The Crankie enters the Digital Age

The interdisciplinary nature of the NYC toy theatre community was clearly evident at the Great Small Works balkan party night at St Anns' Warehouse, which followed their cabaret fundraiser (see previous post). Visual artist Jennifer Harris was behind the scenes creating projections to accompany the series of balkan bands playing that evening, such as Slavic Soul Party and the Hungry March Band....



....but it got really interesting when energetic longterm Great Small Works collaborator Jenny Romaine joined forces at the projector, armed with a 'crankie' (another fascinating visual storytelling device, consisting of a scroll mounted within a box which can be rolled to reveal a handmade animation). I watched curiously as they fused the archaic art form of the crankie with digital technology, to delightful effect.







I'm not sure how many people on the dancefloor witnessed this fusing of traditional and contemporary technologies though, I think they were enjoying the balkan sounds a little too much.