Face Painting at the U.S. Open

Sep3

We had ten facepainters at the US Open Arthur Ashe Kids Day on August 25, 2012 — and we’ll be back there with another team of transformation artists on September 9 for the finals. Here are a few photos from Arthur Ashe Day — and we only have a few, the day was too busy for taking photographs — including a couple of my silhouette images and several of the portrait type figures that Jennifer has been painting.

Come see us and be painted on September 9 at the Tennis Center.

UPDATE: **Unfortunately, they canceled our part of the September 9 event, because bad weather and rain during the previous week pushed the men’s finals from Sunday the 9th to Monday.

Learn more about all we do at: http://agostinoarts.com/

Before Cave Walls… at the National Storytelling Network Conference 2012

Aug28

Thank you to the Jaguar, Liz Nichols, for her very positive description of my presentation at the NSN Conference, which she posted in Tim Ereneta’s blog: “Breaking the Eggs — Performance Storytelling in the 21st Century”. See the full post http://storytelling.blogspot.com/2012/07/conference-reflections-liz-nichols.html An excerpt:

“The show was called “Before Cave Walls… The Story on Our Skin”. … About 25–30 of us sat mesmerized as he started with a lecture/demo on the human history of self-transformation through mask and body art, calling up volunteer after volunteer to be painted as he talked. Then he wove several stories in, some traditional and some in a folktale mode that he and his kids had created – and he used us as his canvas to show characters like jaguar, snake and lizard, and settings like tropical island and African savannah.”

Liz also talked about how the volunteers I painted during the program wore their new faces into the evenings events, for which I am especially appreciative — a mask-maker always hopes that the wearer will bring the mask to life like that. When Willa Brigham took the stage to MC that night’s Oracle Awards presentation in the very unusual looking Picasso/Nuba face, I’m sure many folk in the audience wondered what was going on, why were these people on stage with their faces painted in such strange ways? There were several hundred people in the audience, only a hand full of which were at my afternoon program, so most of them had no context for the painted faces they saw on stage. That uncertainty about what to make of a painted face is intrinsic to the art of transformation. Part of the power and function of the mask is to introduce a sense of mystery about the transient nature of form, to make us wonder what else is possible. Continue reading →

UV Makeup and Blacklight Special Effects

Jul13

We use UV makeups to create special effects under backlight for parties and events, and to add dayglo “pop” to our face and body painting. Special effects paintings range from fully painted glowing models, 60s style Go-Go Dancers and specialty bodypainting for clubs and evening events.

Working with UV makeups is like painting with light. We’ve used these effects for theme events ranging from “Under the Sea” Bar Mitzvahs to Woodstock themed corporate events. We’ve painted participants for Laser-Tag nights at colleges and created a Live Action Blacklight bodypainting stage performance as entertainment for conventions.

Christopher Agostino is recognized for his facility with UV makeups and has developed special techniques that allow him to create designs that work well under regular light as well as blacklight, which is especially useful for clubs and events where only part of a venue is under blacklight. His appearances for the Kryolan Professional Makeup company often include demonstrations of their UV Aquacolor makeups, widely considered the best UV product on the market.

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“Crocodile Eating Jose” – demonstrating the use of Kryolan’s UV Aquacolors to create optical illusions and special effects at the 2012 Face and Body Art International Convention

UV Blacklight Live Action Bodypaint Performance: