Remember the little film about L’Artiste’s woes? It looks like it is going to be shown on the big screen at the Waiheke Cinema. I hope the quality is good enough. I’ve changed the ending to advertise that the Dedes are currently being shown on the island at the Upcycle Gallery and that I will have a talk there next Saturday. The Dedes are starting to take on yet another dimension.
I needn’t have worried. Monkey has already found a new friend to confide in: Lil’Piggy.
Lil’Piggy and Farmer John eloped together and set up camp in one of my hoody pockets. They looked so settled that I let them stay. This morning when I came into the kitchen Monkey was sitting on the floor telling Lil’Piggy his life story. Farmer John sat on the kitchen bench and watched them from afar. He reckons Monkey is attracted to the Lil’Dedes because the other Dedes never tired of laughing at his antics and always called him a monkey.
Well, I was wrong again. Last time I said the original Dedes and the Lil’Dedes didn’t want to know each other and they keep to their respective groups. Tomorrow the Lil’Dedes are leaving for Waiheke Island to be exhibited. When I started packing up you should have seen the monkeys. They didn’t want to let go of each other. Obviously they had forged a deep friendship in the few days they were together. They asked me for 10 minutes of privacy so they could say good bye to each other.
I feel really nasty now, that I break them up.
The Dedes are starting to run out of patience. They still haven’t moved into their new studio space. We are still busy sanding down window frames. I want to have the space perfect before I allow them to settle. Surprisingly, it was all good for a while. They seemed to be content as they could see the light at the end of the tunnel – or so I thought. I just assumed the Dedes know me well enough to sense how stressed I am and that it is not a good time to talk to me. I really appreciated that they gave me the space I needed and that they refrained from pushing me. But this morning it finally occured to me they don’t really understand that things take time. No! they have simply given up on me. All the projects that we’ve started came to a screeching halt. They have given up asking me about the tennis film and recording the Dada recitals and all the other fun things we had planned and were so excited about. Instead, they are terribly annoyed that I spend every spare minute making new Lil’Dedes for the upcoming exhibition. Needless to say, there is no love lost between the big ones and the little ones. The big ones keep to themselves and it is now very obvious that they are currently avoiding me!
This morning Devil and L’Artiste decided they couldn’t wait any longer and took action to speed things up. They went into the new space and had a good look at the sander. They discussed it, scratched their heads and figured out it will take at least two Dedes to shift the heavy thing. By the time they had dragged it to the window they were totally exhausted and needed a break. They still haven’t figured out how to switch the thing on. To be honest, I hope they never ever will…
Lil’ Devil has left us as well. He is a lucky little chap as he is going to Berlin. (This is a long story which I hope I will get round to telling you sometime soon). I am a bit worried about him, though, as he is a tad naive sometimes. The day he left us, he went up the road to the Two Dollar shop to buy himself a nice dress for the journey. I shouldn’t have let him go by himself. He obviously has no taste. What did he come back with? A rag with a tiger print pattern. It really doesn’t suit his complexion, does it? I didn’t say anything as he was tickled pink with his choice. He said the sweet shop assistant remarked on how stunning he looked in it and that it brings out the devil in him. Rrraaarrrr!
He has a lot to learn!
The King finally has some underlings he can command. So he is happy! Unfortunately, they don’t stay around for long. The cool Lil’Mouse with her sunglasses has already moved on and Lil’Devil will leave us this afternoon as well. I had to promise the King there will be more little mice and more little devils. Ah well, I’ll put it on my list!
I just realised I haven’t written for a week. Oh, dear! There isn’t much to report as I am busy tying up loose ends. I think next week the builders will finally move out. What should have taken four months took six. You can imagine what this did to the budget, can’t you? There is still heaps for us do do when the builders have gone. I am really longing to set my studio up and get back into creating.
