Bigger Than Life

The production designer Ken Adam has written film history with his spectacular sets. He was responsible for the production design of more than 70 films.

Few of his colleagues can match his abilities to design such diverse worlds. Through his scenographic spaces, mostly realized in the studio, he created a new style that has lastingly influenced our viewing habits.

True to his design philosophy “bigger than life,” Adam used his work to push the boundaries of what is possible – often highly emotionally, occasionally playful or humorously, and yet always believably. Each of his films has been characterized by a very strong visual succinctness and ripple effect. Adam has received numerous awards for his work, including two Academy Awards (Oscars) for Best Production Design for the films Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975) and The Madness of King George (Nicholas Hytner, 1994).

Ken Adam’s oeuvre is comprised of more than 4,000 drawings. These are augmented by other objects, including photographs, but also films that Adam shot while conducting research and on the sets, as well as personal, biographical memorabilia and his awards. Ken Adam gave his collection to the Deutsche Kinemathek in 2012. This trust and confidence in a Berlin institution is also a gesture of reconciliation from the man who was born in Berlin in 1921 as Klaus Hugo Adam, but who the National Socialists drove out of Germany together with his family. It is Adam’s wish that his work should be used to inspire subsequent generations. Ken Adam’s archive is currently being inventoried and prepared for archival use. It will be available online next year.

until May 17, 2015
Bigger Than Life
Ken Adam’s Film Design
curated by Boris Hars-Tschachotin, Kristina Jaspers and Peter Mänz, Deutsche Kinemathek
artistic direction by Rainer Rother, Deutsche Kinemathek
Deutsche Kinemathek
Museum fur Film und Fernsehen Filmhaus am Potsdamer Platz
Potsdamer Straße 2, Berlin