Mask Making

The Buffalo Threatens and Protects

Buffalo Mask
Nuna peoples, Burkina Faso
Wood, pigment
Hampton University Museum
Nuna animal masks follow a general stylistic pattern. They have large round protruding eyes, surrounded by concentric circles, and a short triagular shaped snout. Decorative geometric patterns cover the whole surface. The masked dancers perform at market days, funerals, and initiations. Accompained by drummers beating the special rhythm of each mask and greeted by the audience with songs, each dancer gives a solo performance, while the rest look on. The buffalo masker begins by standing motionless in the center of the dance circle while "staring" into the distance, as if perceiving a possible threat in the distance. Suddenly, the dancer moves forward, stamping his feet and violently tossing his head up and down, in defiance of any perceived danger. Performing before a large audience in this fashion is the way Nuna families and clans honor the powerful animal spirits living in the world around them and gain their protection and blessings.

Celebrating Femine Beauty and Cultural Pride
Female Mask, Okuyi or Mukudj
Punu peoples, Gabon
Wood, pigment
Admired for their delicate beauty, the famous white-face masks of the Punu people have appealed to Western museum collectors for over a century. The okuyi or mukudj mask portrays Punu ideals of feminine beauty: elegant coiffure, rounded forehead, highly arched eyebrows, almond shaped eyes, narrow face, and small chin. The sculptured line between the nose and ears on this mask represents an ornamental chain of jewelry. The mask's white color signfies both beauty and spirituality, for Punu femine beauty is associated with the whiteness of the spirit world. Worn by a dancer on six-foot tall stilts, the performer's graceful acrobatic feats of bending and twisting are admired by all. The mukudj dance is experienced as an awesome expression of mystical forces, performed by men who have obtained the power of spirits to perform their spectacular dances. Danced at times of public celebration and at funerals, one Punu elder has said that the mukudj dance "is the symbol of Punu culture that is eternal, that is enduring."

Brazilian Parrot mask

Carnival, Brazil, South America

6 inches, rigid papier mache, paint

Signed by the artist "Nivea Semprini" and the word "Arara." It is an excellent example of the colorful festival masks for which this large country is famous. Unfortunately, very few ever find their way to the USA.

I chose the first mask as my inspiration because it looked very uncomfortable and I was wondering what it represented and why they couldn't have picked a better more comfortable material for it.
I chose the second mask because of what it represented. I like a mask that represents something that is big in life.
My third mask looked very cool and that is why I picked it. it reminded me of the movie Rio and I thought that was very cool so i was interested in seeing what that mask was all about.

I tried to make my mask symmetrical no matter how I did it. I wanted to use bright colors to grab attention and then keep a nice calm but not too cluttered look.
I personally didn't like my mask, I wish I could have done something more creative but I have not been very creative lately. I would have liked to do something with glitter of feathers but it seemed like it would just be too much on the papaer plate that I used for my mask. I used hearts because I want this to be a good luck mask, for love and for hockey mostly which is why I put a grey cage over my mask, to represent hockey.