MASK

Updated 04-May-2020.

Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about MASK!

Mask makers of Mas, Bali Travel Video Guide: Just out of Ubud you can find the village of Mas. Various villages around Bali specialise in particular craft. Mas is famous for it’s mask making. The masks …

damselfrau: a peek behind the many masks of the london-based artist: designboom peers behind the mask of norwegian artist damselfrau, taking a closer look at her arrestingly beautiful works of wearable art.

My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: masks have been used since antiquity for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment . “mask” is the term for a face without a body that is not modelled in the round (which would make it it may also come from Provençal mascarar “to black (the face)” this in turn is of uncertain origin – perhaps from mask- “black” a borrowing from a pre-Indo-European the use of masks dates back several millennia . the oldest masks that have been discovered are 9,000 years old . masks are held by museums in paris and jerusalem . masks are visible only in paleolithic cave drawings, of which dozens have been preserved . at the neanderthal Roche-Cotard site in France, a flintstone likeness of the use of carnivalesque masks in the Jewish Purim festivities probably originated in the late 15th century . some Jewish authors claim it has always been part of Judaic tradition . the north american Iroquois tribe the image of juxtaposed Comedy and Tragedy masks is widely used to represent the Performing Arts, and specifically drama . in many dramatic traditions masks were or are typically worn by all the performers, with several different types of masks were wax casts kept in a lararium, the family shrine . at funerals, professional actors would wear them to perform deeds of the lives of the ancestors . masks are the continued popularity of wearing masks at carnival, and for children at parties and for festivals such as Halloween are good examples . nowadays these are usually mass-produced plastic masks, often associated with popular films, TV programmes, or cartoon characters biologist Jeremy Griffith has suggested that ritual masks, as representations of the human face, are extremely revealing of the two fundamental aspects of human psychological condition . in parts of Australia giant totem masks cover the body . Djolé (also known as Jolé or Yolé) is a mask-dance from Temine people in Sierra Leone . many African masks represent animals . some african tribes believe masks can help the Dogon of Mali have complex religions that also have animal masks . antelope masks are rough rectangular boxes with several horns coming out of the top . most of the ceremonies of the dogon culture are the antelope is believed to have taught man the secrets of agriculture . to the Bamana people, swords represent sprouting of grain . masks may also indicate a culture’s ideal of feminine beauty . the masks of Punu of Gabon have highly arched eyebrows, almost almond-shaped eyes and a narrow chin . the raised strip running from both sides of the nose to the ears represent jewellery . only men wear the Idia’s Mask of Benin is believed to have been commissioned by a king in memory of his mother . to honor his dead mother, the king wore the mask on his hip during special ceremonies many african masks are now being produced for the tourist trade . the qualities of African art are beginning to be more understood and appreciated . the mask is regarded as an instrument of revelation, giving form to the sacred . it is often done by linking the mask to an ancestral presence . many mask types relate to use in religious ceremonies devoted to ancestors melanesian mask forms have developed in a highly diversified fashion . they are conical masks, made from cane and leaves . in some areas, annual shamanic ceremonies involved masked dances Inuit women use finger masks during storytelling and dancing . carving of masks was an important feature of wood craft . shields, canoes, poles, and houses often combined utilitarian with symbolic . the Iroquois made spectacular wooden ‘false face’ masks, used in healing ceremonies and carved from living trees . Pueblo craftsmen produced impressive work for masked religious ritual, especially the Hopi Navajo masks appear to be inspired by the Pueblo prototypes . masking is a common feature of mardi gras traditions, most notably in new orleans . laws against concealing in the Andes, masks were used to dress the faces of the dead . in post-colonial Latin America, pre-Columbian traditions merged with Christian rituals . syncretic masquerades and ceremonies Mexico retains a great deal of creativity in the production of masks, encouraged by collectors . wrestling matches are very popular, and many wrestlers can be considered folk heroes . countries that have strong Indian cultural influences have developed the masks share an aesthetic with the carved images of monstrous heads that dominate the facades of Hindu and Buddhist temples . these faces or Kirtimukhas, ‘Visages of Glory’, are intended in Java and Bali, masked dance is commonly called topeng and demonstrated Hindu influences . images of people wearing masks have been found in rock paintings along the Yangtze . later mask forms brings together myths and symbols from opera masks were used in a basic “common” form of opera performed without a stage or backdrops . the present uses are as miniature masks for tourist souvenirs, or on mobile phones . “swallowing the oldest masks are the gigaku. the form no longer exists, and was probably a type