The Age of Adz record was largely inspired by the late “outsider artist” Royal Robertson. In short, he was obsessed with mythology, ufos, space monsters, astrology, hot women, and the end of the world.
While not every song was directly influenced by Royal, each visual respected his worldview – be it colors, composition, or the kind of orthogonal perspective he employed – maintaining a cohesiveness throughout the set so we never leave the imaginary world in which Sufjan and his band do battle with love and the universe. The challenge of the visual design for The Age of Adz was to dynamically illustrate the concept and story arc of the record: an apocalyptic space rock opera that promised hope and redemption. The multi-screen set included a large, temple-like trapezoid backdrop, a giant diamond, and a translucent scrim. When lowered, the projections appeared immersive and three-dimensional, surrounding the band in graphics and light.
A trailer promoting our finale shows in Prospect Park, Brooklyn can be seen here, and a selection of visual designs can be seen on Vimeo.
“Immediately this show was a visual spectacle, inspired by and paying homage to the space age folk art of American painter Royal Robertson. But at its heart were the songs from The Age of Adz which, like Dark Side of the Moon, are about the deeply personal — madness, conflict, lunacy — with music that sounds on the verge of a nervous breakdown. And in that chaos, in that conflict, are moments of resolve … in a concert filled with joy, beauty, heart, and triumph — but also beach balls, rousing choreography, some of the best multimedia I’ve seen, and extravagant pageantry.” – Bob Boilen, NPR
Concept: Sufjan Stevens
Visual Design and Performance: Deborah Johnson
Set Design: Adrian Jones
Lighting Design: Ben Stanton
Fabrication: Daedelus