A Golden Time

As I have been researching Mackintosh, I also decided to see what the result is if I ask for Art Noveau masks. Many linear silhouetted masks came out, taking the vine-like organic structure of this style as guide.

Art Nouveau= Art should be employed in everyday life be part of it, in symbiosis, unable to exist without it.

Dionysus= gaiety should be part of our everydays, letting go of restraints.

Muse leather cut out mask in gold by TomBanwell on Etsy

"Rooted partly in the Industrial Revolution, and the Arts and Crafts Movement, but also influenced by Japonisme and Celtic designs, Art Nouveau was given a major boost by the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris.

Definition, Characteristics, Meaning, Focus of the Movement

There is no single definition or meaning of Art Nouveau. But the following are distinguishing factors. (1) Art Nouveau philosophy was in favour of applying artistic designs to everyday objects, in order to make beautiful things available to everyone. No object was too utilitarian to be "beautified". (2) Art Nouveau saw no separation in principle between fine art (painting and sculpture) and applied or decorative arts (ceramics, furniture, and other practical objects). (3) In content, the style was a reaction to a world of art which was dominated by the precise geometry of Neoclassical forms. It sought a new graphic design language, as far away as possible from the historical and classical models employed by the arts academies. (4) Art Nouveau remains something of an umbrella term which embraces a variety of stylistic interpretations: some artists used new low-cost materials and mass production methods while others used more expensive materials and valued high craftsmanship."

For more metal masks.


Art Nouveau à la Venice

I found some Art Nouveau Bronzed Venetian Wall Masks on ebay. It is up to each to decide just how related they feel it is to the artistic style, but one fundamental part is there, the application of beautiful metal (often of gold, natural, warm brown hues)

From the seller: "Dynamic, undulating curved lines charcterize the essence of the Art Nouveau Style. This beautiful Art piece has been created by Cold Casting Resin with a Bronze finish, a technique reproducing that special look once found with bronzes of yesteryear. [...] Each piece is uniquely hand made, and the designs copyrighted by Veronese."

The special langueur of the Art Nouveau age is attractive through its aged beauty, the promise of history and secrets. Purely bewitching is its nostalgic quality, even though we only imagine it to be such (imagining ourselves to have been part of the era to which decadent Art made such a difference). That is why even today we see so many replicas.

My favourite of these masks is the Butterfly Lady above, elegant with a simplistic beauty. That's what I feel I would like to aim for.

Natalia Pierendrei's artwork

More to come later!

The Age of Masks

One difficulty of the play is the need of a head on stage when Agave comes back from the Mount Citharion. An effective representation must be found for this, be it tactile (like a prosthetic head, the use of which I do not find attractive) or symbolic.

When we got the project I imagined I would much rather make use of masks than a prosthetic head, which in my case is out of question, I do not find them useful, as it would destroy the illusion and transport the audience back into themselves, making them aware of themselves, of the theatre.

So I took to the research of masks:

First the Ancient Greek of course, where the use of these objects was crucial to make the audience recognise the persona, the gender of the characters.

Notice the differences between these two pairs.

I personally found that the second ones from the pairs were a bit... perhaps wackier, more playful. And the first ones were more attractive, more worked upon, which for me raised its worth.

 Dionysus

Warrior

I cannot hold back from looking at wonders inspired by the faerie-folk. This organic, beautiful kin, has the lightness which I had originally attribute to the followers of Dionysus. 

 An Oberon mask from Fantasy Guilde Studios

Titania Mask from Fantasy Guilde Studios

Crypt Dweller from Fantasy Guilde Studios, for Pentheus?

Jane Klugstons Fantasy Fest masks

An elegant white fantasy mask

Fantasy masks on the firecer side

Serpent Lord

DLX Tauren mask

Another strange find was "Fantasy Masked Statues", I would most certainly would not want to bump into one of these by accident on a nighttime stroll. They certainly do set an "atmosphere" as the website cites.

After looking at fantasy inspired masks, my heart took me down the path it desired, I looked for "creepy masks" and I found this beautiful pair which I could imagine for my crazed Maenads:

Julia Sanderl made these in April 2008, on her site she wrote: "Here are the completed mask examples that I created. The fabric additions on the left mask were recycled headdress materials from my friend Lara."

About the female face she says: "This is a sample I made to demonstrate the process of mask-making for my students. Inspiration was derived from African art, and body art from a variety of cultures. While working on this face, I was thinking about the ritual scarring practiced by many African tribes, Maori facial tattoos, and the Indian art of Mehndi. The neck coils are reminiscent of the Kayan women of Myanmar and Thailand who modify their bodies by stretching out their necks with ornamental brass coils."

However, it is not just these masks that are inspiring, looking at the rest of her Art also has a tribal-esque playfulness to it.

A picture I took in Vrbnik on the island of Krk, Croatia this July.

More  to come later!