The Restaurant for Guillermo Del Toro
The Vibe of Gitane, San Francisco
Spending time studying the production design sketches of writer, visual stylist and cinematic director Guillermo Del Toro suggests a certain “spanish” visualization that moves from the gracefully beautiful to the horrifying bizarre.
Any viewer of Pan’s Labyrinth, for example, when one realizes that the bulk of the dreamy imagery came straight from the imaginative pen and brush work of Guillermo Del Toro, might ponder, “just what sort of world would he occupy on this plane, let alone a restaurant he might eat at?” Working in Hollywood, the back lots, from the production and shooting stages of Warner Brothers and Paramount, it’s possible to see stars and directors eating. But these environments aren’t really “designed to visually stimulate” beyond the intentionality of a cafeteria and fast food service. At the WB “cafeteria,” I was struck by the environment’s plain genericism. Yet, there was George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh.
I contemplated, “why would someone like that, be eating in a place like this?” People go to, endure, places, perhaps for convenience, geographic relevance [and, presumably, because of food and value.] Others go for food, the environment and what can be seen, in scene — and in that, who’s in that scene. Being in a place tags the visitor — being in the brand place presumes being “held” by and holding that brand.
“I couldn’t be seen here” is a thought that actually crosses some people’s minds — but that’s another line of examination, the narcissism of a person, in their appearance in place. To that end, what about thinking about a place that someone else might be seen, in scene, in.
When I saw Gitane, I thought, given the alley-like {Claude Lane] entrance, the styling of place, who would be here? The thought crossed my mind, “a certain person.”
I’d contemplate colour, materials, lighting and fixturing, seating and arrangements — and how food ties it all together.
So I’m suggesting that Gitane would be perfect for
Guillermo Del Toro.
Dark, deep earthen mineralic pigments
Eccentrically Victorian, curious painted art, darkly sensuous and richly textured.
Feels right.
Tim |GIRVIN Island Studios
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