Thai puppet figure from The Ramayana. Traditional Nang Yi Theater Style. Jo Humphrey Collection.

June 3, 2003, New York, NY -- Puppetry of Shadow and Light, a multi-media exhibition of traditional and contemporary shadow puppet artifacts and film, opens June 18 at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza. The exhibition, running through September 16, will showcase ancient, traditional, and avant-garde examples of an art form that transcends time and geography. Showing the range and diversity of this enduring international theater, puppets and screens from China, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Greece, Egypt, Turkey, and Western Europe will be juxtaposed with artifacts and performance videos from such contemporary innovators as Stephen Kaplin, Janie Geiser, Theodora Skipitares, Mireya Cueto, and Larry Reed in the Library’s Donald and Mary Oenslager Gallery. Admission is free. For exhibition information, telephone 212.870.1630. Please note: this exhibition has been extended through November 8, 2003.

The exhibition will feature over 150 traditional and contemporary figures, including items from the renowned Pauline Benton collection of Chinese shadow puppets. The most recent figures are from such contemporary companies as Puppetsweat, Underground Railway, Mabou Mines, and the Ming Ri Shadow Theater of Hong Kong. The display will enable viewers to see the figures both in front of and behind the screens. Books, scripts, and scores from 19th century European shadow puppet theater, which was part of the popular theater and cabaret of the time, round out the show. These last are from the Library’s rare holdings in puppetry materials.

Traditional puppets from India include 5-foot Tamil figures of “Hanuman” (General) and “Sugriva” (The Monkey King).  Examples from Java and China include complete stages with puppets and scenic elements. Remarkably, the Cambodian puppet figures of “Sita” and other characters from The Ramayana were created in refugee camp Site 2 on the Thai/Cambodian border.  They came about through a project of the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma, begun in 1989 after the near extinction of the Cambodian shadow puppet tradition by the Khmer Rouge.  Whereas Asian shadow theater is concerned with religious epics, Turkish shadow puppets come out of popular satirical theater, and this tradition is represented by several figures in the exhibition. Contemporary shadow puppet theater may be based on traditional forms but uses modern images and story lines, such as the Ming Ri Shadow Theater’s Playing with Klee, inspired by the artist Paul Klee’s colors and shapes; or it may discard the old figures and reinvent the form as Rudi Stern has done with a projection installation that features Haitian metal cut-out figures on rotating stands. The Puppetsweat Theater has also done this with its installation of a 24-foot-wide triptych of screens that integrates projected image and films.

Video footage in the gallery will show many of the featured works in action, and will include excerpts from productions of Julie Taymor’s Juan Darien and some of the notable international troupes, including Gioco Vita of Italy and the French company Amoros and Augustin’s collaboration with Ki Yi M’Bock of the Cote D’Ivoire.

The roots of shadow puppetry go back thousands of years into pre-historic times.  The earliest forms are thought to have originated in Asia -- both India and China have ancient shadow puppet traditions that still flourish today. Chinese history tells of how the great Han Emperor Wu Di became extremely sad and lonely when his wife, the Lady Li, died.  His ministers were greatly concerned when he neglected his governing duties, so they found an old Taoist magician to cheer him up.  The magician sat the Emperor down in a dark room in front of a cloth screen.  Then, using a small flame behind the screen, he caused an image of the Emperor’s beloved wife to appear before him.  The Emperor was very pleased and, recovering from his deep grief, returned to work.

This story gives important insight into the uses of early shadow puppet theater and how it was probably used in religious ceremonies as a way for the living to communicate with the spirit world. It was also used by priests and monks to transmit stories from the great religious epics, such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana, to populations that could not read. While the path of shadow puppetry is debated, it is clear that the art form traveled along the trade routes through Asia, the Mediterranean, Northern Africa, and Western Europe, finally arriving in America.  Today, despite film, television, computers, and all kinds of sophisticated animation techniques, shadow puppetry continues to hold and work its magic on contemporary audiences.

Puppetry of Shadow and Light is a presentation of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Jacqueline Z. Davis, The Barbara G. and Lawrence A. Fleischman Executive Director. The exhibition is co-curated by Barbara Stratyner, The Judy R. and Alfred A. Rosenberg Curator of Exhibitions at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts; Leslee Asch, former executive director of The Jim Henson Foundation; and shadow puppet artist Stephen Kaplin.

Puppetry of Shadow and Light will be on view from June 18, 2003 through November 8, 2003 at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, Donald and Mary Oenslager Gallery, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York.  Exhibition hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 12 noon to 6 p.m.; Thursday from 12 noon to 8 p.m.; closed Sundays, Mondays, and holidays.  Admission is free.  For exhibition information, telephone 212.870.1630 or visit the Library’s website at www.nypl.org.
 

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts gratefully acknowledges the leadership support of Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman.  Additional support for exhibitions has been provided by Judy R. and Alfred A. Rosenberg and the Miriam and Harold Steinberg Foundation.

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Contacts: Rima Corben and Herb Scher at 212.704.8600
 

About Shadow Puppetry

Shadow puppetry is technically a very simple kind of performance to make. It requires just three elements: a light source to cast a shadow, a blank white screen to catch the shadow, and a figure to create a shadow. The light source is very important in shaping the kind of shadow seen. Originally an open flame or oil lamp was used, and the motion of the flames gave the shadow a lively, quivering motion that must have con tributed to the magical effect. Today, electric lights, or an overhead projector, make a much brighter, steadier, and more focused image. With the help of an overhead projector, a very small figure can be magnified to create an image large enough to fill a huge movie screen.

In traditional shadow performance, the screen is any piece of translucent white paper, linen, or cloth, stretched tight over a sturdy vertical frame. The light source and the puppet are placed behind the screen and the audience sits in front, seeing only the pattern of light and dark that plays across the white surface, the translucence enabling the light and the colors to pass through. Modern shadow screens are often made out of plastic shower curtains or rear projection material.

The shadow figure that stands between the light source and the screen is the most complicated part of the whole process. The shape of the figure blocks some light and lets other light through. Rods are attached to traditional figures so that they can be made to move without the puppeteer’s shadow being seen. Today’s innovators are continually experimenting with alternative means of shadow projections and manipulation. For example, Larry Reed’s Shadowlight Theater’s presentations incorporate the shadows of masked dancers, wearing intricately cut headdresses seen in profile.

Ultimately, it is the shadow, ancient or contemporary, that provides an ideal theatrical medium for the telling of larger-than-life stories and myths. The ability to distort and enlarge the image provides a flexibility and grandeur few forms can achieve. This is why Shadow Puppetry, one of man’s oldest forms of theater, remains compelling in the 21st century.  

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