AIC's 41st Annual Meeting

This presentation will discuss the creation and fabrication of ten articulated custom mannequins for garments and associated objects in the “Circle of Dance” exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian - New York. The exhibition, which opened in September 2012, showcases dances of ten tribes from different geographical locations in the Western Hemisphere. Each of the mannequins is articulated in a gesture specific to an important dance from each tribe, so creating the illusion of specific movement as well as providing distinctive facial features and hand gestures was imperative. A variety of arm and leg connection techniques were employed which utilized mechanical and magnetized attachments. The faces, hands and feet were created from Fosshape, a felt-like material that hardens somewhat when steamed. Topics discussed will be: Choosing poses for maximum illusion of motion; examples of arm, leg and knee connection techniques; and extension of the articulation to the expression of the faces and hands through the use of Fosshape.