The Puppets of Asia

I had no idea that there was such a prominent puppet theatre culture in Asian. It was amazing to me to see all the different kinds and how intricate they can be. They could appear so life like when operated by someone who knows how to make the puppet come alive and actually display emotion. To be able to give life to wood makes my inner artist squeal with excitement because it is what I as an artist strive to do. To bring the paper, wall, wood, anything alive to those who look at it. I think that the Japanese puppets where the most realistic, but I enjoyed the Water Puppets the most. It was different on a completely different level. It had a pizazz effect to it, but also a humble kind of feeling when you saw that they are portraying the life of peasants in such a beautiful and expressive way.

When I see any type of Asian puppet you can immediately tell that each is different, but they all share similarities that come from a cross mixing of cultures. The emergence of Indian influences into the Chinese puppets was a good example. I love how something like the Ramayana would come up in almost every type but at the same time the characters would take on the characteristic of the culture it was in to mold it to the purpose of the performance.

I believe that puppetry would be an interesting skill to learn but the fact that in many cases it takes many years to perfect and learn makes me respect those who devote their life to this. Just like I have spent my life trying to perfect my skill they spend theirs in this beautiful art. Which makes me understand the fact of harsh teachers. I would go back to each lesson because it was something that I wanted. Somehow I feel that this sense is disappearing from the world and that is why things move so fast, when I would rather them move slow just like the slow deliberate movements of the puppets of Japan.