African Mask

There were many inspirations to choose from for this project, as each mask seems to have some unique element that I am attracted to. For this project I was looking to represent something similar to the Nkondi figure in our text; somethig that would represent the darker world of African art. The first source of inspiration was from a mask made of wood, cloth, brass belts, human teeth, and black raffia. It was titled Dan "Deangle", yet I am not sure exactly where it originated or what specific purpose it served, if any.

I think this mask captures many of the common elements of African culture discussed in our text, from the intense spiritual nature of the people to the incorporation of the magical and representation of evil sometimes depicted in their masks. I like the darkness of this piece, which is emphasized by the lifelike quality evoked from the use of real human teeth and the visual representation of real hair, these elements contrasting with the general simplicity of the facial features seen in the nose and eyes, as well as the general shape of the face. The brass bells attached to the lower half of the face provides a strong spiritual relation, and may signal the use of this mask in some form of ceremonial ritual.

This Mbala mask originates from the Pende people, and while using mixed media like the last piece, the features are more stylized or abstracted into simple geometric shapes. I chose this mask because of these simplistic forms, especially the use of curved line to depict the eyebrow, eyes, and mouth, a similar feature of Brancusi's Mademoiselle Pogany II at the Albright Knox. Like the Mademoiselle, these features are strong and the carving precise to create a symmetrical balance to the features. The use of the straw material serves to contrast the smoothness of the face and represents the use of varying texture which is seen in many African masks.

These two masks are similar in their simplistic geometric forms to represent the facial features and oval shape of the head. We see the same sense of symmetry as in the other pieces, yet both of these also incorporate a stronger sense of design depicted in the pattern of the raised bumps down the middle of the forehead and cheeks on the mask on the left, and the similar use of such texture and design depicted on the headress and cheeks to the mask on the right. I chose these for their stylized form, which I felt was a bit more pronounced than the last piece.

I constructed my own piece of wax. I really didn't sketch anything, and instead had a general idea to use simple, geometric form and highlight the contrasting use of texture seen in many of these masks. I also wanted to give off that same sense of the darker, evil side of spirituality as seen in the Nkondi figure. While I am satisfied with the result of my mask, I will go back and spend more time to refine it to the point I want it. I found this project interesting and inspiring, as the possibilities for different masks are seemingly endless. I was not happy with the flash reflecting off the wax, but these are some of the better pictures to present.