Shadow Puppets of Java and Bali on Exhibit at San Francisco International Airport

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Jane Sullivan
Manager Marketing and Communications
(650) 821-5123
SF-02-62

Shadow Puppets of Java and Bali on Exhibit at San Francisco International Airport

SAN FRANCISCO -- Visitors to San Francisco International Airport can now experience the sights and sounds of the famed shadow plays of Java and Bali. On view now through May 2003, Shadow Puppets of Java and Bali presents approximately 70 objects, photographs and video footage to explore the shadow puppet as both a unique work of art and an embodiment of one of the most culturally significant dramatic traditions found anywhere in the world.

The puppets featured in the exhibition, made of elaborately tooled and intricately painted water buffalo leather, are representative of those used frequently in the shadow plays. Depicting characters from the Mahabharata and Ramayana, two great Indian epics cherished in Java and Bali, the exhibition includes puppets of kings, princesses, clowns, dragons, demons and heroes. Topics related to the production of the shadow plays - such as puppeteers, stage sets, puppet making and some everyday uses of the characters - are explored via photographs and videotape.

Shadow Puppets of Java and Bali is located pre-security in Gallery D-1 on the Departures/Ticketing Level of T-3. The exhibition is open to the public 24 hours a day, free of charge.

San Francisco Airport Museums

The San Francisco Airport Museums program was established by the Airport Commission in 1980 for the purposes of humanizing the Airport environment, providing visibility for the unique cultural life of San Francisco, and providing educational services for the traveling public. Today, the San Francisco Airport Museums features twenty galleries throughout the Airport terminals displaying a rotating schedule of art, history, science, and cultural exhibitions. A permanent collection dedicated to the history of commercial aviation, the San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Library and Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum, is located in the International Terminal, open Sunday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed Saturdays and holidays.

S - F - O