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-sixth instalment of works, the Company remaining at the height of their creative endeavours.

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

June 2023

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the 110th anniversary of the death of Emily Davison, a campaigner for women’s sufferage killed under the hooves of a horse owned by the King of England during the Epsom Derby, and in commemoration of the 34th anniversay of the brutal suppression of the Tianamin Square protests, their tableau of a work by the Digital Artist Kat Federer, entitled “The Tunnel (c.2010),” introducing Hermann the Fool as The Anonymous Person

Mesmerising!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the 159th anniversary of the birth of the German composer Richard Strauss and in celebration of German Romanticism, their tableau of a work by the greatest of the German 19th Century Romantic landscape artists, Caspar David Friedrich, entitled “Two Men Contemplating the Moon (c.1825-1830),” featuring the Purple Hippo as The Old Fellow Fomenting Demagogic Intrigues, and the Little Penguin as The Naïf Apprentice

A beautiful rendition of this very touching work of German Romantic genius, worth (perhaps) of Goethe himself. Enchanting!

Doofus and the Duck present, in memory of the 208th anniversary of the final stage of the Napoleonic War where Napoleon Bonaparte lost his Final Battle at the Belgium town of Waterloo and in continued celebration of German Romanticism, their tableau of one of the masterpieces of the Romantic Movement, created by Caspar David Friedrich three years after Waterloo, entitled “Wanderer above the Sea of Fog (c. 1818),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as The Fabled Romantic Wanderer, Gustav Leopold von Hindenberg

Epic!

Doofus and the Duck present, in celebration of an upcoming mountain stages of the 110th edition of the Tour de France and in honour of The Company’s founders taking a few days vacation in the highland of NSW, their tableau of a theatrical release poster for the George Miller production of the movie based on the poem by the Australian “Bush Balladier” A.B. (Banjo) Patterson, entitled “The Man from Snowy River (1982),” starring The ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as the famous Australian Actor Sigrid Thornton, and Shaun the Sheep as The Intrepid Man from Snowy River; and introducing The Black Horse as The Colt from Old Regret

Moody, effective and delightfully evocative. Stunning!

July 2023

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the 795th anniversary of the Canonisation of St Francis of Assisi and in celebration of the 300th anniversary of the birth of English artist Sir Joshua Reynolds, their tableau of the most famous work by the renowned English Romantic landscape painter John Constable, entitled “The Hay Wain (or Landscape: Noon) (1821),” featuring The Tiny Porcelain Poodle as The Dog

A beautifully imagined and acted landscape taking the Company well outside of its usual comfort zone. Amazing!

Doofus and the Duck present, in commemoration of the life of the Czech-French author Milan Kundera who died recently and in honour of International Rat-Catchers’ Day, their tableau of a work by modern artist Rebecca Campbell, entitled “The Explorer (date unknown),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as Sir Williamson Babbit-Cooper, intrepid explorer of worlds many and various; and featuring the Little Sheep as The Dog and the Little Cheetah as The Cat

Whimsically wondrous!

August 2023

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the 2023 Tour de France Femmes, the second edition of that race (won by Dutch cyclist Demi Vollering) and commemoration of the 189th anniversary of the birth of French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, designer of the Statue of Liberty, their tableau of a work by Swiss-born French Art Nouveau painter and printmaker Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, entitled “Motocycles Comiot (1899),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as Miss Honoria Cuthbert-Hughes, a Woman of Quality Holidaying in the Loire Valley; and featuring Company Hoi Polloi as The Geese

Another magnificent Art Nouveau extravaganza from the Company! Bravo!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour and recognition of a life of service to Sister Dr Margaret Beirne who celebrated her 60th year as a Sister of Charity today, and as part of their on-going series of Iconic Images from Film and Television, their tableau of an LP Record Sleeve conceived for Sally Field, the star of the fantasy sitcom, entitled “The Flying Nun (1967),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as The Indomitable and Ever-cheerful Sister Bertrille

Congratulations to Sr M from All at The Company!

Doofus and the Duck present, in celebration of the Australian Women’s Football team, known as The Matildas, reaching the semi-final of the 9th edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup (the highest achievement by an Australian football team) and in horror of “The Glorious Twelfth” where grown humans in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland prove their worth by slaughtering little birds by the thousands for fun, their tableau of a work by Australian “bush” artist Kevin Charles ‘Pro’ Hart, entitled “The Swagman’s Camp (1977),” starring Shaun the Sheep as The Jolly Swagman cmaped by a billabong; and featuring the Little Sheep as The Jumbuck in the Tuckerbag

Clever, droll, and superbly done. Superior to the original in almost every way. Fantastic!

