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[Academics] Academia Sinica's Institute of Ethnology Opens Exhibition of Historical and Contemporary Dolls and Puppets

Posted by techman 
[Academics] Academia Sinica's Institute of Ethnology Opens Exhibition of Historical and Contemporary Dolls and Puppets (Chinese Version)

Academia Sinica Newsletter (2012/10/17) The Institute of Ethnology opened an exhibition of dolls, puppets and figurines entitled “Go! Figures: The Culture and Charisma of Statues, Puppets, and Dolls” on October 17. The display will run from October 17, 2012 to July 31, 2013, every Wednesday and Saturday. The display compares different types of Chinese and Taiwanese figurines across history, exploring their diversity of style and function. Through the exhibition the Institute hopes to show how anthropology makes connections between the contemporary and the ancient, the everyday and the extraordinary.

Puppets and dolls have played a prominent role throughout the history of the ethnic Chinese peoples and have been made for many purposes. Dolls have been made to accompany dead rulers in the afterlife, as toys for children, and also for ornamental or architectural reasons. Figurines have also played important roles in religion and art. In addition to their traditional functions, figurines and images of humans are also seen daily in contemporary Taiwan in such roles as logo characters for enterprises and politicians, and as figurines of well-known manga and anime characters (gongzai公仔) that dangle from cell-phones, key chains, or book bags.

Through comparing figurines from different eras, a great deal can be learnt about how the ideals of beauty and the relationship between the body and spirit have changed over time. Figurines and photographs of artifacts spanning over 3000 years of ethnic Chinese cultures have been collected for the exhibition. These include photos of the Terracotta Warriors from the Qin Dynasty; a 17th century Dutch representation of Guan Gong (關公); puppet stars from the Pili International Multimedia Company’s television series (霹靂布袋戲); cute plastic toys of deities sold in convenience stores; as well as designer toys from Hong Kong and Taiwan. By observing the diversity of styles, visitors can learn how society defines the image of a “human”, and how a hero or celebrity of the time is recognized.

Huge boards with photos illustrate how certain collectible toys were produced - by making of a prototype, and a plastic mold with an injection machine - and the details of how to polish and color the models are explained.

The exhibition has been jointly organized by Academia Sinica's Institute of Ethnology and the Museum of the Institute of Ethnology, and co-organized by Lin Liu-Hsin Puppet Theatre Museum, the National Museum of History and National Taiwan Museum. The exhibition has been curated by Dr. Teri J. SILVIO, Associate Research Fellow of the Institute of Ethnology. Dr. SILVIO received her doctorate in anthropology from the University of Chicago. Her research areas include Taiwanese opera, hand puppet drama, fashion, culture and the mass media, and gender studies. She is a big fan of figurines and has personally collected a huge number of figures. Thanks to her generosity, visitors can view several precious figures that have long been out of production.

Reservation of guided tours: Free guided tours can be arranged for groups of 10-20 people. Please e-mail or fax your application to us 15-60 days before the planned visit. For more information please visit: http://www.ioe.sinica.edu.tw/tool/museum/html/Visit.html


Media Contacts:
Chiung-Ying TSENG, Museum of Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica moorbear@gate.sinica.edu.tw (Tel) + 886-2-2652-3308 (M) + 886-928-005-077
Ms. Pearl HUANG, Office of the Director General, Central Office of Administration, Academia Sinica pearlhuang@gate.sinica.edu.tw
(Tel) +886-2-2789-8820 (Fax) +886-2-2782-1551(M) +886-912-831-188
Ms. Mei-Hui LIN, Office of the Director General, Central Office of Administration, Academia Sinica mhlin313@gate.sinica.edu.tw
(Tel) +886-2-2789-8821 (Fax) +886-2-2782-1551 (M) +886-921-845-234


Further Information:
Academia Sinica Newsletter 2012/10/17

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/2012 07:00PM by techman.
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