ToyBox Futuristi: An Expression of Futurism via Digital Puppetry

Abstract

ToyBox Futuristi is a digital puppeteering
toolkit created by a student team from Carnegie Mellon
University’s Entertainment Technology Center (known from
this point forward as ETC). The team took its inspiration from
the work of Italian Futurist Fortunato Depero, in particular
Balli Plastici, the ‘plastic dance’ he created in 1918. Depero’s
marionettes encapsulate the Futurist ideal of machinery striving
to break free of human control, a theme expanded upon by the
use of contemporary technologies. The project was driven by two
deliverables: the digital re-imagining of Balli Plastici, a version of
which was shown at the Performa 09 Arts Festival in New York
City, and the development of ToyBox Futuristi, the puppetry
software that enables users to create their own versions of the
ballet. This paper will focus on the creation of ToyBox Futuristi,
including how the creative team took inspiration from the work
of Depero and the Futurists while simultaneously establishing a
sense of style and functionality adapted to the digital age.