Women of Color In Production Design
Harlem
Presented by Amazon Prime
In early December, Amazon Prime released their new series Harlem, created by Tracy Oliver.
This is not a review. It simply celebrates the aesthetic mastery acheived by Harlem’s production crew.
The show follows four friends living and working (or not working) in Harlem. Megan Good stars alongside Grace Byers, Jerrie Johnson and Shoniqua Shandai. How refreshing it always is to see black women on screen displaying with care our complexities and versatility. There’s an atmosphere about the show that just feels alive - especially during interior scenes.
Primary landing places for the girls include their apartments, Quinn Joseph’s boutique and their go-to restaurant, Luelle’s. Strung together like pearls on necklace, each set flows into the next with harmony, yet still maintains its individuality. The color story feels like jewels: emerald, turquoise, ruby, gold.
Javiera Varas: the genius behind Harlem’s poetic production design.
That’s why you should read the credits. When a new project is released, there’s typically only a few names taking public credit. If it’s not the actors, it’s the director. If not the director, then the celebrity producer. But when you watch the credits to the end, you see that a production crew consists of hundreds, all of which are necessary to see the project through.
Javiera Varas is the LatinX production designer responsible for First Wives Club, Netflix’s ROXANNE ROXANNE and most recently Amazon Prime’s new TV show Harlem. She also has art director credits on a variety of feature films including Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. On this project, Javiera worked with set decorator Kara Zeigon and costume designer Deirdra Govan.
Production designers first help the director dream up the world where a story will take place and then establish and manage an art department that materializes this world into a set. The production designer gives the story a place to land.
The art department consists of set decorators, art directors, costume designers, buyers, prop masters and more. Successfully directing a team of this size on projects of high caliber is no easy feat. When someone pulls it off with grace and mastery, it should be celebrated — especially when it’s a woman of color.
Depicting real-life places is tricky in a world where gentrification has transformed the landscapes of our childhoods.
Many of us don’t recognize our home towns but can easily point out the buildings and businesses that have been around for generations and play vital roles in the movement of the community. A non New York native like myself can only hope Harlem’s depiction of the city was received well by those who call NYC home.
Shout out to Javiera Varas (production design), Kara Zeigon (set decorator), Deirdra Govan (costume design) and Tracy Oliver (creator).
Photograph source: javieravaras.com
Written by Kenniese S. Franklin