Until January 29th, 2012 the Exhibition Hall of the Geiger Foundation of Cecina – Livorno – is hosting “Burattini & Marionette” (“Puppets & Marionettes”). The wonderful world of puppetry, edited by Alexander Schiavetti.
A trip through theatre and imagination, artistic tradition and magical worlds where one can see Sicilian and Neapolitan puppets, as well as traditional Italian and European marionettes such as Pinocchio, Harlequin and the Wizard of Oz, the Javanese shadow puppet theatre, mysterious puppets and masks from Africa.
An original collection and, in some ways, unique, that presents the various aspects of puppetry, a complex and fascinating form of entertainment that artificially imitates real life and movements through the use of puppets, marionettes and shadows.
The intent is to offer visitors a comprehensive overview of the most complete and highly artistic expressions in this field.”The theme of the show”, explains Schiavetti, “is to show how the transposition of the human figure was represented on stage during the ages and in different geographical areas. In fact, all cultures, from ours to the Far East passing through Africa, have always felt the need to narrate, according to their traditions, human and fantastic events through the use of figures replacing man. One must, however, not forget that behind each figure there are the emotions of the puppeteer, amplified by the same characters that he moves.”
The exhibition for the first time brings together the Italian puppet and marionette tradition belonging to historic families of puppeteers who have made the history of this theatre in Italy.
All in one exhibition, the visitor will find the Sicilian ‘pupo’, the Neapolitan ‘guarattelle’, England’s Punch and Judy, the Russian Petrushka, Karagöz and Hacivat from Turkish tradition, the Brazilian Mamulengo, puppets from Mexico and Argentina, African Bambara puppets and Gelede masks, Egyptian puppets, Indian marionettes, Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian masks, and the famous shadows from Java and Bali.
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