Abstract

As a fellow of the Hungarian Academy of Arts, I am exploring traditional Japanese Bunraku puppet theatre and its potential for contemporary interpretation.

My studies examines the uncanny valley phenomenon in relation to puppet theatre, with particular emphasis on the traditional Japanese art of Bunraku, object theatre, and contemporary interdisciplinary practice. They focus on the perceptual, psychological, and aesthetic dynamics between stylization and human likeness. By examining the puppet paradox—a foundational theoretical and philosophical dilemma of puppetry, concerning the puppet’s simultaneous status as both lifeless and animate—my studies identify the mechanisms through which puppet theatre, especially Bunraku reframes evolutionary aversion, primarily via ritualized abstraction and the principle of jo-ha-kyū.

Studies

The Uncanny Valley and the Puppet Paradox
A Study on the Aesthetic and Perceptual Psychological Correlations of Stylization and the Uncanny Effect in Puppetry

Bunraku Tradition

Application of the Jo-ha-kyū Tradition in Contemporary Art

A Study on the Aesthetic and Ethical Role of Rhythmic and Abstraction Structures


Workshop

A Methodological Study of a Bunraku-Based Workshop System


Bunraku in Hungary

The Deconstruction and Contemporary Application of Tradition


Philosophy of Body and Puppet

Theoretical and Performative Approaches