I think of all the puppets depicted in chapter four, I really enjoyed the "Devil's Violin." This is most likely due to the fact that I've always wanted to play the violin, but also because I thought it was adorable in a moderately creepy sort of way.
The puppet originated in Gdansk, Poland as a social commentary of the evils of secular music. As such, the puppet is comprised of an actual violin body with the various attributes of a violin representing body parts (tuning pegs = Creepy Eyes). I think what really works for this puppet is that it is considered a piece of avant-garde puppetry, but the puppet itself is actually quite crude.
As I've always found the violin to be a beautiful instrument in and of itself, I thought it was quite clever to invert the intricacies of the instrument (scrolling on the woodwork, the f holes, etc) and turn them into gruesome depictions of tantalizing evil. In doing this, I suppose the performers paved the way for art to criticize itself, to let society dictate what is appropriate through means of vilifying what encroached on puritanical ideals. Good work, Gdansk puppeteer. Good work.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The Most Awesomest Puppet Show Caught on Fil-um
I must begin this post by sharing the fact that I am super upset that I could not see Symphonie Fantastique live. I feel that the show must definitely lose something in translation between live and filmed performance (you know, because everything else does), but that doesn't make me want to see it any less. I love the film, I love watching the film, I want to own this film. Okay, I don't necessarily want to own the film, I just want to watch it more often.
Anyway, down to bizness.
The First example occurs during the Basil Twist portion of the film. It is apparent that Symphonie Fantastique draws on many different inspirations. The puppets, however, do not seem to draw on any one source. Rather, they seem to be free-floating entities in the world of puppetry. I suppose one could posit that many of the mechanisms used to cause currents in the tank could be seen in examples of Renaissance theatrics (because they were renowned for being simple, yet innovative). This is a bad example, I just wanted to talk about the show.
Using the music as a method of conveying some sort of story, the show's purpose seems to primarily be to allow the audience to create its own show. Some puppets convey an idea of expression; shadows of real-life things created by real-life things in an unrealistic way. If anything, I suppose one could say that the puppets are symbolic... This is a bad example.
The second example I found occurs during the Ralph Lee portion. There are a plethora of examples available connecting American Puppetry to World cultures. The puppets represented in the Hallowe'en parades Lee designed conjure up images of Day of the Dead festivities in Mexico (specifically the skellingtons), and the parade itself is almost a send-up of the Italian Carnivale.
In Lee's shows, there are examples of Commedia del'Arte in the acting styles, Medieval music, Bunraku-inspired puppets, and characters inspired by the art of French Mime. Many, many things to see examples of.
Michael Curry's section of the film draws more on Lee's section in the sense that he too contributes to the Hallowe'en festival parade in Greenwich village. His puppets also conjure up images of Chinese puppets (ie the dragon puppets). He also draws on inspiration in the natural world as seen in his New Year's Eve puppet of a jellyfish. To accomplish this, Curry uses classical sculpting techniques to make what is essentially garbage into works of out-of-this-world art.
***I apologize for this late entry; I had written it on the day it was due, but forgot to click publish. It has been written for almost a week, saved in my account.
Anyway, down to bizness.
The First example occurs during the Basil Twist portion of the film. It is apparent that Symphonie Fantastique draws on many different inspirations. The puppets, however, do not seem to draw on any one source. Rather, they seem to be free-floating entities in the world of puppetry. I suppose one could posit that many of the mechanisms used to cause currents in the tank could be seen in examples of Renaissance theatrics (because they were renowned for being simple, yet innovative). This is a bad example, I just wanted to talk about the show.
Using the music as a method of conveying some sort of story, the show's purpose seems to primarily be to allow the audience to create its own show. Some puppets convey an idea of expression; shadows of real-life things created by real-life things in an unrealistic way. If anything, I suppose one could say that the puppets are symbolic... This is a bad example.
The second example I found occurs during the Ralph Lee portion. There are a plethora of examples available connecting American Puppetry to World cultures. The puppets represented in the Hallowe'en parades Lee designed conjure up images of Day of the Dead festivities in Mexico (specifically the skellingtons), and the parade itself is almost a send-up of the Italian Carnivale.
In Lee's shows, there are examples of Commedia del'Arte in the acting styles, Medieval music, Bunraku-inspired puppets, and characters inspired by the art of French Mime. Many, many things to see examples of.
Michael Curry's section of the film draws more on Lee's section in the sense that he too contributes to the Hallowe'en festival parade in Greenwich village. His puppets also conjure up images of Chinese puppets (ie the dragon puppets). He also draws on inspiration in the natural world as seen in his New Year's Eve puppet of a jellyfish. To accomplish this, Curry uses classical sculpting techniques to make what is essentially garbage into works of out-of-this-world art.
***I apologize for this late entry; I had written it on the day it was due, but forgot to click publish. It has been written for almost a week, saved in my account.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Discussion Questions from 2/1/11 for 2/3/11
Robin Asks: "What is important about how puppets reflected the political views of a culture, particularly in the early years of puppetry?"
We answered in class: "Puppets can be a form of soft criticism which offer political agendas through satire, farce, or outright representation of 'bad politics.' They also can offer a chance to represent an ideal government or political situation. This was especially a necessary form of political revolt due to the brutal nature of the developing world, as puppets offer performers sanctuary through the plausible deniability of puppets being the actual performers. No matter how ineffective blaming inanimate objects may be."
Group, do we have to say anything else?
We answered in class: "Puppets can be a form of soft criticism which offer political agendas through satire, farce, or outright representation of 'bad politics.' They also can offer a chance to represent an ideal government or political situation. This was especially a necessary form of political revolt due to the brutal nature of the developing world, as puppets offer performers sanctuary through the plausible deniability of puppets being the actual performers. No matter how ineffective blaming inanimate objects may be."
Group, do we have to say anything else?
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