In terms of Production Design, a Television Show set in the Midwestern United States during the 1950s is incredibly compelling. But when you add elements of Horror, Supernatural and Science Fiction into that same show, then it becomes one of the most unique things shown on Television. Lovecraft Country, based on the 2016 dark fantasy novel by Mark Ruff, explores and examines a multitude of architectural spaces while still establishing its own visual language.

In an exclusive interview with Interiors, we spoke with Kalina Ivanov, who is the Production Designer for Lovecraft Country. The images are courtesy of Kalina Ivanov.

INT: First off, we were curious how the opportunity to do the Television Show, Lovecraft Country, came about? What was it about it that made you want to work on it?

KI: In 2017, I read the novel Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff, and instantly became a huge fan. Once the trades announced the project, I pestered my agent to arrange a meeting and was determined to design this exciting story. During my interview, I made a passionate pitch to Misha Green of how much this project meant to me both as a woman and as an artist. I related to the deep humanity of the flawed protagonists, and to the raw political climate of the 1950s, which caused so much suffering to Black people. There is a line in the script - “Some stories stab you at the heart” - that fueled my passion, so I was elated when Misha invited me into her creative orbit.

INT: Lovecraft Country is set in 1950s America but it also includes a wide variety of architectural spaces (supernatural, historical, sci-fi, etc.). From a Production Design standpoint, how did you and your team design these types of spaces within the context of the 1950s?

KI: Misha and the writers specifically set the first season in 1955, the year Emmett Till was brutally murdered. As a designer, I always strive for emotional and historical authenticity, so bringing the 1950s to life was the foundation of the overall look. I felt that it was important to root all the characters in the reality of Jim Crow America. I developed specific color palettes for each character that mirrored their complex inner lives. My departure point was the tremendous amount of research done on Chicago and America in the 1950s. There is so much photography preserved from the period, and perhaps most important was the work of Gordon Parks. Once that foundation was in place, I was ready to let my imagination fly to each direction the scripts called for. I also wanted to examine the period through a modern lens, bringing complexity and richness to the past, making it relatable to contemporary audiences. The environments needed to brim with life, so that the viewers felt seamlessly transported into each world. My team and I accomplished this by adding many layers to each set, through architecture and set decoration. My hat goes off to the entire art department - without their support I would never have accomplished such a challenging project.

INT: Certain episodes of the show (“Holy Ghost”, “A History of Violence” and “Meet Me in Daegu”) feel like their own mini film with incredible production design, cultural references and unique styles (horror, action/adventure, supernatural). In terms of Production Design, what was the process like developing the spaces for each episode, especially given the fact that there are so many locations, styles and sets?

KI: Throughout my career, I have always tried to design different genres and subject matters. I think it goes back to my training as a theater designer. In school (NYU TSOA /Design) we were tasked with designing operas, ballets, musicals, Shakespeare, contemporary plays, avant-garde, you name it, so I was prepared for any style Lovecraft Country demanded. Misha encouraged me to think big and it was liberating. The creative process was pure joy, and I think the final product reflects this. I felt like a female Picasso, free to experiment with any style I wanted; realism one day, cubism the next. Ultimately, I was trying to capture the essence of the characters’ rich emotional lives, and to be true to their journeys, through color and architectural proportions. I connected deeply to their stories, and was acutely aware that the worlds I was designing needed to reflect not only the political realities of being Black in America, but also the richness and imagination of the culture. Each set had a purpose, and was meant to evoke a specific emotion.

INT: Episode 7 (“I Am”) is one of the most incredible episodes of the show and involves the character, Hippolyta, going on a multidimensional journey through different worlds and planets. How developed was this episode when it was first explained to you? Were there any references (Literature/Cinema) that you took from as you were planning?

KI: Episode 7, “I Am,” was perhaps the most challenging script anyone had ever handed me. I should mention that all the scripts were ready before we started the prep work, so Hippolyta’s journey was well mapped out in advance. Developing the many worlds she travels to was an entirely different matter, that took months of drawing and imagining. Misha gave me a carte-blanche to dream and dazzle.

The central theme of a woman made to feel ‘small’ who finds her true self, spoke to me as an artist, woman, mother and political refugee. I grew up in a drab communist country, and as a teenager often day-dreamed about living in a world of color and joy. So I channeled that young Bulgarian dreamer to embody Hippolyta’s creative, curious and intelligent mind. The goal was for the audience to put themselves in the character’s shoes and time-travel to strange and magical places. I wanted the colors to grow more shimmering with each place Hippolyta visited.

I also wanted to play with the concept of a sphere to best describe Hippolyta’s astronomical mind. Planets are round, and that shape became my primary template for designing “I Am”. In addition, I spoke at length with the writers about Afrofuturism, and Sun Ra’s Space Is the Place, which had a huge influence on all of us.

Going back to the central idea of circular design, it’s first revealed in the Kansas observatory set. Misha and I settled on 1930s Deco architecture for the interior of the abandoned building. I designed the floor to look like a sky with stars to bring the universe inside and to foreshadow the time-travel sequence. We built our own telescope, and then aged everything to look like it had been left in the elements for thirty years.

The next circular set was The White Room on Planet 504, where Hippolyta meets the eight-foot tall Beyond C’est. I originally looked at African braids as inspiration for the room and the planet. My preliminary sketches experimented with the whimsy of braid styles in an effort to capture Hippolyta’s mind. From there, we developed the room into a glowing, elegant place with star-like lights embedded into the twisted columns. It’s supposed be a prison cell 200 years in the future, so an observant eye would notice that the floating building on Planet 504 looks like a warped sphere with prison bars.

Another circular set is the Kingdom of Dahomey’s Fighting Pit, where Hippolyta trains to be a supreme warrior. I also incorporated circles into the design of the rocket ship which lands on Planet Nelus, along with its aliens’ rotund bodies. And if you look closely at the branches of the planet’s trees, they have circular craters embedded in them.

When I was designing the planets, I looked at 1950s science fiction book covers and films. I was also thinking about my favorite childhood book, The Little Prince. At the same time, I kept a modern sensibility to the shapes, colors and architecture, since I wanted the sets to feel both nostalgic and fresh at the same time. It was challenging, but so much fun!

You can say that this entire project has been a magical gift, and I feel very privileged to have interpreted Hippolyta’s joyous ride into self-discovery.

Kalina Ivanov is a Production Designer and has worked on various Films, Television Shows and Commercials.