Bread & Puppet Photo Gallery by Kimberley Hannaman Taylor at pbase.com

Bread & Puppet

The weekend of June 11-12 2005 took me somewhat by accident to Glover, Vermont to visit the world famous Bread & Puppet Museum. What I found there absolutely inspired, amazed, awed and humbled me. The following is paraphrased from their brochure and is printed here without permission to inform and hopefully to honor and in some small way continue to support their most creative and righteous cause - to keep art for the people - to utilize it's power and most importantly, to cause people to think and feel.

History: Bread & Puppet began as the name of Peter Schumann's workplace/loft on Delancey St. in the lower east side of NYC in the early sixties, and evolved shortly thereafter into the Bread & Puppet Theater. About a decade later, the collection and troup moved to Goddard College where it was briefly renamed "Vermont's First Paper Mache' Cathedral (or) The Art of Impermanence." In 1975 the existing site was set up and there it remains today, both a work in progress and permanent display.

The majority of the puppets (and all of the earliest ones) were first fashioned by Schumann in clay and then worked into functional puppets by a community of supporters including dedicated friends, puppeteers and even neighbors. The works are made up of mostly found materials including cardboard from the local furniture factory, cedar and poplar poles from surrounding groves and yard sale finds. The works are precariously displayed covering every available inch of wall space over two stories of a large circa 1863 barn, and in keeping with the "art is transient philosophy", allowed to decay naturally with time - which only adds to their charm, if you ask me.

The pictures which include people at the bottom of this gallery are from Sunday 12 Jun 2005, when the museum held it's 30th anniversary seasonal opening. They are all crowd shots. The first 9 pictures are new additions from 31 July 05 using my new Nikon D70s.

Contact information for the museum is as follows:
700 Andersonville Rd; Glover, VT 05875; 802.525.1271; breadpup@together.net

The museum is open from 1 Jun - 1 November and by appt. Admission is Free.

The center thumbnail "Bread & Puppet in Winter" is a new gallery. Click on the thumbnail to enter

Comments on the photos and galleries are MOST welcome.

Lost Baby	Forest Procession	:: Bread & Puppet in Winter ::	Caged Birds
Eerie Light	Bird Homestead	Prayer Flags	Around the World
Angel-Eyes	Giant-Dreamer	Masks	Worker
Gentle Apocalypse	Crazy Finger Shadows	Passing	Blue Nose
Sacrifice	Mask Evolution	Flying Apparitions	Flying Apparitions II
Flying Apparitions III	In God We Trust	Chorus	You Are Here
Ghost Brides	Dollhouse	Blushing Bride	Doll Painting
Draw Me A Goat	Doll Paintings	Exposure	Chair World
Long Arm of...?	Sad Moon Rising	Shrine of the Patriarch	Shell in Window
Domestic Goddess	Mother's Work	Bottlecap Talisman	Apparition World
Mighty Sword	Curtain No 2	Wake Me June 12th	Staff of Life
Up Now	Way Better Than the Partridge Fam	Sunflower Entrance	1st Insurrection World Circus
Folks Gallery	Star Wars Plan B	Pure VT	Green Bus Bullet Hole
Schedule of Events	Green Bus Side	Yellow Bus	Newest Bus
Dreads & Bread	What Next?	Can We Keep Him?	They Will Come...
Hats	Hand Sewn Advert	Accordion To Us	Corporate Teat Suckle
Damn Hammer	GWs Head is in Danger	Hot Momma	God of Corporations
Tat, Hat & Laugh	Tall Grass	Tat & Hat with Beads	Washboard Buttocks
Crazy Running Kid	Amongst the Legs	Progressive Regression

comment |

Roe..		12-Sep-2007 01:16
brilliant capture of amazing creative work..wow

mjb		20-Aug-2006 12:31
tough not to take a good picture at Bread & Puppet... happy to have found your gallery. foolishly, i arrived last Friday without my camera. your images serve perfectly to capture the color, the scale, the fascinating and frightening countenances of B&P. everybody with a heart should visit the museum in Glover.

dianna morton		09-Aug-2006 01:01
Thank You Kimberly- Your photos catch the essence, as much as that is possible- and it is not quite possible- of Peter Schumann's brilliant art work- I think that he is the most brilliant artist of the 20th/21st century. I mean no insult to you when I state that the photos cannot fully capture the experience, as the experience is just that, but your work is beautiful and I thank you for sharing it with the us. Peace, dianna

Christina (Bordeau) Peloso		21-Jul-2006 14:25
Years ago Toby introduced me to Bread and Puppet. I have since moved several times and each move puts me further and further away from VT. When I lived in Westchester NY I went back to VT with my boyfriend (now Husband) and he loved every minute of the day spent watching the various side shows and the pageant. Every so often I try to find images or information on the net of Bread and Puppet which always brings me back to my teenage years and reminds me of Toby who will always have a special place in my heart even if it has been almost a decade since I last saw him. I was pleasantly surprised to find not only comments from Toby but this picture of Oliver too. Thanks!!

Kimberley Hannaman Taylor		19-Mar-2006 00:27
It would seem young Oliver is quite well known, coast to coast... This week I was contacted by an agent working for the Oregonian newspaper who said that she'd been asked to find some photos for the troupe, as they were arriving soon and did not have adequate press release materials. I offered my work gratis to support B&P, but then she went on to say that it was surprisingly difficult to find stuff for them, and that my stuff was serendipitously "exactly" what the paper was looking for. Then she went on to say that her friend (in Oregon) was a former Vermonter and had also performed with the troupe and that the "Crazy Running Kid" is her friend's nephew? (I think this is the relationship she described). So, little Oliver, what I wonder is, did you know that something bigger was to come of your photo that day, and is that why you ran by me so many times willing, coaxing, demanding-by the end-that I keep taking your picture till I got one that worked (and wasn't blurred)? Thanks for your comment Toby...it teared me up a little to know that all this obsessive work I'm doing on these photos has given someone else something comparatively as meaningful as the making of them has been for me. Thanks for your contributions to the cause. It's a good'n.

Toby Wells		18-Mar-2006 22:01
I grew up performing for Bread and Puppet as a child and all through my high school years with my family. I live nearby and still frequent the farm and help out with projects and parades sometimes. I have seen many different collections of Bread and Puppet photos but Kmberley's are some of the best. It's great to see something I care about portrayed in a wonderful way. Oh, the crazy running kid's name is Oliver Wells, a future performer, and he is my son.

Ren� Lortie		26-Jan-2006 22:12
Many thanks Kimberley for this fantastic gallery. It reminds me of my visit to that marvelous place in the early 80's where I attended a very memorable night puppet show. It was absolutely fascinating to see all those giants walking and dancing in the valley at night. This gallery is a great tribute to the people who created this event and museum.

SRW		10-Jan-2006 13:02
Fantastic gallery: there's a lot of joy and humanity here....

Dan Chusid		10-Jan-2006 04:53
Love the images of the puppets in here. I find the artwork very interesting.

Guest		17-Nov-2005 03:24
Very cool gallery, great work.

Guest		22-Oct-2005 23:26
Memories for myself as well... Chapters of our lives that make the novel.... That past that we love the future to dream of and the now to live in.. Nothing better!

Mike Slone		27-Aug-2005 02:10
Wonderful! I had the pleasure of participating in a couple of Bread And Puppet productions in the mid '90s and this brings back some great memories.

Guest		03-Aug-2005 13:18
This is pure joy. Bravo!!!

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