Historical and Ethnic and

Cultural

Masks have been a part of human culture for centuries. Throughout the

world, in countries such as: China, Egypt and Greece and many more, masks have been a powerful and expressive source used in performances, rituals and ceremonies. Masks have been important to a lot of theatre tradition since 7000BC for example commedia dell arte and they are still being developed and created today.

The earliest uses for masks were for rituals and ceremonies within different cultures such as African story telling rituals and Greek death ceremonies. Art of making masks could be older but because of the materials such as leather and wood they did not survive until this day. Some masks are generally similar in overall appearance, but are very different in style and the way they are used.

History of masks is long and full of interesting facts. They were made in unusual shapes that

varied in appearance and used in unusual ways depending on their symbolism in different performances within the arts. Masks have been designed in so many different ways from simple masks that only covered the eyes and cheek bones, to head covering masks with clever movable parts and hidden faces. The different materials used are: wood, metal, shells, fibre, ivory, clay, horn, stone, feather, leather, furs, paper, cloth and cornhusks.

(Ancient Greek mask)

Masks are normally made of natural forms. Masks with human feather are called Anthropomorphic and those with animal characteristics are called Theriomorphic. They usually represented supernatural beings, ancestors and fanciful or imagined figures, and can be portraits.

Masks have been used universally to represent characters in Theatrical Performances. It first

emerged as a dramatic device in Western Civilisation to the religious practices of Ancient Greece. Within the performing arts they have also been known to be parts of The Middle Ages in a selection of religious plays within the 12th to 16th century.

Ancient GreeceThe theatre of Ancient Greece is a theatrical culture that grew and became successful in 700 BC. The city-state of Athens- which became a significant culture, political and military power- was its centre. They were created in Athens around the time of 532BC. The first recorded actor was Thespis who is often called “Father of Tragedy”.

(Greek tragedy mask)

In Ancient Greece the progress from ritual to ritual-drama was continued in highly formalized theatrical representations. Within many performances of Greek tragedy’s and Greek dramas the masks were used by members of

“Peking Opera and other forms of Chinese opera merge singing, dialogue, acrobatics and pantomime into one art form performed by actors in garish make up or masks in a way that is not unlike Greek drama” by Dr. Jukka O. Miettinen of the Theatre Academy Helsinki 

the chorus, who played some part in the action and provide commentary of the event. There were 10/15 members of the tragic chorus and they all wore the same mask because they were considered to be representing one character. There variations helped the audience to distinguish sex, age and social status. A key ceremony within Greece where masks were a significant element was the worshipping of Dionysus (a celebrated Greek God) The masks were made out of organic materials and not considered permanent objects. Nether less, the mask is known to have been used since the time of Aeschylus and considered to be one of the iconic conventions of classical Greek theatre.

Chinese Opera Masks

Chinese Opera Masks are used within popular forms of drama and musical theatre, with roots that go back to the early periods of 550-557AD, yet have been improved recently in the 1900’s to the 2000’s.

They were originally used in the rituals and ceremonies to represent the characters that scare and defend off ghosts and evil souls within the cultures and ethnic societies of china, and they were also used in stories of the Prince Lang ling of the Northern Period. This story was brought to stage in southern and northern dynasties, and on stage each masks was designed to each character. The colours physically portrayed what the masked characters emotions are for example: Green shows the character is violent, impulsive and lacks restraint; yellow tells the audience that’s he is cruel, evil and hypocritical and blue depicts stubbornness and fierceness. Finally the masks are now used in Beijing opera house. Within the performing arts these masks show and contributes to the visual aspects of: colour, strange designs and patterns which help the performances visually.

The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty Court and has come to be regarded as the cultural treasure of China.

(These images show Chinese Opera Masks)

Masks are used by many cultures around the world such as: African, Greek and Italian. They are made to be used in the performing arts or for rituals, and they are even used in healing and spiritual purposes through many different traditions.

Venetian Masks

Venetians masks are a great example of the historical culture within masks. Their history of carnivals and masquerade and other events is particular celebrated within Venice. Venetian Masks are centuries old and have been around since the 11th century.

They originated in Venice, Italy and are typically worn during carnivals to hide the wearer’s identity but have been used in many other occasions to hide the wearer’s social status. The masks would permit the wearer to act more freely in cases where he or she wanted to interact with other members of society outside the bounds of judgement and everyday conventions.

The carnival is an annual festival held in Italy,

Venice, which is famous for its elaborate masks. The Carnival ends with the Christian celebration of lent, forty days before Easter. People would dance and celebrate in San Marco Square, but the festival was banned but reappeared gradually in the 19th century, where it became an occasion for artistic creation.

(Image of a classic Venetian mask)

In 1979, the Italian government fully decided to bring back, the history and culture of Venice. Approximately 3 million visitors come every year.

These extravagant masks are also used in Masquerade ball. This is an event where everyone attends wearing costume and these beautiful decorative masks. They were generally elaborate dances held for members of the upper classes.

