The Mind Creative March 2014
The combination of seen and unseen puppetry techniques hark
back to the days of magic shows, trick films and automata of the
16th and 17th Centuries. The automata, at once a celebration of
the mechanical and magical arts, was both praised as example of
the ingenuity of mankind and condemned as a deceptive device
of the devil. (Marr, A, 2006 p g 150) Puppets and automata both
were used on the popular stage and both share the ability to
become animated either through mechanical devices as with the
automata or through the manipulation of a puppeteer.
KONG Development - Courtesy CRD Global Creatures
The sense of magic of King Kong and its ability to provoke awe
could be due to its enormous size, but also, the combination of
seen and unseen mechanisms. Much like the famous Chess Player
automaton, King Kong the puppet allows the audience to marvel
at the mechanisms and talent of the puppeteers they can see
operate the character and wonder at the magic of animation of
various facial features, which, although operated remotely, appear
to be moving on their own.
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