Friday, October 02, 2009
Turning Junk into Giants: Massive Puppets to Help Fete German Reunification
SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International: "Berlin will hold its annual unification celebration this week. But coming almost 20 years after the Wall fell, this year's festival will be even grander than usual. To highlight the importance of these anniversaries, the city is enlisting the aid of a French street theater troupe that turns junk into massive puppets."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
These gigantic puppets are absolutely amazing. This is the perfect example of how advanced engineering and public art can come together and celebrate. I also like the fact that they found an aesthetic with found materials instead of relying so heavily on brand shiny new equipment. On a cultural level, while I do believe in the migration of art, it's a bit of a shame that there wasn't a local German company that could create something for this celebration of reunification. $2.3 million is a lot to stimulate a local art group, and while it wouldn't be the same artistic vision, it pays to keep things local. This happens a lot in Pittsburgh, where local sculptures get outsourced to New York artists, who come in, build and leave.
I agree with kservice. This article was fascinating. I am completely for reusing materials and do my best to do so with anything i make. In the past few months i have read many articles about theater designers or artists creating new things out of things one would usually just throw out. It would be so fun to see something like this, it must be quite powerful.
As amazing as the technical achievement of this puppets is, I am more amazed by the overall message of the puppets. I love that theatrics and art are being used to celebrate and remember great times in history. It just goes to show, just like Shakespearian plays preserved an era on which we now understand and know, this puppet artwork could also one day help preserve the unification of German and many other events that we wish to remember. Using art and theatrics can preserve a moment forever.
Just like everyone else I am completely blown away by the fact that these puppets are made out of found materials. I would love to see the build process for of these puppets. What really amazes me is that this art group was asked to be apart of the German Reunification celebration. Compared to the US other countries have a greater appreciation for art in their community. In the US everytime someone wants to include an "art" in an event they mostly have in mind a big Broadway number. Although this isn't always the case the US should readjust its interaction with art.
What a beautiful idea. Puppets can be used to do some really incredible things. Something about them causes us to suspend our disbelief and then they (and then we) can do anything. I also love the idea of returning all the confiscated letters. What a beautiful way to celebrate freedom. I wish we could do something like this on July 4th rather than fireworks and hot dogs.
this is a such an amazing thing that they had done. the puppets that they had made are huge and amazing the time that when into them must be so much alsl all of the planing that must have going into them. i wish they would take these puppets to some were close to cmu so i could really see how big they are and also how they work. this is am amazing project that they have done and worked on. i am just amazed of the project. i wont to see them.
I agree with Kservice. The puppets are incredible. Are they incredible though because of their huge scale or because of what they are made of? I think it is amazing for its construction from junk that ends up operating and creating these huge puppets. I feel like most though would find them amazing because of their huge size- something rarely if ever seen outside of a Julie Taymour production, such as those in Lion King and Across the Universe.
In drawing we talk all the time about object orientation, and it is really cool to see how this "junk" was turned into new elements and became able to complete new tasks then the original intent. Elizabeth our drawing teacher would love this.
These puppets are absolutely fantastic. Both the technical skill and engineering in order to put something together like this, but also the use of what we consider to be just junk is a fantastic accomplishment. The fact that they were able to make them as big as they did, and what they're using them for the German Reunification anniversary is really cool. I would be really excited to even be able to help out with a project like this and it just sounds something crazy, but awesome to build and create.
Puppets are certainly not the first thing I would expect to see at the reunification anniversary, but I really like the message that the artist is trying to portray. With hand built creatures, made of found materials instead of everything being shiny and new, the audience will get the feeling that this is about maintaining good despite coming from such a wretched place. I've never seen puppetry used in such a meaningful way, and I really hope that the German people will understand the message that Courcoult and his company are trying to spread.
I agree with pretty much everything the others have said. These puppets are phenomenal. I love that they are created out of "junk". It really goes to show that one person's junk, is someone else's treasure, or artistic creation. I love that they are using these creations as a way to draw in designers from other cultures, as well as a mass audience from different backgrounds. This is a great way to help culture the people of Germany, as well as getting many different designers to collaborate on this large scale project.
Post a Comment