Introduction

The continuing art adventures of Doofus and the Duck and their Company of players, as created by my wonderful wife Emma during the time of quarantine: the COVID-19 pandemic of 2019/2020. This is the eighth installment of works, the Company remaining at the height of their creative endeavors.

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

October 2020 (cont.)

Doofus and the Duck present, as part of their on-going series of solo works, their interpretation of one of the versions of French Classical artist Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin renowned paintings of children at play, entitled “Soap Bubbles (c. 1734),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as Henri BonFromage, Marquis de Chedderville, and featuring the Purple Hippo as a Petit Garcon in a Phrygian Cap Who Want A Go!

Another delight from the Company! Wonderful to see them do such a sterling job on the work of an underappreciated French 18th C master. Fine work from the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot and the Purple Hippo, who, though it appears to have exchanged one revolutionary cap for another, is captivating as the younger boy. A very fine tableau!

Doofus and the Duck present, as part of their on-going series of iconic photographs, and in honour of the L.A. Dodgers winning the 2020 World Series, their tableau of Mark Kauffman’s image, taken during the first game of the 1955 World Series between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees, entitled “Stealing Home (1955),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as the Legendary Yankee Catcher Yogi “He was out!” Berra, and introducing Shaun the Sheep as the Indomitable Jackie Robinson

A timely and fantastic image, beautifully portrayed, of one of baseball’s enduring moments. Bravo!

Doofus and the Duck present, their tableau taken from the work of esteemed Italian Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s early secular work, entitled “The Cardsharps (c.1594),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as Malfonzo di Barberoni, a Down-at-the-heels Nobleman Who’s Luck is About to Change, and featuring the Purple Hippo as A Young Card Sharp

Another superb Caravaggio from the Company, with the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as a menacing older man, the Purple Hippo as his young accomplice, and Doofus as the rich young dupe. Beautifully set, rich in tone and detail, with a delightful lighting that gives that direct feeling of the original. Magnificent!

Doofus and the Duck present, as part of their on-going series of solo works, their re-imagination of a self-portrait by the acclaimed Mexican artist Kahlo (born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón), entitled “Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (1940),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as The Artist Frida Kahlo, and featuring the Purple Hippo as A Bad Luck Panther

A beautiful recreation of a stunning and challenging work. The ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot is superb as Kahlo, and the background is magical, however the Purple Hippo’s efforts fall somewhat short of the original paintings black panther. Despite this, the overall effect is charming and evocative. Well done!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the day (All Hallows’ Eve), present for your entertainment their tableau of an aquatint etching by famed Spanish master Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes, entitled “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (c. 1799),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as An Ever-alert Lynx, and featuring the Purple Hippo as A Very Scary Vampire Bat

A stunning depiction of Goya’s nightmare, made even more bizarre by the Company. While, perhaps, it is not quite of a one as the original, it doubles down on the macabre, adding a touch of post-modern irony to “the dark vision of humanity” that started to weigh the artist down. The work is the better for it! Wonderful!

November 2020

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the up-coming US Presidential Election, their tableau of a scene from noted Sienese painter Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s famed painting from the walls of Siena’s Palazzo Pubblico, entitled “The Allegory of Bad Government (1338),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as The Evil and Malodorous Tyrant, and featuring the Purple Hippo as A Very Proud Flying Hippo

Stupendous! It is insightful that this work, meant as a reminder to the City Council during their deliberations, remains as pertinent today as it did nearly 700 years ago. The colours may have faded and time has damaged some of this imagery, however the Company’s effort do much to remind us of its heart: good government is a virtue in and of itself. Timely and beautiful!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the birthday of one of the Company’s original supporters, their tableau of a sculpture/installation by contemporary Australian artist Patricia Piccinini’s whimsical “exploration of nature rendered into mechanical form,” entitled “The Lovers (2011),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as Mario “Ringetiding” Vespuccio, and featuring the Purple Hippo as A Cute Purple Scooter

In her original, Ms Piccinini “wonders at the naturalisation of technology in contemporary life,” and the Company takes that mechanical mayhem and turns it on its head to reveal a very post-modern, rather lovely, irony. Perfect in every way!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of Election Day USA, their interpretation of one of French Impressionist Edgar Degas’s early ballerina works, entitled “Waiting (1880-1882),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as Simone Coppélia, a fine young dancer with sore feet

A beautiful interpretation of one of Degas’s many, many pictures of little girls. Regardless of the artist and his oddities, Doofus is elegant as the chaperon, and the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot is excellent as the dancer. Well done!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the on-going mayhem that is the 2020 US Presidential Election, their tableau of English late-Pre-Raphaelite Movement painter Evelyn De Morgan’s painting, entitled “Hope in a Prison of Despair (1887),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as Miriam d’Lacy-Pérignon, a Heroine Locked in a Tower By Her Evil Uncle

Whilst appropriate to the day (a big tick there), the Company, in this case two of the leads, manage to turn what is undeniably trite rubbish into a moving scene. Apart from the wonderful efforts of the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot, credit must go to the Lighting Dept who, in bringing a touch of early Baroque Tenebrism to the work, have transformed this romantic nonsense into a touching scene that exudes despair, rather than the self-absorbed melodrama of the original. An excellent interpretation!

