The Little Girl Giant
This is an old one but still amazing, and creepy too.
This is an old one but still amazing, and creepy too.
posted by slaghammer at 5:33 PM
Friday, October 27, 2006
About Me
- Name: slaghammer
- Location: nowhere land
I don't like having my picture taken. I believe the camera steals your soul. If you make a stupid face when your picture is taken, your soul stays in your body. I’ve ruined a lot of family photos.
Previous Posts
- Of Cathead
- Geocache – Part 2
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20 Comments:
Amazing! She looks so real... it's like they really found never-ever land.
Lastonehere, yep, can’t quiet pin it down though.
Hi Skinny, I don’t know what it is about puppets but I’m still amazed when wood or plastic dolls are made to act so much like people. Even in the graphics age, it still freaks me out. The puppet sequence in the movie, Being John Malkovich, is a good example. With this video, I think the outrageous scale makes it even more crazy.
Really incredible! Thanks for sharing! The scale and individual co-operation and co-ordination are unimaginable. I wonder what the sum total of hours is that it took to build, practice and get to the point of executing this little walk? Dedication, you gotta love it!
Her face was fascinating.
Her expressions...wow!
Since getting married, I have a TV in my home (ugh) & although I don't watch shows, I do entertain Netflix. Ironically enough, we just watched "Being John Malkovich" & "Finding Never-Ever Land". Both of these flicks give something to the inspirations of puppets. It really is an art.
I've seen this once before, a while back. That thing with the tongue kinda creeps me out. Reminds me of once when I was visiting a friend to look at her new, freakishly big horse. Suddenly I feel something brushing up my back. I thought it was my friend, brushing some dirt off my jacket, or something. I turn around. And it's the horse. It's licking me. And it's tongue is the size of a human arm...
That's what creeps me out about that video. lol
I think its fantastic in a world so overtaken with CGI ans special effects the simple forms of entertainment can still prick the subconcious and make one gasp. I sometimes wonder why this form of art could never be reproduced in the western world without the flair panache and culture our eastern brothers can
I remember when this was in London about a year ago. Near the beginning of the video clip you can see an elephants trunk for a few seconds and most of the publicity was about the elephant. If it was on the same scale as the girl it would have to be the size of a house!
Hi Madpotter, I can’t imagine the resources expended. I also can’t imagine how many calamities there were before they got it all together.
Hi Skinny, that’s a good movie. Unfortunately, puppeteering is becoming a lost art, at least in this part of the world. I saw a show at a microbrewery a few months ago called The Adventures of Prince Achmed. It was all silhouette or shadow screen in the style of the originals back in the early 1920’s. Very intricate and really amazing, even in comparison to modern graphics.
Hi Choochoo, yeah, that tongue was creeping me out a little. Maybe because of the way it bounced around all rubbery like. You should feel honored that your friend’s horse chose to lick you instead of choosing any of the other options open to an animal that large. Kicking and biting is always a possibility. Except for all of that slobber, licking is definitely the lesser of the evils.
Hey Judith, I think there is a reverence for the old ways that has been lost in this part of the world. I’m waiting for the pendulum to swing the other way. It usually does, it’s just a matter of time before the next reemergence of the classical mindset.
Hey bazza, I would love to see this live. I have the video of the elephant ready for posting. It is truly a behemoth. However, as impressive as the scale of the elephant it, the art, and expression evident in the Little Girl puppet had more of an impact on me.
Hmmm
I wonder.....
Hi Slaghammer, been reading your blog for a while, couldn't resist commenting on this one. It's, indeed, spooky and surreal. Weird, it's almost like you see emotion there, somewhere, but how could that be? Almost like an empty shell of humanity, or imprisonment of the human soul. I wonder what effect this would produce, had this utube been set to another tune. This one is sad, what would 'wonder and discovery' add to the mix? Would it be quite so spooky? I agree, lost art. I still prefer black and white movies, that illicit dramatic emotion, whilest leaving much to the imagination, over the waaay too real stuff that we see today. Do we really need to see so much blood and evil, presented on the screen, when so much of it truly exists in the world? Let the mind take us where it will, while we still have some imagination left.
wow. that was completely wild. the crazy, lilipution looking English gentilemen were a creepy touch.
i'd love to know the backstory of who put that together and why. yes, i know art doesn't need a reason, but to do puppetry on such a grand scale, i bet there is an interesting story behind it. :)
Hi Angel, I do to.
