The Rise and Fall of American Marionette Theatre: Conservation of the Bil Baird Puppet Collection, 1918-1987 Katharine Celia Greder Iowa State University
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Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2013 The rise and fall of American marionette theatre: Conservation of the Bil Baird puppet collection, 1918-1987 Katharine Celia Greder Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Art and Materials Conservation Commons, and the Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Recommended Citation Greder, Katharine Celia, "The rise and fall of American marionette theatre: Conservation of the Bil Baird puppet collection, 1918-1987" (2013). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 13309. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/13309 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The rise and fall of American marionette theatre Conservation of the Bil Baird puppet collection, 1918-1987 by Katharine Greder A thesis submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Major: Apparel, Merchandising, and Design Program of Study Committee: Sara Marcketti, Major Professor Cheryl Farr John Monroe Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2013 Copyright ©Katharine Greder, 2013. All rights reserved ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... v ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITION OF TERMS .................... 1 CHAPTER 2 METHODS ..................................................................................... 6 Research Questions ............................................................................................. 8 CHAPTER 3 REVIEW OF LITERATURE ......................................................... 9 History of Puppetry ............................................................................................. 11 European Marionette Theatre .............................................................................. 13 Bil Baird …… ..................................................................................................... 16 Puppet Modernism .............................................................................................. 21 Puppetry and the Moving Image ......................................................................... 24 Puppet Mechanics ............................................................................................... 26 Conservation of an Historic Puppet Collection…… ........................................... 30 Modern Materials ................................................................................................ 31 CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .................................................... 33 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................ 54 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................... 57 APPENDIX A ........................................................................................................... 60 iii LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1 Bil and Cora Baird in their studio ............................................................. 2 Figure 2 Clark Gable marionette, 1937 ................................................................... 3 Figure 3 Bird marionette from a Benny Goodman performance on the Ed Sullivan Show, 1948 ................................................................. 3 Figure 4 Big Boxer marionette made by Tony Sarg, 1931 ...................................... 15 Figure 5 Bil Baird’s first handmade puppets, 1918 ................................................. 16 Figure 6 Astronaut marionette from 1971 moon walk simulation ........................... 19 Figure 7 Milk carton, 1948 ...................................................................................... 19 Figure 8 Iron (the vitamin), 1948 ............................................................................ 19 Figure 9 Baird’s rendition of Fuller’s geodesic dome ............................................. 22 Figure 10 Diagram of marionette from a 1936 edition of Popular Science Monthly .......................................................................... 28 Figure 11 Chorus-line rod puppets, 1971 .................................................................. 29 Figure 12 O’Toolova, used on CBS-TV, 1953 ......................................................... 29 Figure 13 Baird’s first puppets, 1918 ........................................................................ 33 Figure 14 Patriot puppet in detail .............................................................................. 33 Figure 15 Costume and heads from a collaboration between Edith Hiller Parsons and Tony Sarg .......................................................... 36 Figure 16 Leather Experimental Horse ..................................................................... 38 Figure 17 Ballerina featured in Radio City Music Hall ........................................... 40 Figure 18 Boojum ..................................................................................................... 41 iv Figure 19 Orange snake ............................................................................................. 43 Figure 20 Orange snake in detail ............................................................................... 43 Figure 21 Dancers from The Lonely Goatherd ......................................................... 45 Figure 22 Cartonella .................................................................................................. 47 Figure 23 Goldilocks ................................................................................................. 49 Figure 24 Chorus line dancers ................................................................................... 51 Figure 25 Feminist .................................................................................................... 51 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee chair, Dr. Sara Marcketti, and my committee members, Dr. Cheryl Farr and Dr. John Monroe, for their guidance and support throughout the course of this research. The staff at the Charles H. MacNider Art Museum in Mason City, Iowa was instrumental in allowing me access the puppet collection, and I owe them a debt of gratitude for their time. vi ABSTRACT One part conservation assessment and one part historical background, this thesis stems from work conducted in the summer of 2012 at MacNider Art Museum in Mason City, Iowa. Funded by the Otto Thieme Scholarship from the Costume Society of America, the research offers a morphological study of the 400 puppets in the Bil Baird puppet collection. Spanning the period from 1918 to 1987, the puppets examined offer a survey of American history throughout the 20th century, in context as well as content. The research catalogued the constituent parts of the object with suggestions for conservation. In an effort to draw parallels between 20th century puppetry and contemporary puppet conservation, this paper explores the literature regarding the history of puppetry, basic puppet kinematics, and American marionette theatre. The research seeks to underscore the assessment by offering historical background on the puppeteer, Bil Baird and provide a reference for conserving a historic puppet collection. 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In the late 1950’s the puppeteer Bil Baird and his wife Cora were featured on Edward R. Murrow’s popular television program Person to Person. Cameras captured the couple inside of their Upper West Side, New York City townhome, providing insight into the elaborate inner workings of their living space and workshop. In the black and white television interview, cameras featured the couple surrounded by myriad cultural artifacts, commenting on the musical instruments collected from the couple’s world travels, Interviewer, Murrow challenged Baird to play one. Looking bashful, Baird selected a circus calliope (a small, keyboard instrument) and proceeded to play with ease and competence. In jest, the camera man pointed to another, equally out-of-the-ordinary instrument and Baird once again played with similar accomplishment, while Cora, the very portrait of poise and grace watched lovingly from the couch. The cameras proceeded to the couple’s workshop and stage on the lower two floors of the townhouse. Equally lithe and adept in dance, Bil and Cora demonstrated the movements of the marionettes, their life’s work, from a ledge above the stage. Fig. 1. Bil and Cora Baird in their studio 2 As the cameras pulled back to reveal the dancing marionettes and their puppeteers, the spectator watched the forms come to life in fully articulated animation. Throughout his career, Baird captured the imagination of lay people, celebrities, and critics alike. Writing in 1971, the New York Times theater critic Clive Barnes lamented: “Bil Baird has done the impossible. The wretched man has converted me to puppets.”1 Bil Baird’s