The thin line between concert and works of art

Barthes once wrote of the Death of the Author – the declining importance of an artist’s involvement in constructing the meaning of an artwork. In terms of modern art alone, this ‘death’ has allowed for new degrees of viewer and audience participation. Some of the best examples today, I think, are concerts and large scale performances. Thanks to countless advances in modern technology, including video screens and lighting, arenas and venues are able to be transformed into living, breathing artworks in themselves, their aim precisely to involve the audience and the viewer in ways never before thought possible.

The design of the stage and lighting combined with musical performers creates a new breed of performance art, and demonstrates that the possibilities are endless.

The recent MTV Europe Music awards provide a great example. Held on Nov. 6^th at Echo Arena in Liverpool, the awards were a spectacular display of light and music. Gigantic screens surrounded audience members; projection was taken to an entire new level and the stunning mixture of colour, texture and plays on proportion show that award ceremonies are no longer restricted to dull events full of boring speeches in outdated halls and auditoriums.

My favourite example of this was during the performance of The Killers. The group were positioned in a large scaffolding 3 dimensional grid onto which a variety of lighting effects were projected from all angles, creating great illusions of never-ending space.

The pictures alone look impressive, but to truly experience the performance, you have to see it in action: