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(04/02/03 5:45am)
Tiny, smiling faces lined up outside of the Monroe County Library auditorium Saturday. Members of the audience arrived 15 minutes early to get their tickets for the Puck Players' production of "Babar." Playing at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., the show was free to the public and geared toward children ages 2 to 6.\nChildren clutched their parents' hands and walked into the dimly lit auditorium. Nina Ost, master puppeteer and organizer of Puck Players, greeted them. Her voice was warm and friendly and she acknowledged every child as he or she walked through the door. \nOst has been with Puck Players since it began in 1967. She said all of their props and puppets are handmade. Today, the group includes 10 puppeteers, who rehearse at Ost's house.\n"We do not have a studio," Ost said. "We store everything in a bedroom at my house, and we also rehearse there."\nPuck Players has been performing at the library auditorium since 1971. \n"The show, 'Babar,' is 15-20 years old," Ost said.\nThe show began with Ost interacting with the children. They sang "Three Little Monkeys" under the her direction. She then told the children to stand and jump up and down three times. The children participated enthusiastically and were responsive to the activities Ost had planned for them.\nIU graduate student Greta Gard said her daughter said they had a lot of fun at the show. This was the second puppet show the two had seen by Puck Players at the library. Gard's daughter jumped up and down beside her mother while Ost led the audience in a song. When the show began, the little girl sat on her mother's lap and watched intently as the characters came alive on stage.\n"She was very drawn into the performance," Gard said.\nThe first puppet that appeared on stage was a little, old lady that introduced herself as a friend of the animals. She talked to the children about how some animals do not belong in cages, like her friends Babar and Celeste. \n"We do not have a set script," Ost said. "We use an outline, instead. We want to stay flexible for the children, so they can be included."\nThe impromptu structure of the show allows children to communicate to the puppets without changing the plot of the story. During the show, children helped the two elephants, Celeste and Babar, by telling them where the Ringmaster took their friend, Zephir the monkey.\n"Where's Zephir?" Babar asked.\n"Someone took him," the children answered back.\nGard said her daughter's favorite character was Zephir, and her daughter did not like the part where the "bad man takes the animals."\nThe ringmaster took Zephir away in a hot air balloon, a train and then a truck. The elephants followed closely behind using the same transportation as the Ringmaster. They arrived at the circus tent unable to find Zephir. The Ringmaster distracted them from finding their friend by hypnotizing them.\nGard's daughter laughed loudly as the Ringmaster waved a gold watch in front of Babar and Celeste's faces and then forced them to do "stupid, silly tricks."\nIn the end, the old lady rescued Babar, Celeste and Zephir. She hypnotized the Ringmaster and forced him to do "stupid, silly tricks." Babar asked what would happen to the wicked Ringmaster and the old lady answered, "He will remain mean and nasty." \nShe then told the elephants they had to hurry so they can could their ride on the 747. The adults in the audience laughed at the idea of two elephants and a monkey riding on a 747.\nThe Friends of the Library funds the puppet shows. Frasier said the members of this organization pay a fee of $10 per individual or $25 per family. The group helps to fund the book sale at the library every Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. as well as helping to pay for the collection of books located in the children's department, special guests, entertainment and different activities for children, such as the puppet shows. \nGard said they will definitely attend future shows.\n"My daughter really enjoys the stories, and the atmosphere in the auditorium is very relaxed and comfortable," she said.\nChildren's librarian Mary Frasier said Puck Players normally performs for the library three times in the fall and three times in the spring. Puck Players will perform Babar for a second time at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., Saturday, April 5. This will be the last show of the spring season. All shows are free to the public, but tickets must be reserved ahead of time by calling the Monroe County Library Children's Department at 349-3100.
