Unusual People

An Albuquerque artist influenced Jim Henson’s films.

PUPPETEERS ARE UNUSUAL people. They create and inhabit imaginary beings with vaguely human attributes—all born from the imagination. Puppets are on display this winter at the Albuquerque Museum as part of The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited.

Most well-known for the Muppets, Jim Henson’s darker stories and creatures came to life in feature films such as The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. Both were a good fit for Michael McCormick, sculptor, painter, storyteller, teacher, and puppeteer. McCormick, who lives in Albuquerque, has been (and still is) a Punch and Judy street performer, creator

Michael McCormick at work

COURTESY MICHAEL MCCORMICK HEATHER KENNEDY DERIVAT

of pieces of Jim Henson’s imaginary creatures, and a teacher who thrives on the art of the story in its many forms. His sculpture, Dead Pawn, was previously featured in Common Ground and is part of the Albuquerque Museum’s permanent collection.

As a young adult studying art therapy, McCormick had what he calls a Jungian epiphany. The figure of Punch—from the famous 300-year-old puppet show Punch and Judy—burst into his consciousness, and he began dreaming in Punch’s squeaky voice. From there, McCormick was compelled to become a Punch and Judy street performer, which he did for years all over the country, creating his own versions of the puppets. Once, when he was performing with son Sean in Santa Fe, country music singer Roger Miller caught the show. He told McCormick how his puppets had scared his own son. Miller asked him, “Has Jim Henson ever seen your puppets?” Thus began a two-year family adventure working on The Dark Crystal in

Michael McCormick, Dead Pawn, neoprene, plaster, ceramic, metal, fabric, wood, and paint, 38 1/2 x 34 5/8 x 13 in. Albuquerque Museum, museum purchase, 1993 General Obligation Bonds

Hampstead, England. McCormick’s wife worked in the office, and Sean worked as an apprentice, while McCormick worked on the creatures. McCormick says Henson’s great genius was gathering very gifted artists together and then keeping his hands off their work. “An interesting thing about puppet-makers,” McCormick says, “is that you are, by definition, a sculptor, painter, performer, and all-around unusual person relative to the society we live in.” Working on The Dark Crystal, McCormick met Brian Froud, a well-known British illustrator who was the production’s conceptual and costume designer. “[The idea for] The Dark Crystal boiled up out of Henson’s mind. Brian Froud created the visuals. He produced an amazing body of work. We worked directly with him in the shop.” McCormick collaborated with sculptor Lyle Conway and others to detail and build the Skeksis, reptilian creatures with long necks, six limbs, and personalities that are both whimsical and cruel. On weekends, because money was tight, McCormick and his son would perform Punch and Judy at Camden Lock, an outdoor marketplace near London. McCormick went on to Return of the Jedi, playing the role of Salacious Crumb, but then fell into a creative funk. Out of the blue, Conway called to tell him to expect a called from Henson about a production with David Bowie called Labyrinth. “I was hired to ‘schmutify’ the armor, weapons, and to develop costumes,” he says. Indeed, McCormick says one of his artistic attributes is his ability to make things look old, scary, dirty, and dark, but also whimsical.

Deep down, though, McCormick is a Punch and Judy Professor—the official name for those who are dedicated to performing the show. When his puppets were stolen out of his car in England, he said it was like losing nine children. “It’s one of the worst things that ever happened to me.” The puppets were found (nicked by a theater student, returned out of guilt), but McCormick still considers this a dark time in his life. Today, he’s at work on a new story starring a time-traveling, science-teaching beaked creature that’s part crow, and (not surprisingly) part professor.