Conjure an image of a piece of art in your head. What comes to mind?
Is it two dimensional? Is it hanging on a wall? Behind a pane of glass in a strikingly silent room perhaps?
The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture's new exhibit "Dancing with Life: Mexican Masks" shows the more participatory side of art, with a selection of 54 dance masks from the MAC collection. The masks are accompanied by videos and soundscapes that focus on the traditional danzas, or dances, for which the masks are created and worn.
Exhibit curator Pavel Shlossberg experienced these traditional celebrations firsthand during a two-year stint in Mexico, where he researched the masks for his doctorate. After his time at Columbia University, Shlossberg relocated to Spokane where he is now an associate professor of communication and leadership studies at Gonzaga University. The exhibit, on display through April 16, 2023, is the culmination of his research in visual form.
"I spent most of 2003-2005 living amongst these artists," Shlossberg says. "Even though I had proper professors and teachers at Columbia, I was learning firsthand from these artists, and it was like a second education to me. They taught me just as much as my formal classroom teachers at university."
The masks Shlossberg studied are used in dances celebrating religious holidays, and often depict devils and holy men along with celebrities and politicians. Shlossberg looks to re-examine the art form and dispel the common notion that the masks and the danzas are archaic, indigenous customs that are diminishing in the face of a changing society. His focus lies specifically within the mask-making traditions of the indigenous Purepecha people of Michoacán, Mexico.
Though the art form has been around since approximately the 16th century, the masks used then hardly resemble their modern-day counterparts. Before, the masks were made out of clay, which made them heavier and harder to wear for long periods of time.
Now, they're mostly created out of avocado wood rather than clay or heavy woods, like pine and cedar. Characteristics and features of the mask are created using car paints, which are pigmented, shiny and long-lasting — the perfect medium to coat the extravagant performance garb that the dancers wear.
On display through April 16, 2023
Modern-day danzas take place in various regions of Mexico and usually occur in the central town plaza. Performers often repeat certain roles year after year so that they can re-use the mask made for them by local mask-makers.
"What sets this art form apart from others is that it's very inclusive," Shlossberg says. "You don't need a certain set of skills in order to join in on the performance, and everyone makes masks. Most performances include slapstick depictions of social and political commentary which is very inclusive and easily understandable to the general public. "
While Shlossberg was in Mexico, he was asked to participate in a danza himself. He says dancers go up to every house in a given neighborhood and ask, "Do you want to do it? Do you want to perform?" If the answer is yes, the performance happens right then and there on the person's doorstep.
"There's a very public aspect to the whole thing," he says. "And it's not just dancing, there's meals and parties. People participate in many different ways. If you want to make the art or if you want to be the viewer, everyone is involved."
Along the gallery walls are masks portraying some instantly recognizable figures from modern culture: Donald Trump, Pennywise the Dancing Clown and even a Power Ranger. Their faces are caricatured, giving the performances a comedic tone.
"We often attach our beliefs to pop icons," Shlossberg says. "These dances often seek to explain how the people that we idolize are also problematic and deeply flawed. They make you question your values and commitments and see these contemporary issues in a new light."
Videos of masked performances are also played in the exhibit. These photos, videos and sounds in the gallery were captured by Shlossberg, some even taken in the midst of performing in the dances himself.
One of Shlossberg's favorite masks in the collection was made by his friend and mentor, Felipe Horta, one of the most renowned mask-makers of the Michoacán region. Horta is visiting the MAC in November to discuss his 30-plus year career as a mask-maker and his desire to keep the traditions alive.
"It's an honor to have been able to curate this exhibit," Shlossberg says. "I always want to bring it back to the community and center it back on the artists. Everything I know, I learned from them, so that's the most important thing to me." ♦
