Virgil Abloh had an insight he referred to as ‘candle theory’: one story is told by an object itself, and another is told by the staging around it.
He explains, by referencing a small candle in a dented tin can:
“If I put this candle in an all-white gallery space, it looks like a piece of art.
If I put it in a garage it looks like a piece of trash.
[…]
I often use this analogy in design.
I could either design the candle and spend a lot of time telling you about the candle, or I could design the room it sits in,”
- Virgil Abloh
If you look at the image of Kanye West’s ever-evolving stage presentations below, you can see this playing out. The performance is largely the same, but each bold visual has a unique tone and framing that elevates that core experience, and forces you to see it from a new perspective:
