To: puptcrit-AT-lists.driftline.org
Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2006 19:12:21 -0500 (EST)
Subject: [Puptcrit] puppet criticism



I find the distinction between a review and a critique to be a salient one.  Reviews of puppet shows I have read often fail to mention the puppeteers involved.  While this can be considered a positive thing, in that the puppeteers "disappeared" leaving only the puppets, it more often feels the reviewer is not placing a critical eye on the skill of the performance, but rather focusing on their general reaction to the performance as a whole.  While a reviewer may instinctively feel that something in the performance is lacking, a critic, someone skilled in the specifics of a particular artform and able to speak to that effect, will be able to pinpoint what specifically may have gone awry to create the dissatisfaction.  For this I feel Claudia's intentions to be quite important.  One cannot dismiss the importance of the reviewer's frame of reference however, as it is often the same as that held by the audience.  

As a side note, I would like to address Stephen Kaplin's assertion regarding Eileen Blumenthall's recent publication, Puppetry: A World History.  While any work with such a broad focus must, as the author herself points out, omit certain things, I was disappointed Blumenthall chose to reprint images found in other puppetry books, especially from the Bunraku(I believe the Keene) instead of devoting that precious space to previously unseen work.  In addition, while no discussion of puppetry would be complete without that of Julie Taymor, I believe at least one image of her work could have been sacrificed in order to highlight the work of Jon Ludwig, a brilliant artist who is currently artistic director at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, who in my opinion needed more than just a mention as head puppeteer in Kwaidan.  This said, I believe Puppetry: A World History to be a beautiful work.  

Kristin Jarvis


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