Paul Klee: Hand Puppets

by Christine Hopfengart (Contributor), Osamu Okuda, Paul Klee (Artist)

Between 1916 and 1925 Paul Klee (1879-1940) made some 50 hand puppets for his son, Felix, of which 30 are still in existence. For the heads, he used materials from his own beef bones and electrical outlets, bristle brushes, leftover bits of fur and nutshells. Soon he began to sew costumes. These characters and small works, do not pretend to be great art, but at the same time, they are superbly imaginative, sweetly reminiscent of Klee's relationships with his family, and beautifully illustrative of the artistic and social developments of the time. Readers will see the chronological proximity of Dada and Kurt Schwitters's collages in Klee's Matchbox Ghost; the German National caricatures one of the era's more ominous political types. An introductory essay tracks the work's links to other avant-garde puppetry and to Klee's sculptural works, and notes his connections to the theater. For their part, Klee's son Felix and his grandson Alexander tell the story of how the figures were created.

Genres: Art

128 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2006

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taking inspiration from his son, theatre, fellow artists and political situations; Paul Klee produced some of the most inspiring puppets that I have seen. He managed to transport his clever talent for canvas into fifty 'fantastical characters'. Amongst some of the materials used to make the puppets are old bones, fabric, paper mache and electrical sockets.
'Hand Puppets',not only provokes the readers imagination with the images of Klee's puppets; but also gives a biographical insight into his thought process and methods for creating. If you are looking for something a little more creative than usual,or a project that could be on going, then this book could definitely lend a hand. I own the book and all of the children that I have shown have been fascinated by the puppets, leading to us making some of our own. I also used the opportunity to show the children some of Paul Klee's paintings so that they could see how he worked with different medias and methods. As Well as encouraging creativity there is also the opportunity to reference/take inspiration from artists and the many art movements.
If the book where to be used within a classroom setting, I would suggest KS3 and above.
Definitely one I would recommend.

[Whitaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really great book shows us how everything is great and worth to die for

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Odd, frightening, thoroughly captivating little creatures. A moving examination of an artist's unusual gifts to his son.