Yesterday, Snotty Nosed Prince and I went for an outing to Waiheke, an island in the Hauraki Gulf, just 30 minutes from Auckland by ferry. I have been invited to show my work in a Gallery that specialises in art from recycled materials. Snotty Nosed Prince definitely has an issue with the connotation of being made from inferior materials. I had hoped that when I showed him all the other artworks he would become more comfortable with his roots. Gee, he is a funny chap. He just can’t stop pooh poohing everything around him. I assume this gives him a feeling of superiority. When we had a coffee he was constanly making snide remarks about the other patrons and the service. He couldn’t put me off though, I had the best panini in a long time. I am happy that it was a day trip only. There is no way I would like to spend more time with Snotty Nosed Prince. He would drive me up the wall.
Look at this. We went to the beach after lunch. It must be a poor person who can’t have fun at the beach. It was only when I told him a mermaid lived under the driftwood that he became more interested and picked up a few pieces to move them to the side. But fun he did not have! And the mermaid remained elusive too.
I was so curious to watch the Dedes exploring their new space. I wanted to see their enjoyment, which of course would give me the confirmation that it was all worth it. Unfortunately there is always someone who spoils the party! I overheard Chamber Maid saying to Mouse: “Nice space, but who is going to keep it clean. It looks good now, but in a weeks time it will look like a dump!”
Today is Friday and all the Dedes are excited. They are going home tonight! Currently they are all sitting in the office, waiting – suitcases in hand – for the bus to arrive and take them to their new studio space. We haven’t painted it yet, but you can see we are nearly there. Phew! I am a bit worried about showing the Dedes the space without furniture. They might assume it is all a Dede puppet playground. The truth is, they only get one corner and the rest will be taken up by computer gear and desks.
They are also very excited about the Dada project. Tony from xraypics has offered to send us a Dada poem of his and one of the puppets will perform it for me to record on film. On the German blog Miss Viwi has come forward with a Dada poem she wrote last year. If I have some time on the weekend I might tinker with setting up a stage so that they are ready to roll and can start rehearsing. Then they will be out of my way when I am painting :)
I forgot to tell you yesterday that Calamaty actually did make a friend in Melbourne. Of course he was drawn to Gary, the puppeteer. It is hard to believe that these two guys had never met before. The similarity of their profiles is remarkable, isn’t it?
Watching Gary perform with his paper puppets was absolutely amazing. The most interesting aspect of the show is that Gary doesn’t use language with his puppets! This doesn’t mean the puppets aren’t communicating with each other. They do! They chat away using made up words, laughes, shrieks, cries. They are able to express the entire array of emotions without a single recognisable word and of course they use body language extensively.
I always thought words are pivotal in puppet shows. My Dedes definitely need their written story – at least on the blog! Text explains the still images and brings the puppets to life.
However, performing is a completely different ball game. As you might know, I have held a few workshops where people played with the Dedes. One of my observations is that the puppets are a brilliant ice breaker to get the conversation going. Once people are on a roll, they forget about their puppet and it might sit limp on their knee and watch while the oral story takes over. I am now convinced, when we remove language from the play, the focus will stay on the puppet.
I thought I will give it a go and take the Dedes back to their roots. After all, they are dada inspired. Dada was an anti-artform that encompassed every aspect of art: Visual, Performance and Poetry as well. I never really warmed to the Dada poems, but seeing Gary’s performance it finally occured to me that of course dada poems have to be seen, not just heard or read. So I invited four people to my new studio to give it a go. Funnily enough, I haven’t heard back from any of them yet.
Maybe they were put off because I said they should make up their own Dada poem. It is not really that difficult. Here are instructions by Tristan Tzara, one of the Dada poets:
To Make A Dadist Poem
Take a newspaper.
Take some scissors.
Choose from this paper an article the length you want to make your poem.
Cut out the article.
Next carefully cut out each of the words that make up this article and put them all in a bag.
Shake gently.
Next take out each cutting one after the other.
Copy conscientiously in the order in which they left the bag.
The poem will resemble you.
And there you are–an infinitely original author of charming sensibility, even though unappreciated by the vulgar herd.Tristan Tzara
Of course these are still recognisable words (and this poem even makes sense. Very unusal for a Dada poem :). I really should go one step further and take a foreign languge newspaper….
dedepuppets 