Museum Studies, Pt.10

(L) Leopard Mask 6x9" pastel pencil on paper

My first visit to the Natural History Museum was not to draw, it was a quick run-through with my wife to get the lay of the land, intending to return later to various sections to see them more in-depth. While these visits have certainly given me that opportunity, the missus hasn't made it back yet!

On that first visit, the Hall of African Peoples stood out. Within that section, ceremonial costumes of the most fantastic sorts are displayed. It's rather amazing, and you will often see people taken by surprise at the extremely odd and fascinating designs of some of these costumes. Surely, the concept designers and fantasy artists of the past, in Africa, still found expression. I told myself I'd come back and draw here sometime, but it only just recently happened.

This fella wears a leopard-skin hat much like our Davy Crockett's 'coonskin cap. The mask worn has this very explicit frown painted on, emoticon-like. And hanging from his mouth/chin is a loose young leopard skin, which just flows down. Very odd. Add in a grass skirt, grass arm decoration, and painted stars and you get a very interesting design.

It's great that the AMNH chose to display the "masks" as part of full costumes. Masks on their own are certainly interesting, as they are often meant to transform the identity of the wearer for purposes of ceremony. Yet, masks rarely were worn alone--it's not like masks wearers were naked otherwise. Rather, the aspect of the mask's personality was carried through the rest of the costume, and seeing the whole thing together gives a much more unusual picture. Imagine, for instance, if the following mask were displayed alone, divorced from the rest of the outfit:

(R) Zoe-Ba, 6x9" ink on paper

This tall carved mask, fascinating and alien-like on its own, if displayed by itself, would never suggest that it was worn with this giant shaggy outfit of various dried grasses.

There are a few other very interesting costumes that I hope to get back to sketch. It also happens that this hall is not one of the central ones, where summer crowds pack in and make it near impossible to sketch...which explains why I've yet to draw any dinosaur bones!