make

Ron Mueck’s Pregnant Woman sculpture

Posted by hil

One of the recent acquisitions at the National Gallery of Australia here in Canberra is a larger-than-life sculpture of a naked pregnant woman by Ron Mueck. Its an extraordinary thing: 2.5 metres tall, and so life-like in its attention to the minutest detail and colouring that you are compelled to get up close to look, and then suddenly feel as if you have got way too personal. Then again the woman seems entirely in her own world, feeling the enormity of pregnancy in every way, and as if nothing else can impinge on those sensations.

The gallery is also showing a video of the making of Pregnant Woman, which was very interesting to me as a maker. The sculpture is made of fibre glass and silicon, and the video shows the elaborate processes of mold making and casting that was involved. I’m not sure if the video being offered for sale at the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London, is the same, but it looks from the description as if it might be. One technique that I thought might prove useful is that shellac can be painted on a clay sculpture to prevent it drying out.

Here are some links to some collections of Ron Mueck’s amazing work: again, the sculptures are all superbly realistic except for some twist involving scale:

Dead Dad from the BBC’s The Saatchi Phenomenon . The figure is less than life-size in death.
Artmolds.com. Numerous works.
ABC’s Gateway to Arts and Culture: 49th Venice Biennale: Ron Mueck’s ‘Boy’. This includes a RealVideo walkaround of ‘Boy’ shot by Pollyanna Sutton.
Boy. A couple of pictures.
James Cohen Galleries. Numerous works pictured, and a collection of articles and reviews in pdf files.

Milo the Clown’s Snow Show

Posted by hil

I’ve recently finished a small Frosty the Snowman puppet for The Fool Factory. Frosty will be joining Mini Milo and Milo the Clown in Milo the Clown’s Snow Show, playing at Thredbo’s Fun and Games Room from April 10th through 16th.

‘Arborio’ by Jigsaw Theatre Company

Posted by hil

Arborio, a play by Jigsaw Theatre Company is being performed in schools this year, to coincide with the International Year of Rice. Written by Jonathan Lees and directed by Greg Lissaman, it is a comedy telling the story of Marco and Polo, two characters in an unknown place, holding their last grain of rice. While they play imaginary games, tell stories and squabble with each other about where and when they should plant it, they also tell of the importance of rice as a food, and the part it plays in the history and life of many cultures.

An international theme is reflected in the play. The characters, played by Chrissie Shaw and Bridget a’Beckett, assume different accents. This intregued the kids at the performance I saw. And the costumes, designed and made by Imogen Keen, are suggestive of a number of cultures without being able to be slotted into any one in particular. The clothing is imaginative, and beautifully coloured and patterned. Music adds a zest to the play too, with one character playing accordian, and the other a violin. John Shortis, known for his songwriting and performances that reflect ‘Australian history and politics in a way that is funny, satirical and informative’, is the composer.

The set for the play called for the making of a huge grain of rice, and a small cooking pot. I’ve just updated my site to include pictures of both.

A number of funny comments about the idea of such a big grain of rice were made to me when I was making it. I guess thats why I zeroed in on some stories about the world’s biggest seed, the Coco de Mer, which is produced by a palm tree found in the Seychelles. There are a number of these seeds being grown in conservartories around the world. One is in the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, and another in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.

Puppet making workshops with Gary Friedman

Posted by hil

Gary Friedman, who is an internationally renowned producer, director and puppet performer, with over 30 years of experience working on educational puppetry programs throughout Africa, Canada, Australia and Europe, is running some puppet making workshops in the middle of the year.

Gary has conducted puppetry and visual theatre workshops in a number of interactive environments. In the early 1980s, he produced and performed socio-political live performance satires such as Puppets Against Apartheid. He is also known for his puppetry programs, such as Puppets Against Aids, Puppets in Prison, Puppets for Democracy, Puppets Against Corruption, and Puppets Against Abuse. In 1994, he formed African Puppet Television, and later developed and co-produced a children’s educational series, in six local languages, in which he performed a character that travelled the country discovering children and their cultures throughout South Africa. Gary immigrated to Australia in 2002 and is now based at the Seymour Theatre, University of Sydney.

In collaboration with AFTRS, FTI, and Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, Gary will be conducting workshops in Fremantle, WA, from 5-9 May 2004. These include workshops on Puppetry-in-Health, Education and Community Development and an Introductory Workshop on Puppetry for Television.

Gary will also be holding a Puppetry-for-Television Workshop during June and July 2004 at the Seymour Theatre, University of Sydney.

Details of these programs can be found at Unima Australia, or by contacting Gary:

Gary Friedman Productions : Seymour Theatre,
University of Sydney, PO Box 1125, Bondi Junction, NSW 1355, Australia
Office : 02-9351.7948
Mobile : +61-401-038.985
Email : gary@africanpuppet.com
Web : africanpuppet.com

Puppet carving workshop

Posted by hil


Antonin Muller and Michela Bartonova from Prague’s renowned Tineola Theatre are making their first Australian visit this year, and they’ll be holding an exclusive puppet carving workshop in March. This is a fantastic opportunity for anyone interested in woodcarving or puppetry to learn from these acclaimed creative artists. The six-day workshop will be held near Bowral in the Southern Highlands of NSW, and numbers are strictly limited. You’ll need a basic set of woodcarving chisels, but experience is not necessary.

Dates: Saturday March 6 – Thursday March 11.
Cost: $630 plus cost of wood (tba)

For more information, or to make a booking, please call Lucy Turner on (02) 4871 2822.

Automata

Posted by hil

Sometime last year I happened across the Flying Pig Gallery, a site which houses whimsical paper automata models for you to cut out and make. There are numerous models in kit form, such as this hopping kangaroo, while others like the Agreeable Sheep are free to download. There’s also a very cool section of animations that illustrate mechanisms that are used in automata. They assure us that no sheep were hurt in the making of the trebuchet animation :-).

Of course if you are interested in automata, and haven’t come across them already, you need to know about Cabaret Mechanical Theatre, a Museum of Automata (Mechanical Sculpture). In particular, follow the artists links to see some wonderful creations.