Mythic Faces at the Hudson River Museum

by Christopher Agostino agostinoarts.com #transformationsny #mythicfaces

This past Sunday, June 29, I was back at the Hudson River Museum for Family Day, and I was invited by the organizers to take my inspiration for the faces from a wonderful current exhibit, “Mandy Greer:The Ecstatic Moment” (June 7-Sept.14). From the museum website:

Mandy Greer. Every Moment Lost is Lost Forever, 2013 Photo: Andrea Kurtz

“Seattle-based artist Mandy Greer installs a fantasy world awash in color, laced with glittering chandeliers, and alive with sumptuous birds and enigmatic figures draped in costume in her first New York solo exhibition. In The Ecstatic Moment at the Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, June 7 to September 14, 2014, she draws her inspiration from ancient myths and fairy tales and from the mundane and magical moments of everyday life.”

The scale of her installations transforms parts of the museum into otherworldly landscapes peopled by fantastically costumed creatures, along with photographs of people wearing the costumes in ritualistic settings, often with their faces painted. spiritdancer_figure_hrm_140629cc_agostinoarts Upon seeing the exhibit, I set myself the task of painting the faces of the museum visitors as if they would be inhabiting these costumes and landscapes, in some cases making mask-like designs as if they were enacting rituals like the scenes in the photos and in other cases taking a figurative approach to create personas related to the myth and folklore as well as the thematic description of the different sections of the exhibit (i.e. “Celestial”, and “Earth and Forest”). Hey, if you’re painting faces in an art museum, why not try to paint them like they belong there.

: Winged woman

: Moon Goddess

: Spirit Dancer

: Winged Troll

: The Night Queen

: Wood Shaman

: The Wild Woman – Dzunukwa

: Bird Mask

: Beautiful Day

learn more about the exhibit at: http://www.hrm.org/exhibits.html and Video: Mandy Greer: The Ecstatic Moment

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NHL Playoffs 2014 — Face Painting Gallery

May23

nhl_playoffs2014_1-RangersStanleyCupSkyline1_140521_agostinoarts We did our first event for this year’s Hockey Playoffs at the NHL Store on 6th Ave. at 47th St. in Manhattan. I was there for the pre-game celebration for Game 3 of the NY Rangers vs the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden, sponsored by Reebok.

I don’t follow this sport, so instead of telling people the story of their faces as I painted I was asking questions —who’s your favorite player? How did you become a fan? — and using those ideas as inspiration.

#transformationsny

Drop the puck!

Here are a few more from the second event at the NHL Store. I particularly wanted to try this “Drop the puck!” idea if I got someone who wasn’t rooting for either team, but still loved playoff hockey.

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New York Liberty WNBA – Face Painting Gallery

May18

#StandforLiberty #transformationsny

This season the Liberty, New York’s WNBA team, has returned home to play in Madison Square Garden. Transformations Facepainting was part of their opening home game Fan Fest on 7th Avenue at MSG on Saturday May 17. Here’s some photos from the event, plus a few from last year’s Liberty events.