Doofus and the Duck present, as part of their on-going series for the US Presidential Election (2020 edition), their tableau of a mural, commissioned by the Treasury Relief Art Project for the SW Corner of the 3rd Floor of the US Courthouse and Post Office in Indianapolis, by American artist Grant Wright Christian, entitled “Waiting for the Mail (1935),” featuring the Purple Hippo as a Fellow Waiting for Good News!

Brilliant! Topical and exquisite!

Doofus and the Duck present, as part of their (surprising) on-going series of works based on the 2020 edition of the US Presidential Election, their tableau of a still, from a (make-believe) scene, from the long-running US Children’s Television Workshop show, “Sesame Street,” entitled “Greetings! I am the Count! They call me the Count because I LOVE to count! (c. 1975),” featuring the Purple Hippo as Count von Count, and introducing Shaun the Sheep as Oscar the Grouch.

A delight in every way! Bravo!

Doofus and the Duck present, the final in their series based on the 2020 US Presidential Election, and in honour of the (pending) victory of Joe Biden, their tableau of the central panel of Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens’s ceiling fresco of London’s Banqueting House, entitled “The Apotheosis of James I (c. 1635),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as The Intrepid Messenger of the Gods Mercury, and featuring the Purple Hippo as The Embodiment of Religion

What a fine way for the Company to celebrate the anointing of a “new American king” but by recreating Ruben’s monument to that most royal of personages, James I of England. This is a delightful collective effort that manages to convey some of the life and colour the original must have displayed when new. Excellent!

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the Commemoration of Armistice Day 1919, their tableau of the great Australian photographer Frank Hurley’s epic photo from the Great War, entitled “Supports going up to relieve the Front Trenches (1st Australian Division, near Hooges, Ypres Sector, Battle of Broodseinde, Oct 1917),” featuring the Little Blue Men as ANZACs

We can do little better than to remember the words to Rudyard Kipling’s poem, Recessional

  God of our fathers, known of old,
  Lord of our far-flung battle line,
  Beneath whose awful hand we hold
  Dominion over palm and pine—
  Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
  Lest we forget—lest we forget!

Doofus and the Duck present, as part of their on-going series of famous children’s book illustration, their tableau of the cover of American author Phyllis Krasilovsky’s work, illustrated by Dutch-American artist Peter Spier, entitled “The Cow Who Fell in the Canal (1957),” introducing Shaun the Sheep as Hendrika the Cow, and featuring the Little Blue Men as Dutchers

Very sweet! And it is a delight to see Shaun the Sheep take on such a challenging bovine role. Well done!

Doofus and the Duck present, as part of their on-going series of famous book illustrations, their interpretation of a panel from the pen of English artist and illustrator Ronald William Fordham Searle’s book “The Terror of St Trinian’s,” entitled “Come along, prefects. Playtime is over. (1952),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as Petaluna Fortesque, a fresher in distress, and featuring the Purple Hippo as Head Girl

The magic of Ronald Searle captured exquisitely by the Company. Whilst the main players are doing an excellent job, particularly the poor ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot (we feel for you!), we can not help but notice the Purple Hippo seems rather proud of itself. Is this a sign of growing internal rancor within the Company? Or is it merely the mark of a professional dispassionately going about the business of acting? At this stage perhaps it is too early to make a final judgment about such matters, but we will be watching!

Doofus and the Duck present their tableau of the renowned French post-impressionist painter Georges-Pierre Seurat’s most famous and iconic work, entitled “Un dimanche après-midi à l’Île de la Grande Jatte (1884-1886),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as Claude Bellefontaine, a Communard With Much On His Mind, and featuring the Purple Hippo as Madeleine, A Little Girl in a Nice Hat

What a remarkable interpretation of a remarkable painting. In attempting to do the impossible, the Company has managed to deliver us the essence of Seurat’s massive and ground-breaking work, which is no small feat. What a delight!

Doofus and the Duck present, as part of both their solo series and their famous photographic images series and in honour of the commencement of the Southern Hemisphere Summer, their tableau of Australian photographer Max Dupain’s iconic and “arguably the most widely recognised of all Australian photographs,” entitled “Sunbaker (1937).”

Superb work from Doofus!

