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13 Things 2009

13 Things 2008


Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology

Search Brown

 

 

Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology & the Ancient World
Brown University
Box 1837 / 60 George Street
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: (401) 863-3188
Fax: (401) 863-9423
[email protected]

For the conclusion I would like to put forward a quote “The mask is, in fact, a symbol of mortality. It is the imprint of someone’ face, the memory of someone’s life, frozen in a certain expression. The “person” behind it, as in funeral masks, is dead. But the mask is also a symbol of immortality since the imprint contains the code of an existence, and through it that existence can be brought to life again. Interpreting a mask is very much like incarnating a soul” (Prosperi 1982).

The mask is a fluid object, it takes many forms, but it is constantly a medium through which something can transcend, or be arbitrated. The mask has been a universal object because when dealing with issues of change or conflict humans often need to cling onto something they understand and can deal with “face to face”. The mask is a physical representation of intangible ideas, which assist humans coping with the issues that arise from simply being human. It is exists only when a human can no longer be himself and needs a mask to give a new perspective with which to view the situation.

If we view these things as an end onto themselves we lose their meaning and purpose. Therefore the mask must always be viewed in the context in which it was used and not only as a piece of art hung up on a wall.

Yet, a mask is just a thing. It is a piece of some sort of material which we imprint our wildest dreams and fears onto. By imprinting our faces we give the mask part of ourselves, and in return it gives ourselves back to us through the mediation of identity.

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