Some early examples of experimental puppetry include that of Geza Blattner, who was a Hungarian painter. He used cardboard, instruments, and parts of a radio and bicycle as puppets for his Arc-en-ciel theatre. Sergei Obrazstov also was responsible for experimental puppetry. He used certain characters and exaggerated their personalities, making them funny or very simple. Puppetry has been used in the past to escape realism. Realism is defined, according to dictionary.com, as “the tendency to view or represent things as they really are” or “a style of painting and sculpture developed about the mid-19th century in which figures and scenes are depicted as they are experienced or might be experienced in everyday life.” Puppetry is used, in my opinion, to express imagination. It’s a good contrast to realism. Seeing things exactly as they are can get boring after awhile. Puppetry is fun, imaginative, and expressive whereas realism is simply realistic and can lack creativity in my opinion.
During the Italian Renaissance up the the twentieth century puppetry and live-actor theater competed against each other. Commedia dell'arte and opera spread throughout Italy and so did puppetry versions of both. From England, during Elizabethan times, puppet companies as well as live-actor troupes traveled around Europe and Germany helping to shape traditions there. Puppetry in Spain and Portugal was to teach religion with saints plays and bible stories. In the eighteenth century shadow puppets from Eastern Mediterranean were entertainment for upper class people. And then in the nineteenth century people viewed children as a special group that needed unique imagination needs. Puppetry soon became an artform specifically for kids.
Around the nineteenth century the Romantic and science era started and that made actors and puppeteers change the way the thought about creating puppets. Instead of using their puppets to create mere copies of people, puppeteers began to create characters in their own surroundings with little distortion as possible. This started the Realism age in theatre.
In the 18th century shadow puppets took off, being created in the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Europe. France was the leader in these innovations, coining the term "Chinese Shadows". These puppets were called this because "oriental" was in at the time, and they wanted to get in on this.
Well technically any puppetry older then our now contemporary puppetry would be considered Experimental right?
ReplyDeleteSome early examples of experimental puppetry include that of Geza Blattner, who was a Hungarian painter. He used cardboard, instruments, and parts of a radio and bicycle as puppets for his Arc-en-ciel theatre. Sergei Obrazstov also was responsible for experimental puppetry. He used certain characters and exaggerated their personalities, making them funny or very simple. Puppetry has been used in the past to escape realism. Realism is defined, according to dictionary.com, as “the tendency to view or represent things as they really are” or “a style of painting and sculpture developed about the mid-19th century in which figures and scenes are depicted as they are experienced or might be experienced in everyday life.” Puppetry is used, in my opinion, to express imagination. It’s a good contrast to realism. Seeing things exactly as they are can get boring after awhile. Puppetry is fun, imaginative, and expressive whereas realism is simply realistic and can lack creativity in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteDuring the Italian Renaissance up the the twentieth century puppetry and live-actor theater competed against each other. Commedia dell'arte and opera spread throughout Italy and so did puppetry versions of both. From England, during Elizabethan times, puppet companies as well as live-actor troupes traveled around Europe and Germany helping to shape traditions there. Puppetry in Spain and Portugal was to teach religion with saints plays and bible stories. In the eighteenth century shadow puppets from Eastern Mediterranean were entertainment for upper class people. And then in the nineteenth century people viewed children as a special group that needed unique imagination needs. Puppetry soon became an artform specifically for kids.
ReplyDeleteAround the nineteenth century the Romantic and science era started and that made actors and puppeteers change the way the thought about creating puppets. Instead of using their puppets to create mere copies of people, puppeteers began to create characters in their own surroundings with little distortion as possible. This started the Realism age in theatre.
ReplyDeleteIn the 18th century shadow puppets took off, being created in the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Europe. France was the leader in these innovations, coining the term "Chinese Shadows". These puppets were called this because "oriental" was in at the time, and they wanted to get in on this.
ReplyDelete