Hello Shimmerrings, thanks for speaking your mind. Presentation is everything they say. The affect of the music is apparent when you see some of these videos either without music or with distracting noises instead. The same is true for music videos, movies, plays, and operas. After all, we humans must have our theme music and laugh track, I believe it is hardwired into us from birth. One of the greatest gifts of the human mind is the ability to see humanity in places where its existence might be logically disproved. The irony is that inanimate objects like these can provoke such emotions from people who live their lives blind to the infinitely more amazing animate objects that pass them by every day. I have theories about why that is, but that is another post. By the way, I agree that subtlety and imagination are in too short supply these days. We just have to wait for the pendulum to swing.
Hi Serena, thank the mighty Zeus that art does not need a reason. Otherwise, we would have a lot of explaining to do. Much of the story behind the puppets lies hidden behind languages that I do not speak. There is a link in the following post to a website that spills some of the beans.
Hi Slag, I can't help but comment, even if it's a topic for another conversation. Call me out of order :o The other irony of it all is that, even those these are inanimate objects, and even though one would think that humanity couldn't be found there, the fact that a human constructed these things does seem to put a bit of humanity in there :s It gets complex, but I see what you mean. It would be interesting to hear your comments on why we aren't moved by reality. I ran across an old poem I had written a few years ago, that I had forgotten all about. It was a particularly placid and peaceful day, and I was sitting near a body of water, watching a duck playing in the water. In the background, I could see a steel crane, and softly detect it's cranky whine. I could not believe my own emotions, but on that day, it felt that even the crane was in perfect synch with myself and the duck. This inanimate, hard steel, man made object. All does seem to be relative.
Hi Shimmerrings, this post’s relegation to the trash bin of history makes it a perfect place to discuss the issue. I don’t think you are out of order at all. If I were forced to sum it up in one sentence, I would say that we humans are innately sensitive to the threat posed when we give ourselves over in trust of our fellow human beings. Ok, that was the sentence, now the details. This, in a very small way, might explain the power and endurance of artistic expression since the first signs of it started showing up in prehistoric times. Steel cranes and cave paintings are both manifestations of an artist’s deep emotions. With relatively few exceptions, artists throughout history have been driven to endure ambivalence, animosity and/or poverty in the hopes that some might share in the emotion and inspiration that they experience in the creative process. It doesn’t matter if the viewer’s experience mirrors the artists intention. If your experience rises above apathy, then you are the person for whom the art was created. The emotions that I feel, when I connect with other people through art, are (mostly) free of the dangers that exist in all interpersonal relationships. Through inanimate objects, I can stand in awe of a complete stranger, or a force of nature, and not feel the least bit embarrassed, threatened, obligated, or fearful and I can allow my emotions run free in ways that would be downright strange if openly forced on a random human being. For me, that is the source of the humanity. In any case, I reserve those types of feelings for a number of people that I can count on two hands and, of course, for the inanimate objects that allow me to tap into those ancient of human emotions.
Ultimately, I think self-preservation is the mother of apathy. The lack of a healthy dose of apathy could lead a person to cut off his own ear, or might end in some other self-defeating expression of emotional overload. Just a little too much apathy and you miss all of the things that warrant a second look. Everybody has to draw their own line.
Btw, these are outlandishly simplified personal opinions that are subject to revision on a daily basis.
I am inexplicably freaked the hell out.
Very cool.
I like that thought, Slag... subject to change every day. And I think you are very right. That thought could result in a true visionary... artistically or philosophically speaking. I agree, as well, that we express, artistically, what we can't express through interacting, directly, person to person... and receive, from others, through artistic representation and interpretation. I don't believe, however, that our lack of trust is innate. I believe that is learned. After a point, however, perhaps it does become innate, when the learned part overtakes our dna and we becoming seriously f/up. :O Thanks for being a good sport and coming out to play. Your writing style could keep one hunkered down for hours on end.
Hi Kristine, that is at least part of what makes it so mysterious. Just can’t quite get a handle on why that is.
Hi Odat, thanks for dropping by.
Hi Shimmerrings, I told you so, I’ve changed my mind already. I believe you are correct when you say that mistrust is a learned behavior. I might change my mind about that tomorrow.
It certenly is creepy and amazing. I couldn't watch all of it because it creeped me out so much.
Hi Orhan, puppets might be the work of the devil.
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