Katonah Museum of Art to Hold Discussion on Contemporary Puppetry

The Katonah Museum of Art will hold a panel discussion on contemporary puppetry on Sunday, March 28 at 5:30 p.m. The discussion, "The Intimate Inanimate," is being held in conjunction with the museum's current exhibition The Art of Contemporary Puppet Theater.

Speakers will include artists Dan Hurlin, Roman Paska, and Hanne Tierney and curator Leslee Asch, and the discussion will be moderated by Asch. They will discuss the relevance of puppetry as a modern performance art and the three artists will talk about their work and the themes in each other's work. Puppetry has an ability to give form to the unseen.

Hurlin has been working in puppet theater since 1980 and his work often combines puppets with dancers and actors. His work, Hiroshima Maiden, follows the story of one of the Japanese survivors of the atomic bomb who was brought to the United States after the war for plastic surgery.

Paska works often with rod puppets and his work is influenced by Javanese rod puppetry. His Dead Puppet Talk explores the interplay between actors and their effigies.

Tierney is a performance artist who makes abstract theater without actors. Her How Wang-Fo Was Saved is an interpretation of an ancient Chinese legend and is performed entirely by objects such as bamboo fronds, stiffened robes, and lanterns.

Asch is currently executive director of the National Dance Institute, but spent 20 years at Jim Henson Productions where she was the executive director of the Jim Henson Foundation

This event is free for members and $10 for non-members. Reservations are required and can be made by calling (914) 232-9555, ext. 0 or emailing info@katonahmuseum.org. The museum is located at 134 Jay Street (Route 22) in Katonah.