Brandon Ross Productions

Pushing Puppet Boundaries - "Picasso" the Gorilla Lives!!

2011-05-25T12:10:00.000-07:00

First, so much thanks to the Center for Puppetry Arts, Micheal Haverty and XPT (Experimental Puppet Theater) and my amazing collaborator, Julia Hill!
After being accepted into the 2011 XPT showcase as the only art installation, Julia and I teamed up once again to create our most ambitious and unique creature to date. Over 3 months of planning, sketching, and experimenting with materials, we knew we wanted to create something we'd never seen before. Through trial and error, inspiration and injury (fiberglass hurts!), "Picasso" the gorilla was born.

"Picasso" is almost entirely constructed of fiberglass rods and "kite" connectors. His skin is a light-weight fabric that is attached "panel by panel" to each quadrant. His legs hide jumping stilts, allowing the puppeteer to jump and run. We fabricated custom arm stilts that lock your arms into a comfortable position transferring weight to the shoulders and back. "Picasso" is the actual size of a silver back gorilla but the entire puppet weighs less than 15 pounds (not counting jumping stilts). His head, weighing in at 2 pounds, is mounted to a bike helmet. Shoulders are attached to arms and his backside is belted on. At night, he lights up with the help of 10 LED's mounted around the inside of his body and under his eyebrow.

Artistically, we wanted to explore how we perceive shapes and colors. How our eyes put shapes together andfind new lines in the negative space. We attempted to innovate on the contemporary ideaof puppet design and construction and in the process, tried to blur the lines between art and puppet. But most of all, like real gorillas, we wanted to make him beautiful.

Besides these videos, you can watch a short slide show of the building process on my Art Portfolio page. Enjoy.

Episode 1 - The Building Begins

Episode 2 - Intro to XPT and "Picasso"

Episode 3 - Preview night of XPT 2011 @ CPA

Episode 4 - Play time with "Picasso" - Last night of XPT

The Imperial OPA Circus @ The High Museum

2011-01-18T11:20:00.000-08:00

A truly special evening of Dali artwork, performances by Atlanta's amazing "fringe" art and music community, and a chance for me to work with Julia Hill and the OPA to once again create another beautiful puppet. This time, we re-invented Flo the Flamingo. She is a stilt puppet with "reins" to control her head. The entire puppet body (including neck and head) is comfortably balanced on a shoulder harness, so the puppeteer can move the head around freely without tipping the weight. A jacket, skirt and fake legs completed the picture and got a laugh out of everyone who saw her that night. The stilts are basic wooden peg stilts that strap securely to any size foot and leg. Construction time was about three consecutive days.

That's Julia riding Flo and Leeah Cebulski on stilts to the right. Feel free to check out all the photos and video on the Art Portfolio page.

"Kiskel Villa" - Brandon Ross Productions.com

2010-12-26T12:48:00.000-08:00

A recent commission, this impressionistic landscape was intended to have an "Italian" feel but reflect some of the Kiskel's ideas and wishes. The view of a distant farm house, nestled in the foot hills of mountains sounded wonderful to paint. With the Kiskel's and pets in the foreground, it makes the "Kiskel Villa" dream, feel a little closer to coming true. The painting is 5' X 4' in Acrylic.

Blogspot Website

2010-12-24T08:35:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my Blog and Website. Please take a look at my work and let me know what challenging and creative project you would like me to work on. This will be a work in progress for a few months. Thanks and Happy Holidays.

Getting Started

2010-12-23T18:06:00.000-08:00