Gordon Craig argued that puppets are "descendants of a great and noble family of images, images which were made in the likeness of God." You can see something of what he means in this video: the amplified illusion, with all the torturous labour to perform it crudely visible, is so much more powerful than any more realistic enactment possibly could be. The awe it evokes is similar to that elicited by images of gods, which, although we know them to be human creations, call our dormant imaginations into play in ways that, breaking free of banality, seem superhuman.
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Craig Walker
About The Title of the Blog
"From this expedition [in 1609] Champlain learned much regarding the geography of eastern North America, and he brought back with him to France, to present to King Henry IV...a girdle of porcupine quills made from the Canadian porcupine..."
—From Pioneers in Canada by Sir Harry Johnston (1912)
I am irresistibly attracted to the peculiarity of this image of a porcupine girdle. Sorry to disappoint those who imagined that it might be something for pudgy porcupines, but it's not even what we would call a girdle nowadays. What is being described is a sort of belt, made by Hurons, in which porcupine quills were woven decoratively. Still, it would have been an odd item to see in 17th-century France. And I guess what I like most about the idea is its suggestion of something strange and somewhat enigmatic created in Canada and offered to the---pleased, peeved or just plain baffled?---larger world.
—From Pioneers in Canada by Sir Harry Johnston (1912)
I am irresistibly attracted to the peculiarity of this image of a porcupine girdle. Sorry to disappoint those who imagined that it might be something for pudgy porcupines, but it's not even what we would call a girdle nowadays. What is being described is a sort of belt, made by Hurons, in which porcupine quills were woven decoratively. Still, it would have been an odd item to see in 17th-century France. And I guess what I like most about the idea is its suggestion of something strange and somewhat enigmatic created in Canada and offered to the---pleased, peeved or just plain baffled?---larger world.
Interesting Links
- Arts and Letters Daily
- Cancerployment
- Confessions of a Young Playwright (Deborah Pearson)
- Daniel MacIvor's Website
- New York Review of Books
- Queen's Department of Drama
- Queen's Drama Student Site
- Sabooge Theatre Company
- Shaw Festival Theatre
- Single Thread Theatre
- St Lawrence Shakespeare Festival
- Staged and Confused
- Tarragon Theatre
- Theatre Kingston
- Theatre Smash
- Theatrebooks
- Thousand Islands Playhouse
- Weston Playhouse
- Wrecking Ball: New Political Theatre
2 comments:
Wow! Craig, that is beautiful. Strangely touching.
Where is it from? England? Who did it?
It's a street theatre company called Royal De Luxe, which is based in France. This video was made in London, but I think the show was originally performed in Nantes.
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