This volume presents the complete ensemble of Klee's puppet theater in text and images, with new photographs and commentary on each of the figures. The original inventory of puppets, as well as the stage settings, has been painstakingly reconstructed and complemented with statements by contemporary witnesses.

The story of Paul Klee's hand puppets began with his son Felix's wish to own Kasper [Punch and Judy] figures Like the ones he had seen at a Munich flea market. From 1916 to 1925, a total of fifty figures were created, of which thirty stiLL exist today. In creating the puppets, Klee used a Large variety of materials from his studio and around his home: beef bones and eLectricaL sockets, bristle brushes and nut shells.He sewed the garments together from [eft over fabric and discarded clothes. At the beginning, Klee based the puppets on the popular Kasper theater; later he invented his own fantastical characters. Some of them contain allusions to Klee's artist colleagues at the Bauhaus, others trace back to earlier representations from the theater. Some of the puppets are reflections upon topics related to politics or society, as, for example, in the case of the Deutschnationaler, which zeroes in on the ultra-conservatives of the Weimar Republic, or the Specter of the Socket, which alludes to the rapid increase in the use of electricity. In designing his puppets, KLee played with the styles of his time. Thus, the White-Haired Eskimo reminds us of Dada collages, and the Big-Eared Clown has assimilated various design features from Bauhaus circles.

This volume presents the complete ensemble of Klee's puppet theater in text and images, with new photographs and commentary on each of the figures. The original inventory of puppets, as well as the stage settings, has been painstakingly reconstructed and complemented with statements by contemporary witnesses. Several introductory essays provide further biographical and historical context, and K[ee's son Felix and his grandson Aljoscha reminisce upon the playful use of the puppets within the family circle.

Fo reword

Andreas Marfi

Hybrid Creatures--KLee's Hand Puppets Between Art and KasperL Theater

Christine Hopfengart

"My self is a dramatic ensemble"

The Hand Puppets as Metaphors for Paul KLee's Artistic SeLf-Understanding

TiLman OsterwoLd

FeLix Ktee and the Puppet Theater

ALjoscha KLee

Paul Klee: Hand Puppets

FeLix KLee

Figures

CataLogue

Christine Hopfengart CHO

Osamu Okuda

Eva Wiederkehr SLadeczek

Bibliography