Mask

Art Historical: Aztec Mosaic Mask 

Pre-modern:

My mask portrays an offense/defense in the pre-modern section by showing how there is a certain way we hide ourselves. We hide ourselves by putting on something others expect us to be while in reality we have no idea how we can really identify ourselves as. In the photo it shows a picture of a person (me) who is in a reflection on a computer screen and by touching the screen it was to show how we identify ourselves in the real world compared to the virtual world. We have become consumed by this altered reality we created and thus taking in the role of how we see ourselves. It demonstrates that we don’t really know who we are and we show our true form only behind a dark reflection.

Post-modern:

In the post-modern world, my mask exemplifies the map that comes before and creates a territory. Through this, the mask becomes a form of identification and where to start from there. It shows a roadmap in guiding where a person stands in who they are and who they claim to be. In creating a territory for ourselves, it puts us in a place where we start believing what we claim to be and create a person or a manifestation that changes our own perspective on how we see ourselves. My mask contains a spiral of blues and black to show that we become sucked into a distorted reality we created for ourselves. 

The pigmentation of light yellows intensifies the blue in the reflection of the computer screen. The dimensions and the perspective of where I am sitting with my mask works by taking a picture of the reflection rather that taking there picture with my mask directly. Rhythm is found along the different shadings of blue on my mask and along the blinds behind the computer. Natural lighting is used to bring in castings of shadows and dimension into my photo. The undefined reflection works essentially through bringing a meaning behind my mask and how it brings a distorted image to my picture.

The aztec mosaic mask is where I got the idea for my mask. The use of blues and textures in the mask inspired me to create it. One interesting fact about aztec mosaic masks is that some were created only for decoration or for display only. They sometimes do not have eye holes which relates to my mask as well. I created my mask not to have eye holes because I wanted to exaggerate the fact we do not really see ourselves as the people we think we are. The display also takes a role in the meaning of my mask by stating that we only put ourselves out there for display and try to please others as well as please ourselves.