The phenomenon of movement both up and down steps is the subject of Mario Ceroli’s sculpture “La Scala” (V1, p. 186). His staircase with profile cut-outs of men and women, made of unpainted wood, captures the various phases of this movement, focusing on the contrast of static and dynamic. In her live installation “Plastic” (2015–16) by the artist and choreographer Maria Hassabi explores the same dichotomy of static and dynamic, examining pauses both plastic and temporal in a museum space. Hassabi placed performers along the flight of stairs lying perfectly still, contrasting sharply with the rapid flow of visitors around them. Thus, the artist expands our idea of the obviously utilitarian significance of the stairs in the museum, slowing down the rhythm of our reaction to its meaning.
“This is a transition space. For this reason, I was interested in presenting the work there (on the stairs). How can transitional space become a pause? Thus, the movement of stairs has a very forward direction to it. It’s falling forward.”[7]
Maria Hassabi, Plasticity, performance, 2016, Museum of Modern Art, New York
A staircase represents not only movement but also stability – architecturally, staircases are pillars that unite different levels. Since ancient times, this simple formula has given rise to many plastic variations, to the point where today we can determine the architectural style and period of a structure from the staircase. To this day architects continue to experiment with stairs, often sacrificing functionality to play with forms. Perhaps this is because other means for ascending and descending have diminished the staircase’s practical function, leaving it only a romantic role in modern architecture.
Macbeth, 2015, Vienna State Opera, set design by Gary McCann
M. C. Escher was one of the first artists to depict absurd stairs, stairs that are endless and simultaneously devoid of function. In his 1953 lithograph “Relativity” (V2, p. 50) he depicted an architectural structure with several levels united by stairs, full of geometric paradoxes. Escher eventually created a series of lithographs with impossible stairs and constructions, making him a major figure in the school of “impossible reality”. They were created under the influence of Lionel Penrose and his mathematician son Roger, whose model of a “continuous staircase” in the form of a square with no exit causes the walker, if he walks clockwise, to descend, and if he walks counter-clockwise, to ascend, in both cases endlessly.
Escher’s use of stairs as a dynamic symbol of forward movement, spiritual ascent and transformation, transition to a different, higher state, gave rise to a whole direction in the visual arts. Stairs as an Escherian symbol became an integral part of modern mass culture, appearing in the theater, cinema and animation. Martina Casey designed a set for a nonexistent spectacle based on “Relativity” (V2, p. 51), in which ladders as a metaphor for elevation, change and movement connect different points of view: artist, actors and spectators. Escher’s “Relativity” has inspired the set designs of numerous theatrical productions. Gary McCann built a multidimensional maze of walkways and staircases for the opera “Macbeth” at Vienna State Opera in 2015. The bewildering series of stairways mirrors the characters’ confusion and moral decline and embody the seductive nature of evil. In Julia Noulin-Mérat’s 2018 set for “The Barber of Seville” at Boston Lyric Opera, “impossible staircases” are placed all over the stage, emphasizing the paradox of what is happening. Shizuka Hariu’s set for Nitin Sahwney’s “Dystopian Dream” is one example of Escher’s influence on contemporary choreography. The set embodies the space “between a dream and twisted reality”