Masked Identity

With this assignment I was inspired by words. As humans we communicate most everything through verbal language, and that is often the only form of communication that we can rely on for a picture of a person's identity. Because I am naturally an introvert and I do not enjoy speaking most of the time, I feel that I have an interesting relationship with words, and I have my whole life. I grew up in a home with a lot of verbal abuse, so I also know that words have power and the way that they are used is very important. To focus this idea I found my inspiration from the saying, "from the mouth the heart speaks."

I wanted my mask to cover the shoulders and most of the chest to give the visual that the heart plays an important role in communication. From there my mask covers the face and extends out in a phonograph shape, also representing the communication of verbal words. To push this idea further, I had the phonograph-type shape recede back in, but I left the metal wire exposed on the inside. The wire is patterned similarly to a spider web, but it is hard and rigid because of the material it is made with. With our words we often spin webs and can hurt others and trap ourselves, and this is what this structure represents. Also through the indent back into the structure, I wanted to express the way that we choose not to speak at times, or recede back from our words, and yet we still have harsh and hurtful words going through our minds behind the scenes. I know I can't speak for all people, but I will often plan out a confrontation or a conversation, but once I see that person and begin to talk to them, I draw back in and end up saying nothing at all.

I have a very complex relationship with words in that I struggle expressing myself through language, and yet I often find that the times I do speak, I end up only expressing my negative feeling and hurtful words. That is also a reason that I dance. Through dance I can express all of my feelings, without words. This is why I chose to take my pictures in the aerial silk- it is part of my identity, and I often use it as a covering and a way to avoid verbal communication. There are so many complex feelings and thoughts that went into this project that I am not actually sure I can communicate effectively through words (which is the very reason this project has meaning to me), but my hope is that my mask will communicate these ideas beyond what words can.

Process Pictures:

Final Photos:

Response to Switcheroo:

I really enjoyed the radio broadcast by This American Life. I found the subject to be very interesting and I would love to visit Cindy Sherman's display just to see if I would also experience an encounter with someone pretending to be Cindy Sherman. I want to know why the old woman approached the men claiming to be the artist- it's really a very curious situation. I also loved the short story- I've always wanted to do something like that, but I've never had the guts. It is interesting how as human beings we are so unsure of ourselves and uncomfortable by situations that we are not completely confident in, so when someone else gives us the slightest amount of recognition, we jump to it without a second thought. It's the same as getting caught between two people waving at each other or saying "hello." Even if we have never seen the person in our lives, there is always that question of whether they know you. I always seem to wave back or say hi only to receive a weird look and to watch them as they walk past me and greet their friend. It is just amazing the recognition and acceptance that we crave, and that human desire that most people share is what makes stories like that interesting, and what makes the wearing of a mask so appealing. A mask allows us to hide our identity and take on another, which gives us the freedom to take whatever acceptance and notice we want.

Drawings: