Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages Tony Starg and the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade Balloons
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is recognized globally as a holiday spectacle, but it also stands as one of the world's largest exhibitions of public art and engineering. Originating in 1924 as a celebration for the store’s immigrant employees, the event evolved under the artistic direction of puppeteer Tony Sarg. Sarg transformed the parade by replacing live zoo animals with "upside-down marionettes"—sculptures made of rubberized silk that utilized the physics of helium to revolutionize aerial performance. This tradition continues today through the Macy's Parade Studio, where artists blend Old World modeling techniques with 3D computer-aided design to create massive kinetic sculptures capable of navigating the logistical bottleneck of the Lincoln Tunnel.
Beyond the floating pop culture icons, the parade features high art installations through the Blue Sky Gallery, an initiative commissioning works from contemporary masters like Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, and Yayoi Kusama. The history of these floating giants includes risky experiments, such as the brief era of releasing balloons for a monetary reward, and the development of hybrid vehicles known as "Falloons" and "Balloonicles." From the prototype Felix the Cat to modern masterpieces, the combination of buoyancy and puppetry turns the streets of New York into a moving gallery.
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