Masks: Faces of Culture

Grade 9 C lay Un i t

Why study masks in ART?

• Masks have been around for at least 20,00 years

• Mask were and still are made in almost all cultures and civilizations for varying purposes

• Mask are used for different reasons and can be divided into masks that are used for ritual reasons, for protection, disguise and entertainment..

• Masks can transform the identity of the wearer.

• They allow us to replace one reality over another

• While it is perfectly acceptable to enjoy masks from many cultures as rich colorful works of art, one can gain a deeper understanding by considering how masks are used in a particular culture and the meanings or traditions that wearing the masks brings.

What’s the point of a Mask?

Masks have several important

social functions:

1. to conceal one’s identity (as in masquerade

party)

2. to frighten or amuse (as in Halloween)

3. for ritual (as in religious or magic

ceremonies)

4. for performances ( as in actors and

dancers)..

Although today masks are worn

mostly for fun, some have serious

uses.

The surgeon wears a mask to

protect her from getting germs,

the soldier a gas mask to protect

him from poisonous fumes

football or hockey player wears

one to avoid injury to his face.

One of the most

famous masks is the

death mask of the

boy king, the

Pharaoh

Tutankhamen.

We will be looking at 3 types of masks

1) Ceremonial• have different characteristics and functions,

depending on the culture that is associated with the particular mask.

• There are some areas in the world where masks:• are worn to communicate with ancestors• to ward off evil spirits, • to entertain a crowd through dramatic arts,• or to express prestige and wealth.

Duk-duk and Tubuan

• masks of New Guinea were used to intimidate other members of the tribe and enforce social codes.

2) Festival• An occasion for feasting or celebration,

especially a day or time of religious significance

• An often regularly recurring program of cultural performances, exhibitions,

• Decorative with some meaning

“Moretta muta”,

• an oval mask that women wear for Carnival in Venice

• has no straps to be fastened to the head.

• Instead, it has a button on the inner side that is held in the mouth and with that mask is held to the face.

3) Theatrical

• The image of juxtaposed Comedy and Tragedy masks are widely used to represent the Performing Arts, and specifically Drama.

Ancient Greek

• Ancient Greek’s masks that were used in theater had brass megaphones, where the mouth of mask is, to amplify what actors are talking.

. North American Masks

Native Americans have a rich

history in mask making. They

wore masks in many of their

ceremonies.

• A star of Topeng dance from Indonesia can have 30 to 40 masks that are for his use only.

• No one else can use those masks because it is believed that it will offend spirits that reside in them.

• When a Topang dancer dies, masks that he used are never moved from the place where they were at the moment of his death.

Indonesia: Topeng Dance

A n c i e n t E g y p t i a n

• Ancient Egyptian death masks were made so the soul can recognize the body as well as help the deceased to be accepted by other divine immortals in the afterlife.

• In Chinese opera all masks are color coded and every color describes personality of the character that mask represents. That way audience get better and faster picture about characters and their relationships.

Chinese Opera

• Red used on masks indicates a positive character, heroism.

• Purple can represent justice and sophistication.• Black means that the character is neutral. • Blue faces show stubbornness, astuteness and

fierceness.• Green shows that the character is violent,

impulsive and lacks restraint.• Yellow tells the audience that the character is

cruel. Yellow can also mean evil, hypocritical, ambitious or sly.

• White faces indicate that the character is evil and

• In African tribes, mask wearing is reserved mostly for men. Even wearing of masks that represent female beauty.

African Masks

• Japanese theater Noh masks are made with such a skill that they can convey different emotions with expressions depending on angle in which mask is seen or on the light that falls on the mask -without moving parts.

Japanese Noh

Bali

• After the end of Topengdance, custom is that one of the jesters, that did storytelling, must rush into the crowd, grab a child and take it behind the curtain. There, a child would be given candies to share with his friends.

Medieval

• Masks were also used as methods of punishment or shaming as a punishment.

War Masks (Roman)• In wars and fights, masks were

not only for protecting the face but also, if made for that purpose, methods of intimidating the enemy..

• In Korea, mask dances were methods of entertainment but also an opportunity for satire and social commentary.

Korean Mask

Rite of Passage Mask

This mask is used in ceremonies that mark a boy’s passage from boyhood to manhood.

Dancers would wear these carved wooden masks in a ceremony that would focus on building a strong identity for the young man they celebrated.

The mask you see is one of a very few original masks that have survived today. These masks are now rarely carved.Lakisi Initiation

Mask from Africa

This mask is worn by male dancers during the planting and harvest ceremonies.

The mask is used in ceremony to keep bad spirits from taking over and destroying the crops. This is the same mask worn by the ancestors who protected the crops in years before.

This mask is made from wood with a fiber hat and feathers.

Harvest Dance Mask from Indonesia

SikkimThis mask is from the Himilayan

country of Sikkim.

It represents the Lord of the Dead,

Mahakalla, who is featured at the

New Year’s Festivals.

As in other cultures that have such a

character, Mahakalla took the souls

of the dead from the world of the

living to the world of the dead.

By acting out these myths each year,

adults pass the story on to young

people.

INDIA

In northeastern India there is

a three day spring dance

festival held in honor of the

gods Shiva.

Shiva represented by this

mask, is the creator and the

destroyer of the universe;

Stories about the gods are

acted out in ballet like dance

dramas.

CANADA•false face mask

•. It was used to chase away the evil

spirits that were believed to have entered

a person’s body and made the person

sick.

• The design of the mask was carved

removed without killing the tree.

• It was thought that the spirit of the tree

would enter the mask and make it more

powerful.

•Horsehair hairs and animal teeth were

sometimes added to the mask.

MEXICOThroughout Mexico, The Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), is celebrated on

November 1st and 2nd each year.

In a Halloween –like spirit of fun, the souls of

the dead are invited to return to earth to enjoy

their family and friends again. People in parades

wear masks.

http://www.historyofmasks.net/mask-history/