Transformations! the story behind the painted faces

I have come to understand that my art is less about the designs I paint on people then it is about the actual experience of being transformed—about how the act of being painted makes a person feel, how they feel when they look in the mirror and see themselves changed, and how they feel as others look at them wearing this fantastic identity.

My book includes chapters on cultural uses of masks and body art, and the inspiration I take from knowing I am part of such an ancient tradition—illustrated by my re-creations of traditional designs painted, for the most part, on everyday people at events around New York. There are also chapters on how my company and I have applied what we’ve learned from cultural sources to develop the uniquely creative style of faces that is our company brand, how we present face painting to the public as an artistic adventure, and about my performances combining painted faces with storytelling. At the heart of the book is my belief that face painting is an interactive art, with profound cultural origins, that still retains the power to transform identity and bring some magic into the world.

Here are some of my blog posts related to the book’s content and similar topics.

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Book List

Divided by categories: Anthropology – Bodyarts and Masks;    Anthropology – General;     Contemporary Face and Body Painting;     Folktales and Storytelling

BOLD titles indicates those I’ve found most valuable.

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Anthropology – Bodyarts and Masks

Beckwith, Carol and Angela Fisher. African Ceremonies: The Concise Edition. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2002.

Beckwith, Carol and Angela Fisher. Faces of Africa: Thirty Years of Photography. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2004.

Cordy, Donald Bush. Mexican Masks. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1980.

Delio, Michelle. Tattoo: The Exotic Art of Skin Decoration. New York: St. Martin Press, 1993.

Faris, James C. Nuba Personal Art. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1972.

Gröning, Karl. Body Decoration: A World Survey of Body Art. New York: Vendome Press, 1998.

Gudnason, Jessica Tan. Chinese Opera. New York: Abbeville Press, 2001.

Gurney, George and Therese Thau Heyman, eds. George Catlin and His Indian Gallery. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2002.

Kirk, Malcolm with essay by Andrew Strathern. Man As Art: New Guinea. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1993.

Lechuga, Ruth D. and Chloë Sayer. Mask Arts of Mexico. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1994.

Lévi-Strauss, Claude. The Way of the Masks. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1982.

Macnair, Peter L., Robert Joseph and Bruce Grenville. Down From the Shimmering Sky. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1998.

Malin, Edward. A World of Faces: Masks of the Northwest Coast Indians. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, 1978.

Morita, Toshiro. Kumadori. Tokyo: JICC Co., 1985.

Nicholas, Anne. The Art of the New Zealand Tattoo. New York: Citadel Press, 1994.

Nunley, John W. and Cara McCarty. Masks: Faces of Culture. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1999.

Riefenstahl, Leni. The People of Kau. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1977.

Robley, H.G. Maori Tattooing. New York: Dover Publications, 2003. (originally published in 1896, Chapman and Hall).

Shankar, Ravi. Kerala. New Delhi: Roli Books, 2001.

Thévoz, Michel. The Painted Body. Geneva: Editions d’Art Albert Skira, 1984.

Wang-Ngai, Siu with Peter Lovrick. Chinese Opera: Images and Stories. Vancover: UBC Press, 1997.

Willet, Frank. African Art: An Introduction, revised edition. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1993.

Wolfe, Art. Tribes. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1997.

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Anthropology – General

Boas, Franz. Primitive Art. New York: Dover Publications, 1955. (originally published in 1927, H. Aschelong and Co.).

Bodmer, Karl and Maximilian Prinz zu Wied. The American Indian. Cologne: Taschen, 2005. (reprinted from journals of 1839-1841).

Burenhult, Göran, ed. Traditional People Today: The Illustrated History of Humanity, vol. 5. McMahons Point, Australia: Weldon Owen Pty., 1994.

Leiter, Samuel, ed. Japanese Theater in the World. New York: The Japan Society, 1997.

Lewis-Williams, David. The Mind in the Cave. London: Thames & Hudson, 2002.

Lommel, Andreas. Prehistoric and Primitive Man. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966.

Spivey, Nigel. How Art Made the World: A Journey to the Origins of Human Creativity. New York: Basic Books, 2005.

Wiseman, Boris and Judy Groves. Introducing Lévi-Strauss. New York: Totem Books, 1998.

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Folktales & Storytelling

Chang, Isabelle C. Chinese Fairy Tales. New York: Schocken Books, 1968.

Chuang-Tsu, translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English. Inner Chapters. New York: Vintage Books, 1974.

Erdoes, Richard and Alfonso Ortiz, eds. American Indian Myths and Legends. New York: Pantheon Books, 1984.

Galeano, Eduardo. Memory of Fire. New York: Pantheon Books, 1985.

Tyler, Royall, ed. Japanese Tales. New York: Pantheon Books, 1987.

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