Strings attached
Falls Arts 2008 / We learn at an early age that being a puppet can kind of suck. Ventriloquists refer to them as dummies, Kermit told us flat out it ain’t easy and Pinocchio resorted to getting trashed with those troublemakers on Pleasure Island before he even hit double digits just to cope.
Maybe that’s why the more we consider the dark themes these strung-up dolls evoke–manipulation, diminutiveness, subservience–the more they creep us out (anyone who’s seen the 1989 horror flick Puppet Master knows what we’re talking about).
So it’s not surprising that Honolulu’s Contemporary Museum is presenting The Puppet Show, with a warning that it might not be a good idea to bring the keiki along. The exhibit, comprised of works from more than two dozen international artists, explores allegorical puppet-related themes, many of which are violent or sexual.
“Puppets can be scary and seem threatening, and certainly there are puppets in this show that I think that’s the reaction you’re meant to have,” said Jay Jensen, the museum’s deputy director for exhibitions and collections. “Even though we know they are manipulated by someone else, puppets can seem like they are out of control, and operating independently. They say and do things that people wouldn’t do, so we anticipate there could be something coming from them that wouldn’t be coming from a person.”
The Puppet Show has everything from shadow puppets to motor-driven marionettes and more than seven hours of puppet video. The exhibit includes a paper mache puppet fashioned with suction cups so that he can cling to a window, puppets controlling other puppets, and individual puppet limbs hanging from strings in a piece by the morbidly whimsical Kiki Smith.
“One of the distinctive elements is that this is an exhibition of 26 international artists, but none of the works were made specifically for this show,” said Jensen. “The two curators who put it together identified one theme that a lot of artists are dealing with and I think puppetry is probably interesting to artists because of the idea of surrogacy. The puppet is a surrogate, but puppets can say or do things that human beings couldn’t get away with. And it’s not all dark. They say and do some pretty funny and outrageous things.”
The show runs through November 23, so there’s plenty of time to be spooked and entertained by a collection that’s comprehensive enough that you just might feel like the puppets have the run of the place after all.
The Contemporary Museum, 2411 Makiki Heights Dr., though 11/23, [tcmhi.org], 526-0232
COMMENTS
We often print online comments in our “Letters to the Editor” section of Honolulu Weekly. While submitted letters are often edited for length and clarity, online comments we use are printed entirely as they are written for the website. If you do not wish for your comment to be used in Honolulu Weekly print issues, please write “Don’t Print” at the end of your comment. For questions, e-mail editorial@honoluluweekly.com. Thank you!