traits of anamorphosis, as well as conditions for their use in stage design. The idea is to provide practical instructions which are usable on the stage. This effort saw the use of constructive perspective methods, projective and descriptive geometry, while retaining a pictorial and an optical-physiological perspective. The examples of stage design that are shown in the paper are mostly from the National Theatre in Belgrade, the oldest theatre in Belgrade, and an institution that collaborates with the Faculty of Applied Arts. The perspective models of anamorphosis, analysed here, were chosen according to the unique features of the stage and its elements, which include: a perspective image projected on multiple planes, relief perspective as the anamorphosis of space, and the cylindrical perspective.