: One might think that the only masks to be found in Cooperstown
are the catcher's masks at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Not so.
Nearby, at the Fenimore Art Museum, 50 masks of a different order
are on display. Worn by players in the game of life, these masks
evoke as much passion as any ever experienced in a ballpark.
Visitors to the Fenimore's new exhibit "Reveal Conceal: The
Transforming Power of Masks" are greeted by the callouts and the
stamping feet of costumed throngs, the beating of drums and the
music of the gamelan.
Although the spectacles are video replays of masquerade rituals
practiced in Alaska and Indonesia, South Vietnam and Europe,
Latin America and Africa, they create a mood and a context for
this important collection.
Eva Fognell, Thaw collection manager and curator, designed the
show so that viewers would feel like participants in these
events. "I only wish we could have added the smells and
sensations of the ceremonies," she said.
The inspiration for the show, open through December 31, grew from
the popularity of Fenimore's highly regarded Eugene and Clare
Thaw Collection of Central Yup'ik, Alaska, masks. "We decided to
set it [the Thaw collection] in a global context. The exhibit is
organized around aspects of the human journey in which masks
traditionally play a role. They are Remembrance, Transition,
Renewal, Spirituality and Theater," Fognell stated.
Hamat'sa - the mighty raven - carved from red cedar, decorated
with pigment and raffia transforms young men into civilized
beings. Thaw collection, Fenimore Art Museum, Coo-perstown,
N.Y.
The hand carved and finely crafted characterizations of gods
and mythological characters strike a primal chord. It is easy to
understand their appeal to collectors as well as artists as
sophisticated as Picasso, whose African-like masks in "Les
Demoiselles d'Avignon" created a sensation.
Fognell explained that masks have played a part in the human
drama since the Stone Age. Cave paintings discovered shortly
before World War I in the cave of "Trois Frères" in
Montesquieu-Avantès in Southern France depict hunters in animal
masks. A disguise, no doubt, intended to fool their prey.
Ever since, masks have been making it possible for people to get
out of themselves and onto a higher or different plane. Of
course, lore and belief have a lot to do with that, but it is the
art of the mask maker that fulfills the desire. So important is
the craft to ritual that indigenous artisans entrusted with
turning reflections of faith and mythology into manifestations of
art hold a position of honor in most societies.
Honing their skills at the knee of family members, shamans or
masters of the performing arts, these unnamed artisans work with
nature's materials. In their hands wood, papier mache, pigment,
feathers, cowry shells and raffia become gods and beasts, demons
and women. Their statements are as individual as their cultures.
The men who dance the masks - it is rare that women are permitted
to participate - know that the artistry will protect their
earthly identities even as they themselves are transformed into
supernatural beings.
