Visual Taste Composition

This is a wee 'taste' of where my mask making is going. This mask is made out of meat, yes, rosy-pink proscuitto! I found the proscuitto to be an excellent moulding material. Sadly, i have had to take the "meat mask" out of the spare room where it was drying because it was getting a bit whiffy. Next i tried making a "sushi mask" from wet seaweed, which looked rather nice to begin with but as it dried it started to buckle and peel off the mould, so that one is a work-in-progress. You might be wondering what is the point of making masks out of edible kitchen materials and foodstuffs...it's the duo-challenge of using unusual materials artistically and finding beauty where you least expect it! Why make a sandwich when you can make a piece of mask art?

TinkerBelle

Since a young 14-year-old member of our family left his bag of skin and bones behind...i have been making lots of winged mask characters. I have made five butterfly mask compositions (one more to go), and this...the first in a TinkerBelle Series.

Dunedin Midwinter Carnival '08

It is Winter Solstice here in Dunedin and time to celebrate the shortest day/longest night with our annual Midwinter Carnival where hundreds of lantern-bearers, young and old, take to the streets with hand crafted, candlelit paper lanterns. This year's theme was New Zealand birds so huge papery tuis, albatross, fantail, owls featured in the pagaent. Seven masked dancers looked enchanting with their whitened hair, faces and "winter sprite masks". An extravagant fireworks show sent sparks raining down on the rapt crowd and the paper firebird lanterns. Conditions couldn't have been better with the weather mild and the night crisp, clear and windless, quite a contrast to last year when the event had to be cancelled due to a wild snowstorm. Note: The figure in the white mask holding the Owl Lantern is moi!!

Ochre Eyes: Pamela Croft Response Exhibition Australia

Typically the Aboriginal artist adopts a viewpoint which elevates the mind’s eye to a broader panoramic view - a bird’s eye view approach called “spirit perspective”. Such an aerial view involves a marvelous look; a look that does not take but receives in the mansion of the mind…the only sustainable viewpoint.

In response to Dr. Pamela Croft’s textured visual narrative workshop at TAFTA, Brisbane, June 2007, this artwork features two masks. The two masks are about differing perspectives or viewpoints (both ways of seeing). The “ochre eyes” mask represents the indigenous “spirit perspective”, while the white “exploded”* mask represents the disintegrating power of the white (Western) gaze.

*The white mask ‘exploded’ during its hot pressed paper moulding process and so, rather than discard it because of its imperfection, I used it as it was. The words "Finally, like broken eggshell, the face of white mischief cracks...and falls away" were later added around the rim.

After a lifetime of looking at things solely through a white Western perspective your eyes get lost. Making this textured visual narrative was an eye-quest to find my way home. This 12 x 12 Composition in Mask is created from two Multimasks (premoulded recycled paper base masks), ethically-sourced Australian ochre, shoe polish, acrylic paints, recycled sari silk, stretched canvas frame, ripped brochure “Broken Links: the Stolen Generations in Queensland” decoupage.

Rose Monday

Rose Monday 4th February '08 (which precedes Shrove Tuesday) is marked by huge masked parades in the cities of Cologne, Dusseldorf and Mainz when these carnival centres are crowded with visitors. Musicians in costume, dance troupes, huge floats manifesting political satire, jesters, false noses, confetti, fancy hats, dress-ups and rose-throwing mean it must be Rose Monday in Germany.

Rose Monday festivities began in the early 19th century and have become an annual fixture. Rose Monday is the highlight of the carnival period - sometimes called "the fifth season" - which began its preparations on the 11th November '07 right up until Ash Wednesday (6th February '08) on which day Lent begins and lasts until Easter.

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/