Tag Archives: bodypaint

Van Gogh Starry Night — Body Painting at FABAIC 2012 with Kryolan Aquacolors

painted on the final day of this year's Face and Body Art International Convention, Sunday, May 27 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

 

painted with Kryolan Aquacolors

With the Sunday session open to the public it seemed right to do something really Pop while demonstrating Kryolan’s Aquacolors at their booth. Starry Night is so instantly recognizable that even folks unfamiliar with bodypainting would recognize it as “art” — and it is also very enjoyable (and inspiring) to spend a few hours learning from a masterpiece like this through imitation. I learn a lot while trying to copy a master, including a profound respect for just how brilliant Van Gogh’s vision was.

 

 

See my fine art bodypainting at  https://thestorybehindthefaces.com/body-painting/

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

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Face Painting — Fine Art Images: Learning from “Living Masterpieces”

 

Some of the faces I painted recently on a select group of students who acted as the hosts of their  school’s art show. They wore T-shirts that said “I Am A Living Masterpiece”.

              

 

 

 

Each face is an imitation of a specific painting, or a detail from a painting. It is always a remarkable learning experience for me to get to paint like this.

 

 

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

See my fine art bodypainting at  https://thestorybehindthefaces.com/body-painting/

 

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Folktale: The Origins of Moko, the Maori Face Tattoo from New Zealand

by Christopher Agostino

My wife brought me a book of Maori folktales from the library: Land of the Long White Cloud: Maori Myths, Tales and Legends by Kiri Te Kanawa; © 1989; Arcade Publishing, Inc., New York. She came across it while looking for stories for a show she will be creating at an elementary school. The author introduces each tale briefly, writing about how she might have heard such stories as a child and what she imagined about them. The bio notes also explain that Kiri Te Kanawa is a famous opera singer and made her debut at the Royal opera House, Covent Garden, in 1971.

The tale “Mataora and Niwareka in the Underworld” especially caught my attention, as it offers a folkloric explanation for the origins of moko, the traditional facial tattooing of the Maori. In brief: a warrior chief named Mataora meets some beautiful women who come up from the Underworld. They tell him that the designs he has painted on his face are not true moko because they can be wiped off. He falls in love with Niwareka, winds up following her back down to the Underworld and meets her father, who is busy tattooing a young man’s face with a fine bone chisel. Mataroa sees that the process is excruciatingly painful but the man doesn’t cry out. Ue-tonga, the father, then tattoos Matarao’s face with “the intricate patterns, twirls and swirls” that make a warrior “look both frightening and beautiful.” Mataroa understands he must bear the pain bravely to receive the true moko, and afterwards he brings the tattoo tradition (and Niwareka) back up to the Overworld.

I’m fascinated by the idea in this tale that the Maori first painted their faces with the moko patterns before they used tattoo, Continue reading →