Exhibition of puppets made by students of the Faculty of Teacher Education of the University of Zagreb
Organisers: International Cultural Centre, Zagreb City Museum, Luka Petrač
Selection of puppets: Luka Petrač
Associate: Vesna Leiner
The exhibition "College Puppets" will show around twenty puppets, made by students of Pre-School Education at the Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Zagreb. It was created through cooperation between the International Centre for Cultural Services, Zagreb City Museum and Luka Petrač, a professor at the Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Zagreb.
Many exhibitions which present their story to the public were created by visual research of the author while perceiving the world. They notice the visual values, use their imagination, and apply their skills, covering various media and techniques. This vast span of possibilities is what gives the authors enthusiasm during the creative process, but also the joyful expectation of the final result – the work itself.
Despite its character, which is expressed through size, colour, and mimics... a puppet gives us an opportunity to express ourselves and reach out to others – it presents us with a game of purification. A puppet contains mystical powers and makes souls visible because, unlike men, a puppet is not afraid to expose itself. Maybe the secret of this power is hidden in her creation? A puppet is an opportunity for creating the imaginary. He who makes the puppet is intrigued by the attraction of countless possibilities. During the creative process, fluency and redefining combined by passion create original works. Such creation is a challenge for both the formal aspect and the content.
The puppets that will be exhibited – sock puppets, guignol puppets, marionettes and javanese dolls, are works of outstanding students of Pre-School Education at the Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Zagreb. In their course "Methods of Visual Arts", one of the assignments was to make one of each of these four types of puppets. The knowledge and experience they have gained while making these puppets will be useful to them in the educational work with children of young and pre-school age.
The differences in the visual art of these authors are the wealth of this exhibition. The Puppets are a reflection of their technical ability as well as their creativity and ability to express themselves. Some of the puppets have a mildly curved form, with playful colours and a restless surface. Others have a more powerful form, with accentuated volumes of calmer colours. The puppets, both in human and animal forms, are a result of individual search and free choice. Although some of the forms repeat (an elephant, a man, a witch, a dragon), each projects the identity of the creator. A combination of various materials (fabric, buttons, plastic, pieces of jewellery, styrofoam, papier-mâché) makes the puppets acceptable and more appropriate for children. Fabric, being easy to work with, through the puppeteer's skill creates a liveliness unreachable by more solid materials, which is so specific to the world of puppets.
This exhibition is meant to show that the puppets on display not only have an educational role, but also aesthetic and artistic value.
Luka Petrač
Pictures from the exhibition
photo Miljenko Gregl, ZCM
Programme booklet
44th PIF : Zagreb, 05.09.-11.09.2011 : 44th International Puppet Theatre Festival / editor Morana Dolenc. Zagreb : International Culture Centre, 2011