of dance presentation . the bugaku developed from this – a complex dance-drama that used masks with moveable jaw the n mask is the supreme achievement of Japanese mask-making . the masks are worn throughout very long performances and are consequently very light . Kabuki is the theatre of modern Japan, rooted in the older folk theatre – mime, mask, puppetry, farce, juggling – had a ritual context in that it was performed at religious or rites of passage such as days of naming, circumcisions, ancient masks are preserved and can be seen in museums and other collections . most probably represent nature spirits, and as a result many customs are seasonal . original significance would have survived until the introduction of Christianity . the oldest representations of masks are animal masks, such as the cave paintings of Lascaux in the Dordogne in southern France . monsters, bears, wild men, harlequins, hobby masks, noise, colour and clamour are meant to drive away the forces of darkness and winter . in Sardinia existed the tradition of Mamuthones e Issohadores of Mamoi by the late 16th century the Venetian Carnival began to reach its peak . it lasted a whole ‘season’ from January until Lent . by the 18th century, it was already a tourist attraction the survival of carnival in the 19th century was often a consequence of a self-conscious ‘folklore’ movement . today masks are often replaced with face paint for more comfort . in the beginning it is considered to be the mask of a Thracian king, presumably Teres . in many cultural traditions, the masked performer is a central concept and is highly valued . actors in ancient in medieval Europe, masks were used in mystery and miracle plays to portray allegorical creatures . in contemporary western theatre, the mask is often used alongside puppetry to create a theatre which is essentially visual rather than verbal masks are an important part of many theatre forms throughout world cultures . in the 20th century, many theatre practitioners attempted to move away from Naturalism . they turned to sources such as oriental theatre and commedia dell’art Craig’s ideas were taken up by Brecht, Cocteau, Genet, Eugene O’Neill . Copeau’s work with masks was taken on by his students including Etienne Decroux and Jacques lecoq’s pedagogy has been hugely influential for theatre practitioners in Europe working with mask . work with masks also relates to performing with portable structures and puppetry . “the smallest mask in the world students of Lecoq have continued using masks in their work after leaving school . in America, mask-work was slower to arrive, but groups like the San Francisco Mime Troupe and Bread and Puppet Theatre took advantage companies combine masks, music and puppetry to create a visual theatrical form . in the u.s. and canada, these companies have a strong social agenda . they influence the next generation of groups working in visual theatre there is a long history of protective armour and even medical masks to ward off plague . the contrast with performance masks is not always clear-cut . in roman gladiatorial tournaments masks were sometimes used in medieval Europe and in Japan soldiers and samurai wore similarly ferocious-looking protective armour . in sport the protective mask will often have a secondary function to make the wearer appear more impressive as masks are used by penitents in ceremonies to disguise their identity in order to make the act of penitence more selfless . semana santa parades throughout Spain and in Hispanic or Catholic countries members of vigilante groups Anonymous wear masks when they attend protests . the niqb usually shows membership of some Islamic community . it falls under some anti-mask laws such as the french ban on face covering the mask is considered “sacred” to some degree, placing its role closer to the ritual and performance function . use of masks is also common in BDSM practices . this is often described as a masque, and artists like Isamaya Ffrench and Damselfrau create masks as wearable art . wrestling masks are used most widely in Mexican and Japanese wrestling . masks look down upon in the united states and canada leather-working, steampunk, and other methods are occasionally used to create artisanal gas masks . notable examples include Jason Voorhees of the Friday the 13th series, Jigsaw Killer from Saw a death mask is a mask cast from or applied to the face of a recently deceased person . an animal roleplay mask is used for people to create an animal-like image in fetish role play . the Norman, Oklahoma 73018, USA: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-2126-2.CS1 maint: location (link) Hessel, Ingo; Hessel Dieter (1998). Inuit Art. ISBN 0-7141-2545-8.CS1 maint: location (link) Kleivan, Inge; B. Sonne (1985). Eskimos: Greenland and Canada. Iconography of religions, section ISBN 90-04-07160-1. Mauss, Marcel (1979) [c1950]. in collab. with Henri Beuchat; translated, with a foreword, by James J. Fox. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. ISBN 0-415-33035-1 “Cosmological Cycles and the Constituents of the Person”. in S. A. Mousalimas (ed.). Arctic Ecology and Identity. ISTOR Books 8. pp. 85–101. ISBN 963-05-6629-X. Rasmussen, Knud (1926). Thulefahrt. Frankfurt am Main: Frankurter Societàtăts-Druckerei. Rasmussen, Knud (1965). Thulei utazás. Világ Budapest: Gondolat. Hungarian translation of Rasmussen 1926. Sivin, Carole (1986). “Maskmaking”. Worcester, Massachusetts, USA: Davis Publications, Inc. Smith, Susan Valeria Harris, “Masks in Modern Drama”, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984.