Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2005 16:24:14 -0500
To: puptcrit-driftline.org-AT-lists.driftline.org
Subject: [Puptcrit] Re: Slightly confused! (was: Schlemmer 'King Stag')


Paul,
they were made by Taeuber. I can't find anything about Schlemmer having
anything to do with them.
Here is what Jurkowski said...
If people don't mind, I'm typing straight out of the book for discussion
purposes.
So this is straight from Jurkowski's History of Modern Puppetry Vol II.
on page 52...

         " In 1914 Altherr hosted an exhibition of modern theatre in the
Museum, mainly scenic projects by Gordon Craig and Adolphe Appia.
Simultaneously in the town, the  Marionettentheater Munchner Kunstler
presented a programme of performaces. The success of the exhibition
encouraged Altherr to go a step further, and he invited cooperation from
some of the teachers at his school with artists such as Otto Morach, Sophie
Taeuber, Max Tobler and Carl Fischer in the founding of a marionette
theatre. The figures designed and made by these artists were manipulated by
students from the school, while local actors and singers provided voices
for the texts.
         For the opening season Altherr produced King Stag by Carlo Gozzi,
with puppets designed and manufactured by Sophie Taeuber. She was tutor to
the textiles class and at the same time an ardent participant in the
activities of the "Cabaret Voltaire". King Stag was especially adapted to
parody certain fashionable themes of the time, such as Freud's nearby
clinic and practice in psychoanalysis. The magic statue from Gozzi's play
or fiabe, with its ability to uncover falsehood and give help to "King
Deramo" to find a truthful wifew, becamer a more modern instrument, with a
new function, that of analysing the female psyche. The joke was exploited
incessantly in the dialogue.
         Parody of all kinds has been known throughout history often
overlaying old subjects with new "incrustations". The real novelty of this
production was Sophie Taeuber's puppets. They were "true" puppets, which
happily avoided any serious similarity to the human form. They were
fashioned as geometric pieces of wood in mobile composition, adorned with
scraps of cloth and painted in bright colours, recalling beautiful toys.
Many theatre artists hailed them as an ideal point of departure for "pure
theatre".

I highly recommend these two volumes. I think Ray DaSilva has some
available - so check with him - Or Ray, would you like to add a plug here...

I also checked in Vesely's Most Important Marionnete-Theaters of the World
#3 - Marionettes suisse - which I think the text was written by both
Altherr and Vesely (or maybe translated by Vesely) but on page 16 there is
a  5x7 picture of  a scene from Gozzi's Kong Hirsch with puppets by
Arp-Taeuber in 1918.(and of course it turns out that its the same picture
that Ray DaSilva was mentioning on page 39 of "Otto Morach Seine Arbeit f=FCr
das Marionettentheater: la bo=EEte =E0 joujoux by Lothar Drack, 1988. and its
much clearer in the Drack book than the one I found in Vesely) and to top
it all off this is exactly the same picture you have earmarked for us at
<http://www.english.emory.edu/DRAMA/KingStag.gif> - except that your
picture is reversed.
hope this helps,
-Steve




At 12:08 PM 2/11/05 -0800, you wrote:
>Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2005 01:02:26 +0100
>From: Paul Perry <funambulist-AT-mailhaven.com>
>Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Slightly confused! (was: Schlemmer 'King
>         Stag')
>To: puptcrit-driftline.org-AT-lists.driftline.org
>Message-ID: <f288e5f01b24c90d0f013ee474f20d23-AT-mailhaven.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
>Hi Steve,
>
>I'm afraid I don't have easy access to a copy of Jurkowski. I'm trying
>to gather more information about the puppets (attributed to Schlemmer)
>found on this page:
>
>http://www.english.emory.edu/DRAMA/ExpressionImage.html
>
>Were they in fact made by Schlemmer or were they made by Ta=FCber?
>
>Does Jurkowski's book contain images of them?
>
>Thanks for your help!
>
>-- Paul

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