Over the course of each of her three-plus-hour Eras Tour performances, Taylor Swift transports fans from the dreamy pastel paradise of “Lover” to the sultry, starlit wonderland of “Midnights” — with stops at the forested “Folklore” cabin, the pulsing cityscape of “1989” and many more in the middle.
And while Swift may be the host of the evening, as she famously introduces herself onstage, it’s Eras creative director Ethan Tobman who helped bring the show’s jaw-dropping sets to life.
“If you’re working with somebody who has legions of fans — 10, 20, 30 years of experience prior to your arrival, crafting and specifying what makes them who they are — it’s a privilege to be invited to put the next piece of the puzzle into their iconography,” Tobman told Page Six Style recently at the opening night of “Starscape,” his immersive (and free!) new light installation at Genesis House in NYC.
“And what I love to do is to challenge myself, and them, into thinking of what’s the most elevated, complex and empathetic piece that we can fit.”
Sometimes — as in the case of the concert’s black-and-white “Tortured Poets Department” section, which was slotted into the tour more than a year after its kickoff — Tobman’s puzzle metaphor proves literal. “Starscape” presented a different logistical hurdle, with the award-winning production designer aiming to bring the magic and mystery of the night sky indoors.
“The idea was to explore light’s heritage and its distinction in Korean culture. Dongji is the winter solstice — the longest night of the year,” Tobman says.
“I liked the idea of exploring the solstice from light’s perspective: light we cannot see, that human beings emit and pass between each other; light at its inception, on a molecular level; light as it’s extinguished by something like the phenomenon of a black hole; and finally following its awesome speed from one side of the universe to another.”
To illustrate how light “connects us and bridges extraordinary distances,” Tobman suspended 590 strategically placed lights to re-create the constellations that illuminate Seoul and New York — two cities on opposite sides of the globe that nonetheless “both look at the same next sky.”
“It’s a beautiful way of thinking of how small the world is and unifying two different cultures,” he says.
Other standout moments from the highly Instagrammable show include scenes of embers drifting upward from the chimney of a hanok (or traditional Korean home), stars swirling to form human faces and a satellite view of Seoul flying by beneath guests’ feet.
Considering Tobman’s worked on movies like “The Menu” and “Room” along with more than 100 music videos — from Beyoncé’s “Formation” to Ariana Grande’s “No Tears Left to Cry” to Swift’s “The Man,” the latter of which marked the pair’s first collaboration — it’s perhaps no surprise that cinema play a key role in his process.
“I approach everything as though it’s a film; from the perspective of cinematic language and the empathy that narrative filmmaking can make you feel,” says Tobman.
As for how the visual whiz is feeling about the end of Eras? As the tour’s Dec. 8 finale in Vancouver creeps closer, he’s already looking ahead to his next big project.
“One of the things that’s so inspiring and difficult about visual storytelling is how transient it is,” Tobman says of bidding goodbye to something that’s “brought so many people so much joy.”
“[It’s] an inevitability that I think is really healthy to embrace — and think about as an opportunity to do something new and even better.”
“Starscape” is open to the public at Genesis House through January 12.