Puppets, like comics characters, get away with murder. From domestic violence a la Punch and Judy to racism and atonement via William Kentridge's Handspring Puppet Company, to the gleeful exposure of society's dirty laundry by Kara Walker or the scatological muckraking by the team that brought you "South Park," no subject is off limits. Avatars and sock puppets signify displaced identity and manipulation, central themes in entertainment and communications today.

"The Puppet Show," currently on view at Philadelphia's Institute of Contemporary Art is International in scope and brings together work by 30 artists of several generations. It looks at the use and imagery of puppets in contemporary art and popular culture, and comes with the warning, "This exhibition contains adult content."

Above, left: Theme for a Major Hit,l 1974, by Dennis Oppenheim; right: The Persuaders, 2003, by Charlie White. Courtesy of the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania.

While the show is not about puppet theater per se, some of the works involve actual puppets and artists performing as puppeteers. Marionettes, finger puppets, hand puppets, shadow puppets, ventriloquist dummies: images of puppets in many forms are on display.

Through photographs and videos that dig deeply into such topics as miniaturization and outside control, puppetry's subversive political and psychological terrain is revealed. Among the artists represented in the show are Kiki Smith, Paul McCarthy, Andy Warhol, Louise Bourgeoise, Bruce Naumann, William Kentridge, Kara Walker, Dennis Oppenheim, Dan Graham, Charlie White, Mike Kelley, Laurie Simmons, and Nayland Blake.

The exhibition, which runs through March 30, was curated by Ingrid Schaffner, Senior Curator of the ICA, and Carin Kuoni, Director of The Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School, New York.

On Wednesday, January 30 at 7:00 pm, the curators will be joined by artist Terence Gower, who also designed the exhibition, to talk about puppets, art and politics. They invite you to bring your ideas, and to participate in a discussion about why puppets are relevant today. Please check the website for details about this and other upcoming public programs.

The exhibition then travels to the Santa Monica Museum of Art in California, opening on May 16th. For information about the subsequent tour to Honolulu, Houston, and Seattle, please visit the website.