Poetics and 'kultura': A study of contemporary Slovene and Croat puppetry

By placing both their professional and amateur theaters in the context of the broader cultural arena, this study investigates the scope and significance of contemporary Slovene and Croat puppetry. It examines the intersection of a once marginal art with both official cultural policy and parallel social movement. At the core of my analysis is the belief that Slovene and Croat puppetry serves a dual role: as cultural communicator and social commentator. Through textual analysis, interviews, and observation of performance and festival activity, I focused on the central aesthetic, social, structural, and ritual properties which inform Yugoslav puppet theater. I propose that these properties cut across the continuum of Slovene and Croat societies, and that, far from existing in a vacuum, puppetry has become an integral part of contemporary culture. Slovene and Croat puppetry function on numerous levels at once: they reflect basic cultural ideals and values, they serve as ethnic markers, they manifest state policy, and they provide a vehicle for artistic innovation and social action. Finally, because of the meaning of its symbolism and its own use as a cultural symbol, puppetry provides insight into the fundamental dynamics of cultural tradition and change.