Tradition and Revolution in Indian Shadow Puppetry

Now - Oct 20, 2024

In collaboration with the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at UConn, the Mariposa is proud to present an exhibit curated by Rahul Koonathara celebrating the spectacular South Indian shadow puppet traditions of Tolu, Bommalatta, and Tholpavakoothu. 

Curator Rahul Koonathara earned an undergraduate degree in physics and is now completing a graduate degree in UConn's Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies program -- a study that is helping him explore how his family's legacy and art form fit into a global picture. Tradition and Revolution in Indian Shadow Puppetry includes rare artifacts from his family's collection and traces the story of both traditional and more recent forms. It also includes an interactive theater in which visitors can try their hand at shadow puppet performances!

The exhibit was also created with assistance from UConn dramatic arts professor Matthew Isaac Cohen and John Bell, director of the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry (BIMP), which is a copresenter here in NH.

For 13 generations, Rahul Koonathara's family performed shadow puppetry based on two Hindu epics, The Ramayana and The Mahābhārata. Performances, offered in the temple from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m., would take as many as 71 consecutive nights to tell stories about gods and goddesses, demons, and war. Puppets were treated as holy figures and the puppeteers' work was considered sacred practice. As modern life interfered, Koonathara's grandfather and father began introducing variations in design, construction, and content to ensure the art form continued. This exhibit explores those traditions and changes, beginning in the 1960s, which included moving performances from the temple to secular venues and performances that also focused on other topics, such as the life of Mahatma Gandhi, Jesus, the animal characters of The Panchatantra, and contemporary social and political themes.

The Work of Kevin Blythe Sampson. Thanks to the generous support of the Kohler Arts Center, nine sculptures by civil rights artist Kevin Blythe Sampson are now a permanent part of the Mariposa Museum & World Culture Center collection. Seven are on display in the third-floor gallery in Peterborough, NH. Two are in the Mariposa space in Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard.

Sculptures By Kevin Blythe Sampson

Jan. 3rd- TBD

Kevin retired early after the death of both his wife and infant son in separate illnesses. He and his two children then moved to the (ironbound section) of Newark, NJ, where he has lived for over nineteen years.

Kevin has extensive teaching experience at the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art where he taught for over 16 years, has run workshops at Rutgers Paul Robeson Gallery, and was the head art teacher for the Ironbound Community Center in Newark. He is a mentor to many Newark youths and has assisted a whole crop of young artists in obtaining admission into various art schools in the metro area.

Kevin attended Lincoln University, PA, for two years; Parson School of Design for two years; and is a graduate of the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art. He has been represented by Cavin-Morris Gallery in New York City since 1992. His work is in numerous collections, including several museums. Sampson received the Maria Walsh Sharp Foundation’s residency and the Joan Mitchell artist grant, as well as awards from various art councils throughout the state.

Kevin has been an artist-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and the Joan Mitchell Center in NOLA. He is concurrently involved in a major public art project for the City of Newark, where he will construct a 14-foot permanent sculpture for an art wall in a new location.

Kevin is a sculptor, painter, muralist, and airbrush artist recognized for tackling difficult issues. He was born in Elizabeth, NJ, on November 28, 1954. He considers himself to be a “we shall overcome baby” because he was the product of a household committed to civil rights and community concerns, and this continues to be a recurring theme in his work. Kevin's father, Stephen Sampson (deceased), was a civil rights leader in both Elizabeth and other parts of the state; he is Kevin's most important role model.

Sampson became a police officer and composite sketch artist in the city of Scotch Plains, NJ, where he served for over nineteen years. He received numerous commendations for his work as both a police composite artist and detective, including the 200 Clubs Medal of Valor (for saving a life).