File puptcrit/puptcrit.0508, message 89


From: "Alan Cook" <alangregorycook-AT-msn.com>
To: "personally....jimgamble"-AT-aol.com
Date: Fri, 05 Aug 2005 14:13:09 GMT
Cc: puptcrit-driftline.org-AT-lists.driftline.org
Subject: [Puptcrit] St Paul Puppet Fest comment


Hi Jim --I just got home to hot Altadena---Stayed over for Saturday trip to MacNider Museum with a group of 39 puppetfolk. There was supposed to be a visual presentation at the museum for us, but the equipment didn't work, so Richard Leet, the FORMER museum director gave an UNillustrated talk which had no new Baird information for most of us--I used the time to look longer at the Baird puppets which were on display (More in the basement was not shown to us---I think the Ames IA Fest exhibit had more of Bil's puppets displayed from that museum. Also the museum's catalog was not available at the mueum shop except for 1 or 2 copies which sold out to the first 2 people, and no-one knew how to get more from the basement. They did have a poster and a post card (same image) which was available. The TV monitor with Baird material as out of order and some small display windows of foreign puppets from Bil's collection were "under installation". The large painted portrait of Bil surrounded by some of his well-known marionettes "used to have a caption card" telling who the "famous New York Painter" was who had done the portrait. In an art gallery??? We did not meet the current museum director (on vacation or disinterested??) and we did not find out who the famous New York portraitist was. For the 39 pilgrims from the Fest to the Baird shrine in Mason City, at least we got to see the lovely 1920s deluxe home of the MacNider family and the nicely designed additions of galleries, the ceramic temporary exhibit, and a painting by Fletcher Martin formerly in the Baird's home, donated to the MacNider (and with identification card).Lunch at a nearby teahouse was a pleasant experience, with eager-to-please hosts anxious to point out features of their building (right next door to the MUSIC MAN's former home). At MacNider we didn't exactly get the red carpet---more of a throw rug so we HOPE the museum will value visits by puppeteers in the future, but our group thinks letters to the MacNider might be appropriate--a little nudge and a reminder that they have an American treasure, and they DO need to complete installations, fix audio-visual equipment and TV monitor and identify the artist of Bil's portrait and put more Baird catalogs in their store ---ALAN COOK
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