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ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF ...

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puppets for the last time, he may simply have dressed this object in its marching costume,<br />

rather than keep the puppet dress uniform in storage. For any number <strong>of</strong> reasons, this<br />

extant object may mislead the observer.<br />

However, if Meader deliberately dressed exclusively this puppet in the colorful<br />

garb, then he is setting this puppet apart, since the other puppets are simply wearing the<br />

typical tails, white shirt, and slacks. Rather than suggesting the marching minstrel<br />

players <strong>of</strong> a typical show prologue, this object implies a deliberate connection to the Zip<br />

Coon role, with his elaborate costume (see figure 15). Indeed, the broad lapels and<br />

Fig. 15. Zip Coon. Copied from: Michael O’Malley. “The Minstrel Show.” Center for<br />

History and New Media. Fairfax, VA: George Mason University, 2003. Electronic<br />

Source. Accessed: 17 May 2004.<br />

http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/jackson/minstrel/minstrel.html.<br />

hourglass figure do suggest the stock type. If the perceived connection is a correct one,<br />

then, despite an overall tendency to recreate the standard minstrel show, Meader could<br />

not resist drawing on such peripheral aesthetics as Zip Coon and Punch to create<br />

marionettes that were uniquely his own. Alternatively, the objects may represent the<br />

indubitable multiplicity <strong>of</strong> art, a field where many different influences merge in artistic<br />

co-presence, whether the artist is cognizant <strong>of</strong> her/his multiplicitous influence or not.<br />

70

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