Year 3 Worcester University BA Fine Art

Oppenheim uses puppets in some of his artwork. These puppets are moulded from the artists face they are displayed using the stings of control still hanging them from the ceiling.

Dennis Oppenheim: Attempt to Raise Hell 1974

The bell hangs at head height the puppet is held within the movement between siting and lying it cannot stand without hitting the bell making noise. the plinth replicates the wooden floor to which the puppet is staged.

‘By the mid-’70s he was making mechanized objects such as “Two Right Feet for Sebastian” (1974), in which a pair of boots kick the gallery walls sixty times a minute, and “Theme For A Major Hit” (also 1974), the current showstopper at Valentine. “Theme For A Major Hit” consists of a marionette — its bronze-painted head is a self-portrait — decked out in a silver suit and black turtleneck.

The puppet, operated by a motor clamped to the ceiling, taps (or, rather, clops) on a circular platform to a two-hour-long recording of “It Ain’t What You Make It’s What Makes You Do It,” a song written by Oppenheim and performed with a band that included Jim Ballard, Roger Welch, Bill Beckley, Connie Beckley, Christa Maiwold, John Shole and Diego Cortez.’

(http://hyperallergic.com/128192/homage-to-absurdity-the-restless-legacy-of-dennis-oppenheim/)

the fact that the puppet stands and moves by direction to me comments on the fact that ‘It’s what makes you do it,’ a reference to ‘the man’? again the puppet show us what we are forced not to see.

I want to try out some more screen prints again, I enjoy this process.

Its is a way for me to advertise the puppeteers game, ‘The great hoardings and the publicity neons of the cities of capitalism are the immediate  visible sign of ‘The Free World’ […]It proposed to each of us that we transform ourselves, or our lives, by buying something more. This more, it proposes, will make us in some way richer – even though we will be poorer by having spent our money.’ (John Berger, Ways of Seeing. 1972.)

I want to print using a screen printing process to portray my thoughts on a vicious circle. Wake Up. standing for a alert, attention. but I feel ‘wake up’ is more towards take note, open your eyes. ‘ The contrast between publicity’s interpretation of the world and the world’s actual condition is a stark one.’ (John Berger)

I want to put my own writing within the poster using screen printing. the idea I want in the world. This thing I want to portray through performance.

The above demonstrating the black and white version but I want some color in the image.

I was thinking of the color combination above. though the backdrop will not be the same. its will be more of a scrapping the prints different every time. I want to make 10 of the posters each one different I will do this by using a blank screen.

The first screen after the background will be the above I want to set the base for the print.

The second, the written piece. to allow for the written words to overlay on top of the first print.

Finally the border to give the NOTICE a hard matter of fact. John Berger (1972) states that capitalism survives by forcing the majority of people to have as narrow interests as possible it does this by imposing false standards.

Semiotics is the study of meaning-making, the study of sign processes and meaningful communication. This includes the study of signs and sign processes, indication, designation, likeness, analogy, allegory, metonymy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication.

Dan Funderburgh, Vigilant Floral.

Juxtapose of the contemporary with classic, what we see and don’t see. the control of society hidden in the twee background of our culture.

Puppets as the face of a lie, happy go lucky but the hidden truth is that they stand against what is deemed right! Pinocchio for one lies, the funny thing is that his nose grows with the lie, could this be a symbol in itself, one that describes the arena we call society. He says he wants to be a real boy but when physically crafted he is forever carved to be the way he is! An all pervasive symbol of the clutch of government on society.

Paul Davis, DebutArt

Discusses the position that a Citizen may fine themselves. The cloud of thought generates the entrapment of the person figuratively speaking one becomes a brain the brain becomes a box which distinctively hides the Identity of the person.

‘Mary Douglas points out that dirt is the by-product of a system of order. Dirt has been rejected in a process of classification as the elements that are out of place. Douglas argues that if we look at what counts as dirt, then we can begin to understand and identify the system that rejects it.’

Joe Briggs & Ian Walker, Doll.

Innocence of childhood hidden under layers of dirt. A comment on the way in which we discard childhood as quick as we get it, forever being told to grow up learn and become a loyal helpful citizen, cog to the machine?

Recently I have been thinking about how I can physically show the idea of a Vicious Circle. Maybe I cannot, I could physically display the idea of a Vicious Circle as a piece of art work however, I do not feel that this is the way to go.

I have had thoughts on the idea of the puppet and the puppet master. The idea that the puppet master is ‘the Man’. The puppet his pawn. This is not the case though… I had thought that the puppet in fact is the rise against ‘the man’. the puppet is able to portray what one is not able to do legally. Punch and Judy for instance.

I did some research just to see if anyone else had a similar Idea to me and as it turned out they did. Peter Schumann speaks of this stating that:

‘people exist as citizens, and puppets are insurrectionists and therefore shunned by correct citizens – unless pretend to be something other than what they are, like: fluffy, lovely, or digestible.’

I broke this down.

1. Exist – solely alive and there, to exist is nothing without a voice
2. Citizen – person part of a country, belong to that country, according to Robert A. Heinlein citizenship must be earned and therefore allows for special privileges.
3. Puppet – controlled non-being. usually wooden controlled by string attached to body parts.
4. Insurrectionist – somebody who stands against ‘citizenship’ a rebel against the government.
5. Correct Citizen – Drone.

A puppet is subversive, it rejects the ordained world and creates it’s own, it does this as it knows nothing of the everything around it. It is not obliged to orders. Yet still controlled; it is in fact controlled to portray the meaning of control. Is its meaning in life to portray what lies in front of us?

Research using John Bell, 1999. Puppets, Masks, and Performing Objects. TDR Books.