Spotlight on the Arts: Puppeteers and Diplomats
Two Connecticut Artists Perform in Bulgaria
Published: Jun 02, 2010
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Spotlight on the Arts: Puppeteers and Diplomats
Artist Adelka Polak holds a puppet during a festival in Bulgaria.
all things connecticut
In this Spotlight on the Arts segment, Ed Wierzbicki explored the work of Larry Hunt and Adelka Polak, two Connecticut artists who took their award-winning Masque Theatre to the Pierrot International Festival of Puppetry in Bulgaria to discover how the non-verbal “language” of mask and puppet theatre can transcend the spoken word. They joined performers from across Europe in a six-day celebration held on four different stages.
"Art is an observation," Polak said. "I essentially believe that to be an artist you have to be able to observe. And being an entirely different culture is incredible in the sense that it opens your eyes up to various perspectives."
There were circus performers and others on the street. "Everything was so interactive," Polak said.
The work of these two Connecticut puppeters has a lot in common with artists from all over Eastern Europe. Both include allegory, metaphor and movement. "It's a great medium to share because arts are universally known," Hunt said.
The artists were de facto ambassadors to a country that sees Americans primarily through the lens of politics and exported popular culture. "What the people think and feel means something," Polak said.
Masked theatre proves that meaning doesn't always require words.
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