Ashley Bryan's Puppets
Ashley Bryan, photographs by Rich Entel
ISBN: 9781442487284
Poems and close-up photographs of "found-object" puppets and dolls.
As an adult, and someone who is overly invested in the re-use portion of steampunk creative philosophy, and someone who really enjoys puppetry and strange objects of art and play, this is a really interesting book.
As a child, I would have been freaked right out. These puppets are some creepy creatures. Many of them are made with old bones or shells or antlers or strangely twisted organic shapes of driftwood, with strange eyes (often pupil-less) and oddly distorted features. They all have names and stories (which are also often odd), and come in groups organized by some underlying theme or through-line that I'm not able to discern.
I spent a good while poring over the creatures, and I really do like them. They remind me strongly of the creatures built to inhabit the world of the Dark Crystal and Labyrinth movies, or of del Toro's strange imaginations. For some, that might be a warning, for others, an invitation.
I don't know that I'd keep it from a kid if they were interested, but I think I would be prepared to deal with nightmares afterwards.
Very odd, very peculiar.
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