Masking for Clarity

To see Masking for Clarity: working with Multimask, found objects and light - view http://www.photoblog.com/showoffs/2008/01/27/

This collection of my latest "signature compositions" emphasizes the portrayal of authentic (rings true) visual narrative through the mediums of mask and digital photography.

By "sitting in the masks" as i work, i find creative ways of exploring the conventions of masks and ways of challenging attitudes and ideas about them.

The best art comes from inside out

These are mask making students in Chicago. This picture was sent by Jeff Semmerling, a professional artist and art educator who is currently involved in the 2008 season of the New Orleans Mardi Gras. Jeff first arrived in New Orleans in 1981 and after becoming immersed in the carnival experience was spellbound by the ability of masks to allow people to express their eagerness to live.

Here is a snippet from an article about this extraordinary mask maker written by Kaity Nicastri:
"On the corner of Montrose and Damen, there is an understated storefront with the white sign above it proclaiming it "The Inside Out Art Studio: Serious Fun for Artists of All Ages". Inside this shop is a treasure trove of hand made masks and puppets created by an artist named Jeff Semmerling and his partner Sonja Schaefer. With training from the best mask-makers in New Orleans, Jeff has brought his passion for the masking experience back to his native Chicago. "When wearing a mask, it's not you; but yet it is you! That's the magic!" says Semmerling." http://www.insideoutarts.us/

"Senor Taco Salsa" (about Mardi Gras)

Mardi Gras is celebrated around the world but no one, it is said, does it like New Orleans. Twelfth Night (after Christmas), or January 6th, is when the New Orleans Mardi Gras month-long season begins - and continues until the midnight of Fat Tuesday, 5th February. Fat Tuesday is always the day before Ash Wednesday, and the day after the lesser known Rose Monday.

Mardi Gras parades have been staged in New Orleans since the 1837 (as evidenced by a first newspaper account describing masqueraders "in such grotesque and outlandish habiliments") and in 1857 the modern incarnation of Mardi Gras took shape with the founding of the first Krewe, a kind of official parading organisation. Today there are hundreds of Mardi Gras clubs that continue to conduct elaborate, colourful, outrageous political cabaret throughout the streets of New Orleans.

Katrina Gras - In 2005, after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the city opted to uphold its Mardi Gras tradition. Some people objected, but for others it was deemed a "therapeutic antidote" for what was perceived as a woefully inadequate government response to the disaster. Participants reportedly wore blue biohazard suits and blue tarps, and went about portraying blind people while wearing T-shirts that read "Levee Inspector".

For movie and more info check out http://www.mardigrasunmasked.com/

('Senior Taco Salsa' is a scarecrow found at the Lawrence Arts Festival, January '08, New Zealand.)