(03/05/03 4:14am)
A current School of Fine Arts Gallery exhibit presents different views of female sexuality from the perspectives of male and female artists from diverse time periods. \nThe exhibit, titled "Feminine Persuasion," is part of a yearlong celebration of the 50th anniversary of the publication of "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female," by noted sexologist Alfred C. Kinsey and his research colleagues. \nSix female contemporary artists were invited to display their work in the show, said Betsy Stirratt, SoFA Gallery director. Artwork was also borrowed directly from the artists or private collections. \nThe largest part of the exhibit presents pieces from the Kinsey Institute collections. Stirratt chose the works along with Kinsey Institute Curator Catherine Johnson. The duo has also put together a book -- "Feminine Persuasion: Art and Essays on Sexuality." Published by IU Press, the book contains a list of all the exhibited works and also scholarly essays that discuss the illustrations. \nThe exhibit is designed for mature audiences.\n"We have signs posted outside the gallery to explain that the show contains sexual images," Johnson said. "We do not want anyone who enters the exhibit to be surprised by the sexually explicit artwork."\nOne of the exhibited pieces is an installation of two large yellow balloons covered with black netting. The balloons rest on layers of black and yellow ruffles. Stirratt spoke with a group of students about the balloon piece.\n"This artist is making fun of herself and women's sexuality," Stirratt said.\nThree such pieces in the exhibit were contributed by American artist Nancy Davidson. Davidson provides a humorous commentary on the objectification of women's bodies in modern society, Johnson said. One of Davidson's pieces, "Crystal Blue Persuasion," resembles a huge mound of large, cloth-covered balloons meant to suggest female body parts -- breasts for the most part, Johnson said.\nBecause of its base in women's work, this exhibit differs from other shows the gallery has hosted in the past. Stirratt said women artists today are dealing with their sexuality in a different way than they have in the past. Stirratt also said that female artists today are more assertive with their art, and they are influenced by the work of earlier artists such as Judy Chicago and Yoko Ono. \n"These artists are people who happen to be women," Stirratt said. "They are not women first."\nWomen artists in the middle of the 20th century would not have considered using sexuality as a subject for their artwork, Johnson said. She said women artists today are not afraid to use sexual imagery to express their ideas. \nJohnson and Stirratt agreed that women's views on sexuality have changed over the years.\n"All women today think differently and feel differently about their sexuality," Stirratt said. "It would be wrong to say all women are the same and they feel the same about sexuality."\nKinsey's publication of his research in the field of female sexuality allowed women the opportunity to be open about their sexuality. \n"Fifty years ago, it was thought that women were not as interested in sex as men. It was said that as many as 75 percent of women were 'frigid' (unable to experience sexual pleasure)," Johnson said. "Many women accepted the belief that 'nice girls' did not have sex before marriage. Some of these beliefs linger on today, but in general, women now view their own sexual pleasure as important in a relationship."\nCarlie Lowe, a sophomore studying art education, said her favorite piece in the show is a photograph of a women buried underneath a white sheet. Lowe said the exhibit is interesting and not offensive to people who are mature enough to handle it.\n"You have to be prepared to look," Lowe said. "It is how people express themselves and what they are trying to express."\nJohnson said they did not select the pieces for shock value, and she would not describe the exhibit as "in your face."\n"Our first major exhibition in 1997 was probably more surprising to viewers, mostly because it was the first time the Kinsey Institute's collections had been made available to the public audience," Johnson said.\nCassie Doyle, a graduate student in classical studies, questions the selection of some of the pieces in the exhibit, she said.\n"Some of the material seems too pornographic," Doyle said.\nAlthough Doyle is shocked to see some of the pieces in the show, she said the exhibit is liberating for women and it presents a catalog on women's sexuality.\nStirratt said she does not consider the exhibit offensive to people. \n"Some people are baffled by the contemporary pieces, especially the video pieces by the Chinese American artist, Patty Chang," she said. "Her message is about being uncomfortable and that may mean that people feel uncomfortable when looking at her work."\nJohnson said they hope this exhibit speaks to students as well as other members of the IU community. She also said they want members of the larger Bloomington community to enjoy seeing the exhibition.\n"We hope that men and women will come away from the exhibition with an increased understanding of the breadth of women's sexuality -- that it is much more than just the sexual act," Johnson said.