Doofus and the Duck present, as part of their on-going series of great illustrations, their tableau of a lithograph from the pen of famous Dutch graphic artist Maurits Cornelis Escher, entitled “Self-Portrait in Spherical Mirror (1935),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as The Artist, and featuring the Purple Hippo as An Interested Bystander

Magnificent! The wondrous meta-effect of having the artist inside the sphere observing us, as opposed to Escher’s exquisite meditation of a self-portrait, is sheer genius, adding an entire new level of meaning to an already mysterious work. Bravo!

Doofus and the Duck present, in recognition of the Company’s CEO’s noble sacrifice in not being able to view Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” this year, their tableau of well-known English illustrator Arthur Rackham’s plate for “The Rhinegold” entitled, “The Rhine’s fair children, bewailing their lost gold, weep (1910),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as Woglinde, A Distraught and Honest Rhinemaiden, and featuring the Purple Hippo as Wotan, an Amused Deity

A wonderful image from the Golden Age of British book illustration perfectly executed by the Company, even if Wotan does appear somewhat more in his cups than is shown in Rackham’s original. The work of the three maidens is exceptional, as is the staging and set direction. A-plus for this one!

Doofus and the Duck present their tableau of the master of the Flemish Baroque, Sir Peter Paul Rubens’s epic vision of the fall of a hero, entitled “Samson and Delilah (c. 1610),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as The Hero Samson about to be Shawn, and featuring the Purple Hippo as The Philistine Captain

A marvelous rendition of another of Rubens’s bloated, by the yard (it was designed to fit over an Antwerp fireplace), masterpieces featuring some kind of salacious detail, yet rendered into a work of humour and pathos through the efforts of the Company. A special mention should be made of the excellent lighting. While Rubens tended to eschew chiaroscuro, the Company’s use of it here heightens the drama wonderfully.

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the release of Pinchgut Opera’s “ground breaking 60 minute opera film,” A Delicate Fire, their pastiche tableau of Venetian Baroque painter Bernardo Strozzi’s portrait, believed of the famed singer and composer Barbara Strozzi, entitled “The Viola da Gamba Player (c. 1635),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as A Musician of Impeccable Talent and Virtue, and featuring the Purple Hippo as Il Maestro

A perfect blend of humour and vivacity beautifully matches the detail of the Pinchgut Opera, which we highly commend!

Doofus and the Duck present, as part of their on-going series of solo works, their re-imagination of the late 19th Century Catalan artist Ramón Casas i Carbó’s well-known work, entitled “Joven Decadente (1899).”

A fine interpretation by Doofus of one of the most important exponent of Modernista (Catalan’s native art movement in the latter decades of the 19th century). The Company has managed to capture the sense of futile young decadence of the original with a fine display of material luxury and subtle lighting. Excellent work!

Doofus and the Duck present, as part of their on-going series of solo works, present their tableau of Belgium surrealist painter René François Ghislain Magritte’s iconic (and ironic) self-portrait, entitled “Le fils de l’homme (1964),” featuring the Purple Hippo as No Man.

Has the Purple Hippo given up pretensions of martial fervour and childish revolution? So it would seem in this superb depiction of a Magritte classic. Well done!

Doofus and the Duck present, as part of their on-going series of solo works, their tableau English academic-style painter, Frederic Leighton’s magnum opus, entitled “Flaming June (1895),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as June, a Nymph in Need of a Good Snooze

The excellent work by the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot, and the props department, seems wasted on this trite neo-classical composition that has little to offer other than mild dose of Victorian voyeurism.

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the US Thanksgiving Holiday and the tradition of Presidential Pardon of the Turkey, their tableau of the famous painting by Russian 19th Century master, Ilya Yefimovich Repin, entitled “Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed IV of the Ottoman Empire (1880-1891),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as Tymofiy Vasilyevich Khmelnytsky, A Tasteful Tatar, and featuring the Purple Hippo as a Scary and Fierce Fellow

A tremendous interpretation of this well-known, and joyous, painting, much loved by today’s Russians and Ukrainians. The Company is, as usual in this type of ensemble piece, almost as formidable as the Cossack’s they portray, and they seem to be having quite as much fun. Well done! (For those interested in the contents of the reply, and the source of the mirth, you can little better than Brian Power’s effort. As a warning, it is quite salty.)

Doofus and the Duck present, in honour of the official birthday of one of their original sponsors, their tribute to the well-known television series “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” entitled “Make It So! (1987-1994),” starring the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot as the Famous Captain of the Starship Enterprise, Jean-Luc Picard, and featuring the Purple Hippo as the Fierce Klingon Warrior Lieutenant Commander Worf, and introducing Shaun the Sheep as the Devilishly Handsome Bon vivant Commander William Riker

Make it so! Indeed! To boldly venture where no Company has ventured before! To illuminate art in a way we’ve not seen since Andy Warhol graced us with soup cans! Stupendous!