Introduction

The continuing art adventures of Doofus and the Duck and their Company of players, as created by my wonderful wife Emma during the never-ending time of COVID-19 pandemic continuing now for a fourth year into 2023. This is the twenty-third installment of works, the Company remaining at the height of their creative endeavors.

Without further ado, back to the Doofus and the Duck…

January 2023

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the Ringing in of The New Year (Western-tradition) and in celebration of the Declaration of the Year of the Querulous Megapode (according to the followers of Terry Prachett), their work by current Australian First Nation’s artist Clifford Marsden (a Wujal Wujal man), entitled “Brush Turkey (date unknown),” starring The Duck as Goomble-Gubbon the Plain Turkey

What an outstanding way to start the New Year! Brilliant!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the Christian Feast known by the names Three Kings’ Day, Baptism of Jesus, Denha, Little Christmas, Theophany, Timkat, Reyes, or more often the Feast of Epiphany, celebrating, among other things the visitation of the Magi to the Christ Child, their tableau of a work by current British artist Graham Pope, entitled “Journey of the Magi (c.2010),” featuring the Purple Hippo as The Great and Wise King of Macedonia Balthazar with the Little Sheep as the King’s Mighty Camel Al-Jafool; and also featuring the Little Cheetah as Melichior, the King of Persia, and the Little Camel as the camel Al-Hyaj Qafl; plus the Tiny Penguin as Caspar, a King of India, and introducing the Little Llama as the camel Al-Tifl

A lovely and evocative version of this simple yet effective painting. Lovely!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the Commencement of the New Year and commemoration of the 96th anniversary of Fritz Lang releasing his highly influential film, “Metropolis,” their tableau of a work by early 20th century Russian Symbolist artist, designer, and noted spiritualist Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh (also known as Nicholas Roerich), from his acclaimed “Sancta” series, entitled “And We Labour (1922),” featuring, as the Devout and Pious Servants of the Monastery of St. Sergius, the Purple Hippo, the Little Penguin, and the Little Cheetah

A delightful depiction of a major work by a seemingly now-forgotten artist. It is excellent that the Company dares take us on such a profound and spiritual journey as they have in this rendition of one of Roerich’s best pieces. Excellent acting from the three main characters but the real star of the piece is the wondrous setting. Tremendous!

Doofus and the Duck present, in celebration of the recent birthday of one of the Company’s silent supporters and in Commemoration of the Dedicated Service all the various medical professions have made through the Difficult Times upon us these last few years, their tableau of an illustration taken from the manuscript collection known as the “Chants royaux sur la Conception, couronné au puy de Rouen,” created by an unknown artist from the Workshop of Etienne Colaud, entitled “Christ the Apothecary or Adam and Eve Go To The Pharmacy (1519-1528),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as Christ the Healer of All

There are times when words simply fail. Awesome!

Doofus and the Duck present, in celebration of the commencement of the 111th edition of the Australian Open Tennis Championship, their tableau of an early work by famed turn-of-the-century Irish artist Sir John Lavery RA RSA RHA, entitled “The Rally (1885),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as the famous Scottish watercolor artist, friend of Mr Whistler, and noted tennis player, Alexander MacBride; and Shaun the Sheep as a Random Wastrel Artistic-type

This is a delightful edition of a work from a young artist yet to fully find their stride. Regardless, the Doofus is magnificent as the player in motion, while Shaun the Sheep manages to portray just the right amount of condescension required by the part. The ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot however is looking a touch shell-shocked at being found on a tennis court. A fine work, well executed!

Doofus and the Duck present, as part of their occasional series of Famous Scenes from the Cinema and in celebration of the Company’s Road Trip to the Provinces, their tableau of the infamous scene from the post-WWII American drama romance war film directed by Fred Zinnemann, based on the book of the same name by James Jones, starring Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, and Frank Sinatra, entitled “Beach Embrace Scene from ‘From Here to Eternity’ (1953).”

Astounding commitment from the Doofii in recreating this epic love coupling between Lancaster, Kerr, and the ocean. The setting is perfect; the planes? Well, great to see the Company pull of what they had however I’m not sure the Red Baron in a Fokker Triplane saw action over Hawaii in WWII, however let us not pick too many nits. Fantastic!

Doofus and the Duck present, in commemoration of the on-going Festival of Lunar New Year (as celebrated within much of East Asia) and honouring the 178th anniversary of The Evening Mirror publishing “The Raven,” the first work under his own name by Edgar Allan Poe, their tableau of a work by Shibata Zeshin, a Japanese painter and print artist from the late-Edo period, entitled “Sparrow and Rabbits Celebrating New Year (date unknown),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as The Beneficent and Respectful Rabbit Lord; and introducing The Regent Honeyeater as The Fierce Sparrow Daimyō; with the Purple Hippo, the Little Penguin, and the Little Bear as Rabbit Courtiers

Delightful!

February 2023

Doofus and the Duck present, in commemoration of the 468th anniversary of the burning at the stake of the English clergyman John Rogers, the first Protestant martyr under Mary I and in honour of UN Resolution 75/200 establishing the International Day of Human Fraternity, their tableau of the engraved frontispiece (illustrator unknown) of English Puritan Matthew Hopkins’ self-published manual, entitled “The Discovery of Witches (1647),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as The Witchfinder General; and featuring the Tasmanian Devil and the Small Gargoyle as The Witches; with various Company members as The Imps (with special mention to the Purple Hippo as Grizzell Greedigutt the Familiar)

Well that is quite something. Wow!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the 172nd anniversary of the death of British pioneering Science-Fiction author Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and in commemoration of the upcoming surgical procedure being undertaken by one of the Company’s Founders, their tableau of a classic scene image taken from Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder’s classic Horror-Comedy film “Young Frankenstein,” entitled “It’s Alive!! (1974),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as The Irrepressible Inventor Dr Victor Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) and Shaun the Sheep as The Monster; with the Purple Hippo as The Ever So Humble Servant Igor (Marty Feldman), with China Baby as The Other Evil Henchman

Quite marvelous, and such a beautiful and detailed set. Fantastic!

