The Ken Adam Archive: "The cinema is there to heighten the imagination; I have always tried to make sure it does so."

Books, 17 April 2023

Ken Adam, the man who drew the Cold War.

Taschen Verlag presents its latest monumental work, The Ken Adams Archive. The book was written by Adam's long-time friend Christopher Frayling, British historian, author, and former director of the British Film Institute, whose personal conversations with Ken Adam inform much of the book.

Books, 17 April 2023: Sir Kenneth Adam, (b. 5 February 1921 in Berlin; † 10 March 2016 in London), was a German-British film architect who achieved particular fame when he created the set designs for several James Bond films and groundbreaking works by Stanley Kubrick in the 1960s and 1970s. His War Room set design in Stanley Kubrick's 1964 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Love the Bomb was called the best set design ever created for a film by Steven Spielberg (source Wikipedia). When he died in 2016, he had designed over 70 films and started 15 more works that were not yet completed.

Final concept of the War Room (1962, extended in 1999) from Dr. Strangelove, emphasizing its triangular shape. © Deutsche Kinemathek – Ken Adam Archiv

"The cinema is there to heighten the imagination; I have always tried to make sure it does so."

Sir Ken Adam

Adam, who was of Jewish descent, had emigrated from Berlin to London with his family. At his mother's boarding house he met emigrant artists and the Hungarian art director Vincent Korda advised him to study architecture. The London architectural firm C. W. Glover & Partners recognised his talent for drawing and employed him to illustrate publications on air raid shelters and protective clothing.

Due to the war, Adam abandoned his studies at the Bartlett School of Architecture and flew missions as a fighter pilot in the British Air Force; he was the only German in the British Air Force at that time. In the 1950s, Adam began working as a production designer. Looking for a new professional task, he was employed in the art department of London's Twickenham Studios due to his talent for drawing and his knowledge of architecture. As early as 1955, he was nominated for an Academy Award (Oscar) as Art Director for AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS.

Inspiration for Architects

Adam himself was inspired by Bauhaus architecture and expressionist German film. In turn, his work inspired famous architects such as Foster Adam, who called Adam "a master of space and light".

Or even Daniel Libeskind, who wrote:

My imagination was definitely sparked by the sets of Ken Adam - maybe not in a conscious way at first... because it was subliminal - that world of Ken Adam 'heightened' the expectations in space, in light, in colour, in full reality in terms of architecture... I believe his films have had a cultural impact beyond just the world of film. Walk into any office lobby today, or walk into a cultural facility - anywhere in the world - and you'll definitely experience the echoes of Ken Adam's films..."

Concept drawing for the volcano set in You Only Live Twice. © Deutsche Kinemathek – Ken Adam Archiv

Filming the destruction of the space station model for Moonraker – 20 feet across – back at Pinewood, where the special effects were completed on the 007 stage. © 1979 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. and Danjaq LLC. All rights reserved

"The most important set I ever designed".

Ken Adam shaped the Bond look over a range of seven films, from alternate spies Sean Connery to George Lazenby to Roger Moore; from the early 1960s to the late 1970s. "People have criticised me for designing huge spaces for the Bond villains - but, Christopher, they were supposed to be megalomaniacs!" After Moonraker, Ken Adam left the franchise for, as he says, a variety of reasons: "I felt, rightly or wrongly - probably wrongly - that the Bonds were a British expression of the 1960s and 1970s that I could identify with."

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About Stanley Kubrik

"You somehow became part of our life"

A crucial chapter in The Ken Adams Archive is taken up by his collaboration with Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick had been the director with whom he had had the closest collaboration, but also the most difficult. Adam confessed: "Stanley, I am proud to have been connected with Strangelove... You somehow became part of our life and it seems ridiculous that we now function in different cities." After working together on "DR. STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB", Ken Adam had received offers for 2001 and Clockwork Orange. However, he had reservations about working with Kubrick again. He eventually worked on "BARRY LYNDON" for which he received an Oscar for Best Art Direction and a British Academy of Film Award nomination.

Design for the Space Station Walkway in Moonraker: ‘a series of cylinders bolted together like a mobile sculpture in an irregular form that rotates’. © 1979 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. and Danjaq LLC. All rights reserved

The Archive at the Deutsche Kinemathek

Berlin, a conscious late reconciliation with the city where he was born.

When Ken Adam was in his late 80s, he thought long and hard about where best to store his personal archive. A collection consisting of 6200 objects, including drawings, photo albums, storyboards, as well as all cinematic awards including the two Oscars. Should it go to the British Film Institute, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences or the Deutsche Kinemathek in Berlin? In the end, he chose Berlin, a conscious late reconciliation with the city where he was born.

Seven years after his death, his work has now been collected in The Ken Adam Archive. The spectacular book weighs 4 kg and is limited to 1200 hand-signed editions. The book gives a deep insight into his work and cultural influence. Readers get a chronological look at his most important works, including set designs, production sketches, behind-the-scenes photos and models, as well as conversations with Adam about his career.

More informations:

taschen.com

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The Deutsche Kinemathek has set up its own Ken Adam archive online

ken-adam-archiv.de

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