Masking Intensions

For my project I wanted to focus on masks and the art of masking. Just going with the connotation of “to mask” it implies a sense of deception, trickery, a veil, an enigma, illusion, the unknown, persona, etc. As for the actual definition of a mask is, a covering for the face, worn for disguise, protection, etc.; anything that conceals; a pretense; a masquerade; a likeness of a face cast in plaster; to disguise or conceal; persona. However, masks are not necessarily physical or used just for faces, for example burkas, make-up, a character, costumes. With these ideas I wanted to make use of them through the façade, circulation, and program. Then interpret them in the different scales of large, human, and small. With these scales I want to then relate them to the psychological feeling of a person wearing a mask, the actual physical difference of wearing a mask, and finally how others feel viewing another person wearing a mask.

A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, concealment, performance, or amusement. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes. They are usually worn on the face, although they may also be positioned for effect elsewhere on the wearer's body. In ancient Rome the word persona meant 'a mask'; it also referred to an individual who had full Roman citizenship. A citizen could demonstrate his or her lineage through imagines, death masks of the ancestors. These were wax casts kept in a lararium, the family shrine. Rites of passage, such as initiation of young members of the family, or funerals, were carried out at the shrine under the watch of the ancestral masks. At funerals professional actors would wear these masks to perform deeds of the lives of the ancestors. Masks are used almost universally and maintain their power and mystery both for their wearers and their audience. The continued popularity of wearing masks at carnival, and for children at parties and for festivals such as Halloween.

Disguise

A person wearing a mask to avoid recognition
Masks are sometimes used to avoid recognition.
Occasionally a witness for the prosecution appears in court in a mask to avoid being recognized by associates of the accused.
Participants in a black bloc at protests usually wear masks, often bandannas, to avoid recognition, and to try to protect against any riot control agents used.
Masks are also used to prevent recognition whilst showing membership of a group:
Use by penitents of masks in ceremonies to disguise their identity in order to make the act of penitence more selfless. The Semana Santa parades throughout Spain and in Hispanic/Catholic countries throughout the world are examples of this, with their cone shaped masks known as Capirote.
Use by vigilante groups
The cone-shaped mask in particular is identified with the Ku Klux Klan in a self-conscious effort to combine the hiding of personal identity with the promotion of a powerful and intimidating image.
Members of the group Anonymous frequently wear masks when they attend protests.

Punitive

Masks are sometimes used to punish the wearer either by signaling their humiliation or causing direct suffering:
A "shameful" mask is devised for public humiliation; a popular reduced form are donkey ears for a bad or dumb student
Particularly uncomfortable types, such as an iron mask, are fit as devices for torture or corporal punishment
Masks were used to alienate and silence prisoners in Australian jails in the late 19th century. They were made of white cloth and covered the face, leaving only the eyes visible.

Fashion

Decorative masks may be worn as part of a costume outside of ritual or ceremonial functions. This is often described as a masque, and relates closely to carnival styles. For example, attendants of a costume party will sometimes wear masks as part of their costumes. Wrestling masks are used most widely in Mexican and Japanese wrestling. A wrestler's mask is usually related to a wrestler's persona (for example, a wrestler known as 'The Panda' might wear a mask with a panda's facial markings). Often, wrestlers will put their masks on the line against other wrestlers' masks, titles or an opponent's hair. While in Mexico and Japan, masks are a sign of tradition, they are generally considered by many in the United States to be a deathblow to a wrestler's character. Very few masked wrestlers have succeeded in becoming popular and generally are considered as jobbers. The belief is that fans want to see a face to empathize with and will only get behind a wrestler that shows it.

In psychology

The persona is also the mask or appearance one presents to the world. It may appear in dreams under various guises. Importantly, the persona, used in this sense, is not a pose or some other intentional misrepresentation of the self to others. Rather, it is the self as self-construed, and may change according to situation and context.

Alter ego

An alter ego, in Latin it literally means, "The other I" is a second self, a second personality or persona within a person. It was coined in the early nineteenth century when schizophrenia was first described by early psychologists. A person with an alter ego is said to lead a double life. The term alter ego is commonly used in literature analysis and comparison to describe characters that are psychologically identical, or sometimes to describe a character as an alter ego of the author, a fictional character whose behavior, speech or thoughts intentionally represent those of the author. Alternatively, this can refer a similar situation when a role or persona is taken on by an actor. The characters Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde in Robert Louis Stevenson's thriller Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde represent an exploration of the concept that good and evil exist within one person, constantly at war. Edward Hyde literally represents the doctor's other self, a psychopathic being unrestrained by the conventions of civilized society, who shares a body with the doctor. This can also refer to the way a person may act differently in different cultural situations