Doofus and the Duck present, in celebration of the 619th anniversary of the the first post-mortem autopsy for the purposes of teaching and demonstration being performed in Vienna and the successful completion of the modern surgical procedure undertaken by one of the Company’s Founders, their tableau of an Altarpiece created by an anonymous artist, and currently in the Wurttenbergisches Landes Museum in Stuttgart, of Saints Cosmas and Damian performing a successful leg transplant (Oopsie! Got the colour wrong!) as recorded in the “Golden Legend,” entitled “The Miracle of Saints Cosmas and Damien (1515),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot and Shaun the Sheep as The Famous Surgical Saints Cosmas and Damin; with The Purple Hippo, the Little Sheep, and the Little Penguin as helpful Angels

Whilst very sweet, I am also rather glad my knee replacement didn’t go down this way! Gruesome!

Doofus and the Duck present, in commemoration of the Christian festival known as The Feast of Saint Valentine which has, since the 14th century, been associated with the idea of Courtly Love, and the 174th anniversary of the photo being taken of J.K. Polk, the first of a sitting American President, their tableau of a work done by the US artists and illustrators working under the name Brothers Hildebrandt for a late 1970s ad campaign for the Coca-Cola Company, entitled “Blind Date (1976-7),” starring the Purple Hippo as The Lover Scorned

How beautifully evocative of the original, so much so that one can almost feel the pathos of the Purple Hippo’s character nearly rising to meet the challenge of the Doofus’s ethereal beauty. Tragic!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the recent Western Christian feast known as Shrove Tuesday and in commemoration of the remembrance of the 484th anniversary of the last Shrovetide Carnival of Nuremberg, known as the Schembartlauf, marked by its wonderful floats, joyous carnival atmosphere, and general layer of violence, mayhem and social unrest, their tableau of an illustration by an unknown artist, taken from a later commemorative book “Schembartsbuch,” entitled “The Ship of Fools (c.1590-1640),” featuring the Purple Hippo and China Baby as A Very Learned Fellows, the Little Sheep as A Foolish Fellow, and the Little Penguin as a Very Cool Cat

Another unexpected joy from the Company! With so much going on they have managed to keep focus and allow us to enjoy the humour and satire of the original without burdening us with unnecessary metaphor we might otherwise be required to take in. And all of this from Dürer’s hometown. Delightful!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the on-going space-alien Invasion of the World (North American edition) happening entirely by unmanned UFOs and in honour of the UNESCO-proclaimed Engineer’s Day, their tableau of a work by 19th century French Symbolism painter and co-founder of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, entitled “The Balloon (1870),” a painting in which a woman, dressed in mourning, holding a musket, and standing on the ramparts of Paris awaits news of the Franco-Prussian war, carried in a balloon from the front.

A remarkably sombre yet attractive work, exceedingly well executed by both Red Doofus and the Set Design Department. Bravo!

Doofus and the Duck present, in celebration of WorldPride 2023, currently held in Sydney-town, which also coincides with the 50th Anniversary of the first Australian Gay Pride Week, the 45th Anniversary of the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and 5th Anniversary of same-sex marriage in Australia, their tableau of a work by Danish early-20th century Art Nouveau and Art Deco painter Gerda Marie Fredrikke Wegener, entitled “The Carnivale (c.1925),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as Lola the Lovely and Shaun the Sheep as An Amorous and Saucy Fellow.

Delightful, yet somehow one senses that certain members of the cast are somewhat up against the edges of their comfort-zones. The same can not be said of the Costuming Dept which has, once more, shown fantastic creativity in their re-imagining of this minor work from the early half of the century. Pass the margaritas please!

Doofus and the Duck present, in commiseration with the People of Eastern Europe and Russia the recent one-year anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s vindictive invasion of the Ukraine and in celebration of United Nations’ Proclamation of World Non-Government Organisation Day, their tableau of a recent work by the England-based street artist and political activist known as “Banksy,” of a mural on the side of a damaged building in the town of Borodianka, Ukraine, subsequently turned into a postage stamp by the Government of Ukraine, entitled “A man resembling Russian President Vladimir Putin being flipped during a judo match with a young boy (with commentary) (2023),” featuring the Little Penguin as The Valiant Young Metaphor of Ukrainian Resistance and the Little Sheep as A Noble Political Commentator

Well that is really quite something: topical, relevant, and political. Quite how the Little Sheep was chosen as the spokesmember for this work would be something worth investigating however much we agree with the sentiment. Outstanding!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the 348th anniversary of the appointment of John Flamsteed as the first Astronomer Royal of England, and in recognition of the Brave Heroics performed the US Air Force in Protecting their Sovereign Skies from the Scourge of Spy Balloons sent by Enemies, their tableau of an engraving from an unknown illustrator, published less than a year after the first manned balloon flight, entitled “The Battle of the Balloons (1784),” featuring the Purple Hippo as the First Lord Admiral of the Air, with the Little Penguin and the Little Sheep as his Many-storied Nemesisii, Those Damn Flying Frenchies

One can but laugh! Epic!