Doofus and the Duck present, in commiseration of the breaking of a toe by the Company’s mascot standard poodle and in celebration of the 165th anniversary of Charles Darwin first publishing his theory of evolution by natural selection in The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, their tableau of a work by the 17th century Flemish genre painter Adriaen Brouwer, entitled “The Foot Operation (1636),” starring The ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as Doctor Joos van Hoonkdink, noted country surgeon and barber; and featuring the Purple Hippo as The Hag

Once again the Company shows how we suited they are in performing another outsting rendition of a Dutch genre painting. Outstanding!

Doofus and the Duck present, in recognition of all those whose skill or luck are unable to bear the lofty hopes of their ambitions including the Australian Women’s Football Team (a worthy 4th in the recent World Cup when local pressure had them winning) and the “Eternal” Roman Empire (Rome was sacked this day 1613 years ago by the Visigoths), present their tableau of a work by English neoclassical painter Herbert James Draper, entitled “The Lament for Icarus (1898),” starring Shaun the Sheep as The Beautiful Corpse of the Hero, Icarus

A lovely rendition of turn of the century dross. Bravo!

September 2023

Doofus and the Duck present, in appreciation of the fundamental role our canine partners have played in manipulating the credulity of their monkey “masters” through-out history, their tableau of a work by Flemish Baroque artist and portraitist Sir Anthony van Dyck, entitled “The Five Eldest Children of Charles I (1637),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as His Most Royal Personage, future King of All Britain, Ireland and France, Lord Most (etc. etc.) Charles II; and featuring the Purple Hippo as Mary, Princess Royal of Orange; the Little Penguin as James II, King of England; the Tasmanian Devil as Princess Elizabeth; and the Baby Penguin as Princess Anne; with Cerebus the Three-headed hound as The Mastiff

Magnificent!

Doofus and the Duck present, in celebration of the Great Nation of Whovians and in wonder at the 15th anniversary of the switching on of one of the greatest scientific experiments in human history, the Large Hardon Collider at CERN, their tableau of (proported) theatrical release image from the long-running BBC science fiction television series, originally created by Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, and Donald Wilson, entitled “Exterminate the Doctor!!! (1963-1989),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as the Acme of Doctor Who, rebel Timelord, the Fourth Doctor (aka Tom Baker); and featuring the Purple Hippo and the Little Penguin as The Daleks, the Doctor’s arch-nemesis

Err .. okay…

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of both the 957th anniversary of King Harold defeating King Harald at the Battle of Stamford Bridge and the 234th anniversary of the US constitutional amendments collectively known as the “Bill of Rights,” their tableau of a work by current US Absurdist artist, Michael Chavel, entitled “Alter Ego Convention (2018),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as The Ego and Shaun the Sheep as The Alter Ego

Wonderful acting and superb execution by the Company in recreating this excellent modern work. We look forward to more from this artist! Hoozah!

October 2023

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the life and recent death of Sir Michael John Gambon, the Irish-English actor of stage and screen, in remebering all those suffering from various skin diseases, including psoriatic arthropathy, and as part of their occasional series of Iconic Theatrical Release Posters, their tableau of the multi-award-winning BBC television mini-series, created by Dennis Potter and starring Mr Gambon, entitled “The Singing Detective (1986),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as Mystery Writer Philip E. Marlow

Simple, effective, and outstanding work by the Company, with a nice turn by the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot in the role of a film noir detective. Magical!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of International Space Week and the idea of taking a time-out from the hectic pace of modern life, their tableau of a work by late 19th Century self-taught American painter and illustrator Winslow Homer, entitled “Sunlight and Shadows (1872),” starring the Purple Hippo as A Young Lady Taking a Well-deserved Break in an Hammock

Superb work from the Purple Hippo with a lovely nuanced approached to a rather difficult subject. Serene!

Doofus and the Duck present, in commemoration of the 946th anniversary of the Norman Invasion of England and their subsequent victory at the Battle of Hastings, and in recognition of the victory of fear, uncertainty, and doubt in the recent Australian Referendum to give our First Nation peoples a Constitutional Voice to Parliament, their tableau of a work by Belgian 20th century Surrealist painter René François Ghislain Magritte, entitled “The Voice of Silence (1928).”

Wonderfully poignant!