Portfolio > Crankies

Large puppet stages
acrylic on canvas on wall board.
4' x 8' each
2010
crankie, scroll, panorama, art. painting, theater, stage, puppet
acrylic, paper, canvas, house insulation panel
4' f w x 8' t
2018
panorama, scroll, painting, crankie, art
acrylic on butcher paper
18" tall and many feet long
2018
Nose Crankie-  Introducing the Family
acrylic on tyvac scroll
17" x endless
2008
crankie, scroll, panorama, art. painting, theater, stage, puppet
paper, canvas, acrylic
2018
crankie, scroll, panorama, art. painting, theater, stage
acrylic, canvas, house insulation panel
35" w x 37" t
2018
crankie, scroll, panorama, art. painting, theater, stage
acrylic, canvas, house insulation
4' f w x 8' t
2010

A crankie is an old method of creating a moving panorama. A picture-rich scroll is mounted inside a cabinet built to allow a sequence of pictures to be pulled across a viewing window, usually using two spools.

All the rave in the 1800's, it still has popularity with social activists, ballad singers, and those with an interest in the past.

A crankie performance combines well with music, puppets, large or small, and shadow puppets.

I've loved crankies since I first saw one in at Bread and Puppet Theater in the 60's. I use them as a visual adjunct to ballad singing and have created many hand painted scrolls which I perform with an informative talk and slide show at museums, community halls, clubs, schools, and for private parties.