On February 21, 2003 at 8:00 pm, the Rotunda Gallery at 33 Clinton Street, Brooklyn Heights, will present The Shadow and the Flag, a premiere event of contemporary puppet theatre performed by The Animated Neck and Stars puppet collective. This performance is on one night only, and admission is free, with reservations required. Call 718-875-4047, extension 11 or email brett_rotunda@hotmail.com.

Large-scale shadow puppets will appear within the darkened gallery space, flowing around the audience and animating the walls around them. The puppets combine with original music, sampler-based sound effects, and spoken dialogue to create the total experience. Partly improvisational and completely unique, The Shadow and the Flag was conceived as a companion piece to the Rotunda Gallery’s current exhibition, Critical Consumption, a group exhibition of artists who explore the impact of mass consumer culture through a variety of media. Taking its cue from the exhibition’s bold imagery and politicized edge, The Shadow and the Flag discovers the connections between the symbolism of flags, the omnipresent nature of sports like golf in American culture, and pop culture icon Johnny Carson. In the words of puppet performer and creator Clement Coleman, "hypnotic glowing lamps, softly humming music, and tremendously funny dialogue combine to explore what it means to be ubiquitous, and yet invisible" a la Carson’s persona. There will be an introduction to the performance and its themes by Critical Consumption curator Jonathan Allen.

The Animated Neck and Stars was founded in Philadelphia in 1995 as a way for numerous artists with eclectic talents to work together in a performance-based medium. The collective moved to Brooklyn in 1999, and now includes members in Chicago, California, New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia. The performers in The Shadow and the Flag, Clement Coleman, Tom Devaney, Jim Simon, Ted Casterline and Ben Freeman, individually represent many art forms including visual art, poetry, and avant-garde rock bands.