StoryFaces and Body Painting at NYSATA 2013

Nov26

At this year’s New York State Art Teacher’s Association Conference (NYSATA) I had the opportunity to do a presentation on my StoryFaces Mask Arts programs, which included performing a few stories from the assembly programs I do in schools, and we went through “Designing Tribal Masks Project”, an example of one of my classroom workshop programs, along with this sample handout: .StoryFaces_MaskArts_TribalMaskProject_agostinoarts

As the tiger leapt through the walls of fire, he began to burn with a flame of his own…

For one of their Friday After Dark workshops I offered “Face and Body Painting 101”, so during the day I also painted a model in the exhibit area as an example. It’s a design of familiar elements, from my story “The Tiger That Went to the House of the Sun”, which I would be telling that afternoon in the StoryFaces session. TigerBody_iPad_1_131122_agostinoarts The open lobby area we were in was too chilly for my volunteer model, so I limited the painting to from 10:00 am to 12:30.

Face and Body Painting 101 at NYSATA

We also had a couple of volunteer models along with 14 participants for the Face and Body painting workshop that night, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

Workshop_FAD-NYSATA_2bp_131122c_agostinoarts

Workshop_FAD-NYSATA_group1_131122c_agostinoarts

Learn more about my school programs at:

Christopher Agostino’s StoryFaces

StoryFaces — Mask Art Workshops

BodyStory Video Experiment 1 — Peacock and the Sun Goddess

Jan31

BodyStory Video Experiment 1 — Peacock and the Sun Goddess

The Peacock and the Sun Goddess BodyStory was an experiment for a class presentation at the Face and Body Art International Convention in 2012 (FABAIC). For my class on storytelling I tried out a new idea (new for me – see below) of taking the methods I use for telling a story via facepainting onto a painted body — using a fully painted body in choreographed movements to accompany my narrative. I had done this with several performers and much assistance to perform the story Li Chi Slays the Dragon as part of our Bodies Alive! production at FABAIC 2008, but that felt more like a theatre piece and this was meant to stay closer to the stylistic quality of storytelling.

The Peacock and the Sun Goddess BodyStory was conceived and presented as a live performance. As the concept seems well designed for video I took the fotos and video we’d made as documentation and created this video in iMovie. (The wonderful music is Indian Fever by David Starfire, which I found on the album “Six Degrees Free Indian Music Sampler” on Amazon. The model was a non-professional, so I’ll withhold her name) The next step in the video experiment will be to create a BodyStory design specifically for video, and explore what is possible without the design limitations inherent in a live performance.

See the BodyStories Page to learn more about other BodyStory projects, including “Is This the First Story?” based on an 18,000 year old cave painting.

To be clear, nothing in art is ever truly new—especially in an art form as ancient as bodypainting. In saying that these experiments feel “new for me” I’m not saying that I’ve invented something here. Aboriginal Australian bodypainting may go back 40,000 years in a continuous line and in some cases, particularly in the context of ritual initiations, their bodyart tells complex mythological tales (to name just one precedent). Nothing is new.

To learn more about our programs and performances: http://www.agostinoarts.com

Bodies Alive! — painted body performance at FABAIC 2008
Zebras — Body Painting at FABAIC 2012 with Kryolan Aquacolors
Van Gogh Starry Night — Body Painting at FABAIC 2012 with Kryolan Aquacolors
Saraswati — Body Painting at FABAIC 2012 with Kryolan Aquacolors
Gator Eating Jose: UV Body Painting at FABAIC 2012 with Kryolan Aquacolors
Painted Bodies: Africa – Video of Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher (thestorybehindthefaces.com)

The 2012 Unique Art Awards

Sep21

I am honored to say I have been nominated for an award by the Society of Unique Artists. I’m one of 5 finalists in the category of Unique Painting, and the winner will be announced at the Unique Art Awards event on September 29 in New York. Upon my nomination I was asked to submit a portfolio for the judges’ consideration, which I am posting here, including this short video artist statement: