Making faces, playing God : identity and the art of transformational makeup / Thomas Morawetz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Morawetz, Thomas, 1942- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Theatrical makeup.

Impersonation.

Self-perception.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (247 pages) : illustrations (some color)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Austin, Texas : University of Texas Press, 2001.

Summary:

Wearing a mask—putting on another face—embodies a fundamental human fantasy of inhabiting other bodies and experiencing other lives. In this extensively illustrated book, Thomas Morawetz explores how the creation of transformational makeup for theatre, movies, and television fulfills this fantasy of self-transformation and satisfies the human desire to become "the other." Morawetz begins by discussing the cultural role of fantasies of transformation and what these fantasies reveal about questions of personal identity. He next turns to professional makeup artists and describes their background, training, careers, and especially the techniques they use to create their art. Then, with numerous before-during-and-after photos of transformational makeups from popular and little-known shows and movies, ads, and artist's demos and portfolios, he reveals the art and imagination that go into six kinds of mask-making—representing demons, depicting aliens, inventing disguises, transforming actors into different (older, heavier, disfigured) versions of themselves, and creating historical or mythological characters.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I: The Culture and Art of Transformation

1. The Significance and Invention of Faces

2. The Culture of Transformation

3. The Art of Transformation

Part II: The Practice of Transformation

4. The Demonic

5. Alien

6. Disguise for ltd Own Sake

7. Variant Selves

8. Impersonation

9. Beyond Human

Afterthoughts

Photo Credits

Index

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780292749405

0292749406