With the first pass at a poster for Venus in Fur by David Ives, for the Orlando Shakes, I was intrigued by the intricate detail of fish net stockings. Much of the image features hills and valleys of flesh covered in fishnet. I decided that was too abstract an idea to dominate so much of the poster, so I added the legs and whip to make it clear fishnet stockings are found on shapely legs. Then I added the reclined female odalisque whose outline is defined by the flow of the whip. Then of course plenty of black fur was needed. It was a strange combination of thoughts, but it has the visual feeling that I wanted.
Venus in Fur is a bold and unexpected play about an audition for a part in a play. The director, had been through a solid day of auditions for the female lead in his show, but hadn’t found just the right woman for the part.
A disheveled woman came in late out of the rain and apologized for being late. She had to convince the director that he needed to stick around for this last audition since he was ready to go home. She quickly got ready. Since the male actor who had been reading the parts, had already left, the director had to step in and read opposite her.
Over the course of the audition the actress began to dominate every scene and then dominate the director. Sexual tension rose, and the director began to cower and become subservient to her sadomasochistic demands. I began to wonder if this was all written in the script or had the two of them gone off on a tangent. This is definitely a show that I hope to see in person someday. I regret not getting in to sketch a live performance at the Shakes.
This pass at the poster was me experimenting to catch the flavor of the show, but I knew that another version that I was working on at the same time was more direct and powerful. The title treatment felt perfect, so at least that element would make it to the final cut. The other tiny element that I felt would be needed for the poster was the elegant hand covered in black shiny leather. The gloved hand is such a tiny piece of this puzzle, but I felt it told more about the story than the fishnets that first caught my attention.
So I kind of knew that this version of the poster would not fly. It was time to go back to the drawing board and try and nail down something sexy but more solid. Since I could not be sure who the actress would be, I was looking for ways to hide her identity. This pass at the poster felt a bit scattered. The best ideas come with plenty change and evolution.