Masquerade balls were a feature of the carnival season in the 15th century. The original masks were rather simple in design, decoration and often had

a symbolic and practical function.

Nowadays most are made with gesso and gold leaf and are all hand-painted using natural feathers and gems to decorate. They can be made of leather, porcelain or using the original glass technique. They are elaborately designed and this is because they were used for females to attract the opposite sex so they had to be beautiful. The patterns are so intricate and delicate and the colours are vibrant and bold to highlight the happy, artistic and creative atmosphere of the performances and balls and carnivals that they are a part of.

Commedia Dell’Arte

Commedia Dell'Arte, also known as "Italian comedy", was a humorous theatrical performance by professional actors who travelled in troupes throughout Italy in the 16th century. Performances took place on temporary stages, mostly on city streets, but occasionally even in court venues.The culture and traditions of these Italian masks is important historical within Italy, and the masks are beautiful and popular within the performing arts.

(These are tree different commedia dell’arte character masks)

Commedia Dell’Arte is a form of physical theatre characterised by masked type. It involves broad comedy and highly structures improvisation.

It is a style that emerged during the Renaissance following the plague “Black Death”.The different characters each have their own design and emotion that

the mask is trying to convey to the audience, for example: The character Arlechino. He is a servant and a trickster or clown. The actor playing him would probably be an acrobat and his mask has happy eyes and big smiley cheeks.

Commedia Dell’Arteoriginated in the market places on the Italian streets. Street performers began donning masks with exaggerated comical features to draw attention to themselves and to complement their acrobatic skills. It wasn't until two Zanni performers teamed up that Commedia dell' Arte really took root and by1550 it had become a firmly established genre. The performing troupes were accessible to all social classes for example: The two characters, Arlecchino and Brighella were portrayed as belonging to the serving class, and the subject matter was always contemporary.

Skilful mime and Zanni antics conveyed the story lines to audiences throughout Europe. Their influences were so strong, that performers from other countries began to imitate the

Zanni style such as: The French in particular, heartily adopted Commedia dell' Arte.

Commedia dell' Arte has continued to be a pervasive influence in theatrical arts. The reliance on stereotyped characters, masks, broad physical gestures, improvised dialogue and clowning represented the very theatricality of the theatres.

“Discovering classical Commedia Dell'Arte is about creating the magic moments of theatre, which should be the entire experience” by Stanley Allan Sherman

African One of the main characteristics of African

(This is an image of one of the most popular Commedia Dell’Atre masks.)

ethnic beliefs is the use of masks in rituals and ceremonies. It is believed that the earliest masks were used in the Palaeolithic era. These masks are important to the Historical and Ethnicity of masks but also the Culture.

African masks are one of the most influential creations that have contributed to European and Western art. In the 20th century, artistic movements such as cubism, fauvism, and expression have often taken inspiration.

African masks should be seen as part of ceremonial costume. They are used in religious and social event to represent the spirits of ancestors or to control

the good and evil forces in the community. Some combine human and

animal feature to unite man with his natural environment. This bond with nature is of great important to the African culture and through the age’s masks have always been used to express this relationship.

There are about 30 traditional African masks that are sorted into four groups depending on the colours: red, white, black and tricolour. Within African traditions these colours all have different meanings for example: The colour WHITE may signify the spirit world of the ancestors or the nurturing quality of mother’s milk; RED is a contrast that might signify the bloodshed in warfare or in childbirth; while BLACK may depict the unknown.

The different types of performances that these

masks are a part of include: dance tribal performances and

theatrical theatre performances. (This image shows the masks being used in a dance tribal performance)

So in conclusion, the history of masks is so detailed. They can be seen in nearly every country around the world and are important in so many cultural rituals and beliefs and also historically important to their ethnic origin. They

have been around since 7000BC and will carry on being used and created in the future within the performing arts.

BibliographyWhen researching about Venetian masks I looked at these websites: 1. www.themascherade.com/contents/en-us/d5_page_5.html 2. http://www.venicemaskedball.co.uk/3. The Book: The Venetian masks by Rosalind Laker

When researching Chinese opera masks I used:1. www.cnto.org.au/the-culture4-2/Beijing-opera.html 2. The Book: Chinese Peking Opera Masks by Yuanchang Deng

When researching Commedia dell’arte masks I looked at:1.www.italian.about.com/library/weekly/aa110800c.htm2. www.commediamask.com

When researching African masks I looked at:

1. www.rebirth.co.za/African_mask_history.htm 2. http://www.artyfactory.com/africanmasks/3. http://www.vub.ac.be/BIBLIO/nieuwenhuysen/african-art/african-art-collection-masks.htm When researching Greek mask I looked at: 1.http://greektheatre.wordpress.com/home/2.http://www.greektheatre.gr/greek_theater_masks.html

(These are images of classic African masks which are used in rituals)