Tuesday Tools: On Puppets
I’ve enjoyed puppets since I was a little kid. Perhaps I was never so enthralled by puppets as I was the time I saw the production of the very difficult Robert Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy in the Wortham Theater in Asheville, NC (presented and directed by Pamella O’Connor). It was a spectacular thing, with the puppets somehow better able to explain this gigantic undertaking of a book better than I ever saw at Mr. Jefferson’s University. And so I thought I’d spend a little time here today on puppets.
First, let's find out how folks define and characterize "puppet" with a visit to
Now a bit on the history of puppets and puppetry:
For some interesting reading on marionettes pay a visit to:
Some interesting Examples of Puppetry Around the World! (Actually, there are representative examples from China, Japan, Great Britain, South America, Africa, and Java.)
Library of Congress entry on worldwide puppetry.
Puppetry in Britain
China
The history of Chinese shadow puppetry via Google arts & culture.
Japan
Re“Utagawa Kunisada, 1857. This print shows a shopkeeper holding a puppet that resembles her. The most elaborate Japanese hand puppets of this period were often made as portraits of actual people. ("Some of the most astonishing hand puppets can be found in Japan. These are Bunraku puppets made to perform traditional plays from the Edo period (1603 to 1868) when Kabuki theater was the most popular form of entertainment. The puppets’ wooden heads were often carved to resemble actual people, including actors who were famous for their roles.")--reference the LC citation above.
This is a good piece of background and introductory information on the traditional Japanese puppetry theater known as Bunraku.
Java
Good entry on Javanese traditional (Wayang) puppet theater.
Africa
Good, thorough entry on puppetry in Africa via the World Encyclopedia of Puppetry.
The Library of Congress again offers a good insight into African dolls and puppets.
South America Puppetry
Another good entry on puppetry in South America from the World Encyclopedia of Puppetry Arts.
And now: Gigantic Puppets!
The Final Appearance of the Giant Puppets of Royal de Luxe, from The Atlantic. Also see the “giant puppet” entry on Wikipedia.
On the giant puppet Gnomus, by the BBC. (“Appearing to be hewn from the same sarsen rock as the stones, the character Gnomus is said to remember the Neolithic creators of Stonehenge. The four-metre tall giant entertains families with tales about the history and mythology surrounding the circle.”)
And to wind this selection down (or up?) here’s a good story from Love to Know on some of the most well-known tv and popular culture puppets, including Kukla and Ollie, Charlie McCarthy, Lamb Chop, Sesame Street characters (galore) and the Muppets, among others. Also: similar coverage for the Brits, here.
This is a tremendously complicated and ancient art–I’ve only scraped the barest surface of this topic, though I do hope that you’ve enjoyed the selections.
Love and shadows,
Patti