Sunday, August 14, 2011

Punch & Judy: Modern Interpretations part 2

Always on the look-out for Punch & Judy references, I happened to stumble across this interesting work from Circle Press:

"The Left-Handed Punch".  Artwork by Ronald King, in collaboration with poet Roy Fisher. Guildford, 1986 (out of print).   A somewhat more abstract take on the tradition.

Image from The Left-Handed Punch

From the website:  "The fifth collaboration of artist and poet in a modern version of the Punch & Judy drama. Entirely screen printed with the exception of the introduction, titles and colophon, which were printed letter-press in 14 pt Baskerville. 80 signed copies made up of ten 4 pp French-folded sections – 38 x 28 cm on Somerset mould-made paper. The six scenes and epilogue (which include 12 articulated puppet designs) are held in paper folders within a red cloth-covered folder inserted into a hand-printed striped cloth slip-case." 

Image from The Left-Handed Punch



Image from Anansi Company
Ronald King and Roy Fisher have collaborated on many interesting and colorful publications.  On a related (puppet-ish)  theme, "Anansi Company" is a modern rendering of the folk tradition of Anansi the Spider, and includes "screen printed removable wire and card puppets":


Very interesting publications- I am quite pleased that I found them.

About the press:  "CIRCLE PRESS, formed by Ron King in 1967, is both part of a tradition and a breaker of tradition. The stages of its life are marked not only by the individual natures of those whose books and prints it has published but also by the differing character of the decades through which it has passed. The Press has been highly productive for over forty years and has had a profound effect, directly and indirectly, on other artists working with books, for it has provided a continuity and a context against which such activity can be measured, even for those whose output and philosophy are utterly different or even opposed."


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