Sunday, February 10, 2013

Crankie Young People

A "crankie" is an old-timey American art form in which an evolving panoramic scene is rolled up inside a box, then hand-cranked so that it scrolls across a viewing screen. Often presented with music or spoken story-telling, a crankie is an inexpensive and often highly personal way of creating a kind of primitive animation for an intimate audience.

On Valentine's Day, Seattle is playing host to her first ever Crankie Festival. Produced with the help of the Carter Family Marionettes, a half dozen musicians, story tellers and puppeteers will showcase their scrolling stories for a single night. At the Northwest Puppet Center, 9123 15th Ave NE, Seattle on Thursday, Feb 14th. Tickets are just $15 and available right here.

Here's an exceptionally pretty example of the art form, by puppeteer Katherine Fahey.

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