The Puppet and the Modern

The book The Puppet and the Modern (Presenting the Visual Style of Czech Puppet Family Theatre, Company Theatre and Artistic Scenes in the First Half of the 20th Century as a Unique Reflection of Avant-Garde and Modernist Currents by Czech Designers) is the view of a scenographer of the fifty-year-long development of puppet scenography in Bohemia and Moravia during the period which is often referred to as a time of artistic hegemony. The book focuses on the connections between artists of various styles and movements – designers, carvers, painters and scenographers - to the development of avant-garde and modernist currents in European art. The book follows the transformation of puppet theatre beginning with Historicism, Art Nouveau and Symbolism, through Impressionist and Expressionist breakthroughs, and on to Cubism and Art Deco, leading to a cheerful functionalist style based on shapes, or shiny burlesque stylization. An integral part of the book is 750 illustrations, including photographic documentation of the performances, sets, costume and puppet designs, photographs of the puppets, posters, programmes, illustrations, caricatures as well as the whole visual style of puppet periodicals, and mainly new colour photographs presenting unique pieces from the most important public and private Czech puppet collections.