Dearth/Alex's Customs and Dioramas v2

Dearth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
873
Reaction score
189
I'm heading to Atlanta to visit the Henson exhibits at the Center for Puppetry Arts! Be back Monday.

Too bad they don't allow photos or video, or I'd have some cool stuff to post when I got back.

Alex
 

Dearth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
873
Reaction score
189
In Atlanta now, at the hotel. Tomorrow we go to the CPA.

Alex
 

Dearth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
873
Reaction score
189
Back home!


(photo by Yours Truly, taken today!)

We got to see a lot of cool Muppets and related critters. No photos were allowed inside, so here's a quick text rundown with a few images I found online...


From Dark Crystal, they have the Garthim-Master/General Skeksis, complete with his hakskeekah sword nearby.


(photo from Muppet Wiki)

From Labyrinth, there's Sir Didymus, the four playing-card door guardians (liar and truth-teller), the deaf doorknocker on its door, a maquette of Humongous, 18 of the Helping Hands, and a Goblin named Fishface.



From Fraggle Rock: 4 Doozers in a cool scene complete with a Doozer construction...


(fourth Doozer at bottom is cropped out of this image found online)

...Red and Mokey playing with some 'nativity' puppets of their own...




...and miniature versions of the main Fraggle Five used in Gorg scenes.


(Photos found various places online)

Ma and Emmet Otter in their rowboat, the Hunky Dory. There's even one of the cool lifelike ducks from the river scene.



Big Bird.


(images found online)

Southern Colonel.

Link Hogthrob and Dr. Julius Strangepork.


(photo from Muppet Wiki)

Kermit (photo poser).


(image found online)

And in a room full of primarily Jim's characters: Rowlf, Swedish Chef, Dr. Teeth...



...a 3/4-size La Choy Dragon used for closeups, Bugsy Them (and two police-dogs), Ernie with what the docent alleges is THE Rubber Ducky from the first time they filmed the song...



...and the one that I easily found the most moving... Jim's doppleganger puppet from the Country Trio.


(Several of these images were found online at http://robindavisstudio.blogspot.com/2010/01/puppet-theatre-in-atlanta-2010.html)

On some TV's nearby they played a neat montage set to a Country Trio song I'd never heard them do before... "Don't Mess Around With Jim". It may have been from the Dick Cavett show. If anyone has that clip, or just the audio, I gotta get a copy from you!

Alex
 

Dearth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
873
Reaction score
189
Customizing is not for the squeamish or sentimental! You must see beyond what is, into what WILL BE, and bring it to life by a force of sheer willpower!

(laughing maniacally a la Dr. Frankenstein)

***

Funny anecdote about my trip to Atlanta...

We started out from northern Alabama, and after about three-and-a-half hours driving had just crossed into Georgia on I-20. We pulled into the rest stop and I'm waiting for the kids and the missus to come out of the restrooms.

A woman comes in, sees that the information desks are closed for the night, and turns to me to ask how far she is from... the Mississippi state line.

"Um... the entire width of Alabama?" I said.

I went to my car and got out the atlas and showed her. Seems she had been given directions by a policeman to follow I-20 to the state line, but had apparently gotten turned completely 180 degrees.

I asked where she was heading. When she said Jackson, MS, I summed it up for her gently: "You're late."

I showed her on the atlas the major cities she would pass through on I-2o (Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and Meridian MS) en route to Jackson, and she jumped in her car and drove away. By now, she is probably in Quebec or something.

I emailed this stand-alone anecdote to the guys in our improv comedy troupe (the Sticky Wickets) but made no mention of the fact that our trip to Atlanta was a pilgrimage to see Muppets, right?

To my delight, Wes shot back an immediate email: "Wow, that's lost. Maybe she should try Hare Krishna."

Alex
 

Dearth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
873
Reaction score
189
Well, hours later I am still scouring the net for images and info about the exhibits I saw, for our family scrapbook.

On some TV's nearby they played a neat montage set to a Country Trio song I'd never heard them do before... "Don't Mess Around With Jim". It may have been from the Dick Cavett show. If anyone has that clip, or just the audio, I gotta get a copy from you!
According to the MuppetWiki, they sang this on a Perry Como TV special. On the video at the museum, it had a smash cut to Dick Cavett talking to Jim, Frank, and Jerry while they held their counterpart puppets, so now I need both of those video clips!

I'd also like to find this photo, if anyone has seen it online before:



I scanned this from the CPA's program book and flopped it mirror image. In the exhibit, it appeared this way on a blue background with the title "Jim Henson: Puppeteer", but Convincing John's face was fully visible.

Anyone know where I can find it intact?

Alex
 

Dearth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
873
Reaction score
189
Good eye! It's even on a bluish background. But alas, it is cropped so that Convincing John and Waldorf are completely missing.

It drives me batty sometimes how differently the pictures get sliced. One has more at the top, one has more on the right, and yet neither are the same color temperature, etc.

And speaking of photos, I found an invaluable video on YouTube of the CPA. Here's a frame cap...



See that photo of the La Choy Dragon breathing fire? I've found it three places, including just now in Jim Henson The Works, and it's cropped differently every time.

And I can't for the life of me think of the name of the pointy-headed guy at lower right, menacing the two kids. Anybody know him/them?

I have had some successes, though. I found the EXACT photo of Lassie used in Rowlf's picture frame at the museum, which is pretty cool since my one reference pic was so vague it was ridiculous.

Alex
 

Dearth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
873
Reaction score
189
Awesome, thanks! You're a real font of knowledge! Glad you're checking out this thread to help me.

Now, you want to hear what's weird? I was just looking for a concept sketch of Bugsy from Dog City, so I typed in "concept sketch Bugsy Them Henson" on Google, and one of the hits was... the group shot of puppets I've been looking for all day!


It's down towards the bottom of the page on http://muppet.hyun.wikia-dev.com/wiki/Jim_Henson

My immediate thought was to report this success to those following this thread, so I pulled up the MC forums, and saw your info about Sneegle. So I googled that name, too, thinking there couldn't be too many 'sneegles' in the world.

Lo and behold, the elusive pic above shows up if you search for that term too!

Alex
 
Top