Life's a Happy Song: The History of the Muppets

For my Post-Modern and Contemporary Art class, I decided to write about Jim Henson's creation of The Muppets for my final paper. Enjoy snippets of the final product!

Jim Henson – Muppets – Puppetry – 1955-Present – Range in size from a couple inches to 8 feet tall –Combination of marionettes and puppets using soft materials such as fabric and durable materials such as wood or steel.

The first Muppets sightings are found in early commercials and a local children’s television show in Maryland, Sam and Friends in 1955. This was the introduction of using the Muppets and the use of “marionette/puppets” to communicate ideas.

In 1955 artists such as Jackson Pollock and Williem de Kooning were beginning to gain recognition. These artists were beginning to gain recognition as a part of the New York School of Art. They were much more focused on the actual action of painting rather than its aesthetic appeal. 

These types of images of women by de Kooning were not well received by the female community. People found these works highly offensive. However, de Kooning was far more interested in capturing the emotional essence of her beauty rather than the way she appeared in real life. Similar to this thought, Henson created non-animal-monster characters to represent certain moods or personalities often associated with humans. (Oh gosh how I love Miss Piggy!)

Another emerging wave in the art world during this time was Pop Art. Artists such asAndy Warhol began commenting on the media’s tendency towards mass production and the popular demand for consumerism. Pictured above is one of Andy Warhol’s self-portrait alongside a line of O.P.I. nail polishes that were named after Muppet characters. It’s this type of marketing and consumerism that led to the Muppets explosion and Henson’s attempt to sell the Muppet franchise to Disney for $150 million.

Even after Jim Henson’s death we still see the Muppets all around us. There has been Muppet Treasure Island, Baby Muppets, Muppets in Space, Muppets Tonight, and the most recent Muppet success was with Jason Segal’s revival, The Muppets, which premiered in 2011.

The graphic novel, Tale of Sand, developed by artist, Ramon K. Perez, is the unproduced screenplay of Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl adapted as an experimental tribute to the late contemporary artists. It's quite the read, folks. Notice the action in the image that correlates with Henson and Juhl's stream of consciousness humor.

The cameo system within the Muppets has also held its incredible and defying success in the entertainment world by appealing to many different and developing audiences. Mickey Rooney, Stevie Wonder, Neil Patrick Harris, Whoppi Golberg, Ethel Merman, Elton John, and Diana Ross are only a small portion of celebrities who have opted to hang around the Muppets. Oh and some guy named Steve Martin's picture came up when I Googled the Muppets. 

The purpose of the Muppets was to use nondescript creatures to communicate ideas through humor. The fact that Muppets are neither monster, animal, or human, makes them relatable to any type of person regardless of sex, race, sexuality, age, education, etc. There is a Muppet for everyone. What this means for audiences and viewers is that it’s okay to be green or tell bad jokes or enjoy bossing people around. Even though we don’t all look alike, we’re all friends and family at the end of the day.