Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2005 - 76

ter. As a veteran of the studio era of Hollywood and far beyond,
Bumstead has observed many different aspects of his profession
(even as an actor, in cameos; he appeared as Eliot Rosewater in
Slaughterhouse-Five), having worked on films as diverse as To
Kill a Mockingbird and I Married a Monster From Outer Space.
He was there as the film industry practice moved away from controlled back-lot filming of the past to the location shoots of the
present, and made the transition.
The book's overall approach is conversational, based on extensive interviews with Bumstead, and, to a lesser extent, his
friends, family, and colleagues. As a result, Horton, who clearly is
fond of his subject, sometimes seems torn between his desire to
objectively and critically document Bumstead's life and work and
his need to pay tribute to him. At the same time, and as the title indicates, the book provides a general introduction to the profession of art direction, placing Bumstead's career in a context that
would be unclear to the non-specialist reader. It's a lot to fit into
one book. I often wished that more time had been spent documenting and critically examining a few selected films. But the vast
expanse of Bumstead's career would have made that problematic;
certainly, it would have been a different book altogether. The main
contribution of this one is to provide Bumstead with a forum for
the valuable observations he has gathered over a lifetime.
Speaking anecdotally about some of his favorite sets,
Bumstead allows us to follow his thought process and understand
how he negotiates the various requirements of directors, studios,
budgets, and time. He is generous with colleagues, frequently

naming craftspeople and others he feels have made major contributions to his designs. The book is illustrated throughout with
photographs (including on-set snapshots of Bumstead himself),
storyboards, and conceptual sketches. Interestingly enough, the
sketches actually belong to his assistants; the time pressure of film
production necessitates the delegation of labor to a degree that is
rare in the theatre. But as the book makes clear, while Bumstead
no longer needs to always personally draw out his ideas past the
rough sketch stage, he remains in full control of the result.
This becomes especially evident in the examination of his
working relationship with Clint Eastwood, a director noted for his
economical, streamlined style of shooting. I suspect that few art
directors could handle the pressure of an Eastwood shoot, where
every moment counts, but Bumstead seems to thrive on it. Their
partnership has been based on mutual respect, trust and a shared
agreement regarding the functions of cinematic environments.
While several books in recent years have examined the
role of the art director in feature film, to my knowledge, this is
the first book to ever profile the career of an individual American designer. Its publication constitutes an important
acknowledgement of the contributions of one of the most important production designers in American film history.
Bradford Clark is a scenic designer, director and
associate professor at Bowling Green State University,
where he teaches stage design, puppetry, and film.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2005