The Primitives
From Muppet Wiki
The Primitives were a line of puppets built in 1987, and initially conceived for the Inner Tube pilot. The puppets were discussed as follows, in MuppetZine #13, Summer 1995: "The New York Muppet Workshop created a set of 'pre-characters' called The Primitives, interesting puppets based on Native American folk art. More than 300 sculptured heads were created, including animals, people and gods. While the Primitives were connected early on with plans for The Jim Henson Hour, they were never cast as characters and are yet to appear on screen."
In fact, they did appear on screen once, at Jim Henson's 1987 induction into The Television Academy Hall of Fame. A single line was sung by one Primitive, performed by Steve Whitmire, in the Muppet Workshop, while another appeared at the finale.
A 1987 New York Times article provided more details and insights on the line. According to the piece, the Primitives were the result of Jim Henson's visit to the primitive wing at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he realized "that there were ways of stylizing the human face that we weren't using." The Primitives began not as sketches, but as clay models, and fell into three basic groupings. Ed Christie designed one line, reminiscent of African figures. A set created by Tim Miller was described by Jim Henson as the kind that "you wouldn't know were inspired by primitives unless you were told. We'll either go abstract with the bodies, or else they'll become business men and women or modern husbands and wives." Jitka Exler built a third line, using a combination Scotfoam, foam latex, and aluminum wire, a collection of abstract figures who "look vaguely like some early Picasso."
Henson was quoted as saying that the line designed by Exler was being considered for an antidrug program for kids, while "the other two will probably gravitate toward Inner Tube."
References
- Weber, Bruce. "Works in Progress: Post-Muppet Primitives." The New York Times, August 16, 1987
