Just opened (on September 11th) at the Museum for Architectural Drawing, Berlin, Germany, is a new exhibition – Mark Fisher: Drawing Entertainment – which runs until January 16th 2022. If the name isn’t familiar, his work certainly will be. Fisher (1947â2013) was the greatest entertainment architect of rock sets and spectaculars. He created dazzling and innovative shows for the tours of the most famous singers and groups of our time including Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Pink Floyd, Lady Gaga, Janet Jackson and Jean-Michel Jarre, as well as creating outdoor extravaganzas for Walt Disney World and Cirque du Soleil. Before Fisher, audiences watched bands play on a bare stage with a few flashing lights and perhaps a bit of film flickering behind them. After Fisher, audiences participated in wild electronic sensory theatrical experiences. In Germany, and for the world, Mark Fisher is celebrated as the designer of that great historical moment watched live by nearly half a million people, and millions more on global television, where nine months after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, amidst the ruins of the former no-manâs land between Potsdamer Platz and Pariser Platz, he constructed the legendary The Wall â Live in Berlin concert for Roger Waters and guest artists. Mark Fisherâs drawings rock. He was an exquisite and beautiful draughtsman. Trained at the Architectural Association school of architecture in London in the 1960s, Fisher was taught by members of the famously influential Archigram Group who revolutionised futuristic design through their drawings of a high-tech world. Fisher started to explore the new pop architecture, and especially lightweight pneumatic structures which legendarily he put into practice with the giant articulated inflatable characters in his Pink Floyd and The Wall shows. As a stage designer, his drawings could be technical as well as dazzling: swirling rich pastels of radiant psychedelic light effects streaking across the night sky of velvet black paper. He was also of the generation who transitioned to computer-aided design (CAD) while never leaving behind his sense of drawing brilliance. The exhibition on Mark Fisher will explore his career as an entertainment architect through nearly one hundred of his drawings, as well as sketchbooks, photographs and videos of his live concerts. Since the exhibition takes place in Berlin, one of the focal points that they highlight is the Roger Waters ‘Live In Berlin 1990’ show staging. A catalogue accompanies the exhibition, which can be bought online, and ships worldwide (https://tchoban-foundation-shop.de/en/p/mark-fisher-drawing-entertainment). More information about the exhibition and venue can be found at tchoban-foundation.de (http://www.tchoban-foundation.de/10-1-Exhibitions.html) and www.museumsportal-berlin.de (https://www.museumsportal-berlin.de/en/exhibitions/mark-fisher-gezeichnete-show/). It is open Monday – Friday each week, between 2pm – 7pm, with Saturday – Sunday hours being 1pm – 5pm. Admission is an extremely reasonable â¬5 (or â¬3 for concessions). Our thanks to good friend Martin Geyer for the information and picture of this exhibition.
