GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — This year's ArtPrize opening ceremony illuminated a surprise at the end: a 35-foot puppet scaling the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel.
Ninon Parent is the owner. "I'm, like, always amazed, especially at the beginning when he just goes... and I'm like, 'Okay, it's gonna happen.'"
Parent, the creator behind this design, is an artist, part of the Underground Circus, which is a professional circus company in Vancouver.
"We call it David the Marionette or the Giant Marionette," Parent said.
David is the largest marionette in North America and the only one in the world designed to hold circus acts in its hands. Created for the opening of Vancouver's newest Convention Centre, it's been featured at events such as the TED wrap party in Long Beach, California.
It's a sight many spectators can't stop watching.
Makura is an attendee. "I saw it first, and my whole family thought was crazy, while we're trying to tell him that was a puppet climbing up the Amway. And it was, like, what?"
Bringing this puppet to life comes with challenges.
Parent explains, "Well, it was supposed to be within 30 minutes that we had to to do it. ... It went a little bit too fast. So we had like, 25 minutes up there to try to, but that was my fault. I didn't time it properly, but it was a 30-minute climb to do it."
The designer's vision came to life downtown, now ready for you to be the puppeteer.
"We go around and have other people try it out or climb a building with it," Parent explained.
ArtPrize attendees can be the director of this enormous glowing puppet.
Bob and Connie Vanbelois took in the experience for the first time. "It's kind of fun, because you're in control of what it does."
Makura adds, "Man, I thought it was about to be easy, but now I got some real respect for puppeteers. That [is] actually kind of hard."
The attraction will be open to anybody to try out from noon until 8 p.m. every night through Sept. 25. You can sign up to control it online.
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