Jonathan Cohen's photos with the keyword: mask

According to the museum’s information panel, this mask of a human face is the work an anonymous 19th century artist of the Tsimshian people, who live in the lower Skeena River region of north-western British Columbia. The mask is made of wood, brass, hair, and paint. The panel goes on to explain that masks carved as human faces may in some cases represent portraits of actual people. However, the majority of the human masks represent mythic ancestors and this mask may have been part of a dance series dramatizing spirit beings. Along the coast, masks reflect regional and tribal styles and this Tsimshian mask is characterized by the sloping forehead, arched and thin eyebrows, round, open eyes, and the rounded pyramid shaped cheeks. Tsimshian art, culture and language are is making a comeback. Like other coastal peoples, the Tsimshian fashion most of their traditional goods out of Western red cedar.

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of world culture and natural history based in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of the largest museums in North America, attracting over one million visitors every year. This exhibit entitled "Carnival – From Emancipation to Celebration" presented a selection of costumes from Brian Mac Farlane’s creations for the Trinidad Carnival from 2010 to 2012. Mac Farlane is a major Carnival artist from Trinidad and Tobago, whose designs and installations have dazzled and inspired people all over the world. Mac Farlane’s last three seasons were inspired by an historical reflection on traditional Carnival characters and their ability to embody broader social and political issues. In the 18th century, enslaved Africans were banned from Christian festivities of the French and British colonists. They held their own celebrations in barrack yards and, after the 1834 abolition of slavery was fully implemented in the Caribbean in 1838, the freed Africans together with people of Asian origin took their Carnival to the street. The red and black costume above is entitled Sheol – the term describing the underworld abode of the dead in the Hebrew Bible. Red, black, and white are the colours of the Trinidad and Tobago flag. They reflect the artist’s deep sense of concern over the social and political problems affecting his country. Depicting departed and lost souls, Sheol is a costume that represents inner turmoil, a commentary on the troubles of modern society. The exhibition also commemorated John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (as Ontario was known then). Simcoe abolished slavery in Upper Canada in 1793 – some 40 years before it was done away with elsewhere within the British Empire.

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of world culture and natural history based in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of the largest museums in North America, attracting over one million visitors every year. This exhibit entitled "Carnival – From Emancipation to Celebration" presented a selection of costumes from Brian Mac Farlane’s creations for the Trinidad Carnival from 2010 to 2012. Mac Farlane is a major Carnival artist from Trinidad and Tobago, whose designs and installations have dazzled and inspired people all over the world. Mac Farlane’s last three seasons were inspired by an historical reflection on traditional Carnival characters and their ability to embody broader social and political issues. In the 18th century, enslaved Africans were banned from Christian festivities of the French and British colonists. They held their own celebrations in barrack yards and, after the 1834 abolition of slavery was fully implemented in the Caribbean in 1838, the freed Africans together with people of Asian origin took their Carnival to the street. This costume reinterprets the traditional character of the dragon, the fire beast that creates havoc and destruction. Dancing in the streets, this character captivates and frightens the audience with its spectacular appearance and dynamic dance. The exhibition also commemorated John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (as Ontario was known then). Simcoe abolished slavery in Upper Canada in 1793 – some 40 years before it was done away with elsewhere within the British Empire.

... with apologies to Flanders and Swann

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