Artist Statement

The aim of this exhibit was to explore the relationships between puppeteer, puppet, and audience in the Kathputli tradition in a manner that was informed by SAIL pedagogy. I took a particular focus on the power of imagination and land/context. The latter was important to focus on because of how deeply rooted Kathputli puppetry and the circumstances and performances of Bhat communities are in their Rajasthani contexts, as well as the role migration has had in shaping both their puppetry and their circumstances. As such, the exhibit emphasizes the importance of not only geographical, but cultural, economic, and historic contexts to various facets of the Kathputli tradition. For instance, the discussion of deceptive claims about the antiquity of Kathputli or about royal connections from members of the Kathputli Bhat community is placed within the context of the Rajasthani tourism industry upon which the Kathputli Bhat community relies for survival and upon the lower status imposed onto them. Spatial/land-based contextualization is most prominent in the Neatline maps. The maps pinpointing the location of embedded performances encourage the reader to first consider and remember the specific contexts and conditions in which the performance is being conducted before watching it themselves. The final Neatline map allows the reader to chart the journeys of Kathputli puppets and puppeteers, starting from their natal villages and journeying to different locations in Rajasthan, India, and beyond. 

The former, imaginative thinking, was important in order to encourage the reader to deeply consider the perspectives and experiences of the puppeteer and audience alike. This was emphasized through the exhibit’s framing of the puppeteer and audience as characters in a story of their own making, characters that the reader may empathize with, or at least attempt to do so. The videos of performances then serve a double purpose, because now the reader has also formed a sort of relationship with the puppets and puppeteers (although perhaps not as direct or reciprocated as would be the case in a real-world performance situation), a development that can prompt them to consider how they are interpreting both the puppets and puppeteers, and the role of factors such as time, identity, or space in such interpretations. This idea was sparked in part by Snodgrass’ writing on the ways Bhats construct and reconstruct their identities and those of their patrons, and their occasional use of deception in doing so. It constitutes a challenge to the idea that as a researcher studying this group or an interested reader learning about them that it is possible to be a completely neutral and objective observer. These Bhat communities use stories to redefine themselves, something that is by no means exclusive to those communities, but by being explicit about this, it also becomes explicit that by reading and listening to these stories, we are audiences to them, and are thus part of this dynamic relationship where new understandings and meanings can be constructed. 

While less of a central focus, sensory and affective learning were also incorporated into the exhibit. The inclusion of videos of Kathputli performances allows for a multi-sensory experience, allowing the viewer to see the puppets in motion and to hear the music and narration that accompanies the performance. The videos also provide an affective experience, allowing for a more visceral, experiential understanding of the tone and atmosphere of the performances that could not be obtained from simply reading about them. Finally, the Omeka exhibits (both the map of the puppets’ bodies and the geographic map), as well as the linked 3D model provide a tactile experience to the viewer, allowing them to click on and zoom into the objects displayed as desired.