Towards a sublime expressiveness of the puppets

Abstract

Historically, it’s possible to identify four popular concepts regarding how puppets are perceived: as something magical/sacred, forbidden, for children and/or uncanny. This article presents a new category by analyzing how marionettes offer their spectators the possibility of experiencing the sublime manifestation, understanding “that simply the sublime is the presentation that there is something presented” (Lacoue-Labarthe, translated by me). On three productions: Chiflón, el silencio del carbón (Silencio Blanco), Feos (Teatro y su Doble) and Chaika (Belova-Iacobelli), the revealing of the being’s appearance is examined through the physical qualities, the actions and the way puppets present themselves on the performances, creating a unique and particular reality, organic to its own puppetry[1]. Therefore, the manifestation of the sublime emerges when the revealing of the real/truth occur in the puppet’s appearing (Seel), through its performative relation with other scenic elements and the spectator.

[1] Understanding puppetry in terms of the puppet’s specificity, as artistry is to the artistic or theatricality to the theatrical. See footnote number 8 for more information.