The masks are in Berlin ..... and what a journey they are brought to.. read and see the following pictures from their first days with Hanne and Ketil and their two kids. / T
Tales from a mask
We are so lucky to have made friends with actor and maskmaker Torbjörn Ahlström, whom we also invited to teach us in the mysteries of the masks at the S-laget – a place for cooperative art in Norway. It was with awe and great respect we accepted Torbjörn`s invitation to participate in his project “Tales from a mask”, where Nordic artists work with two of his masks for one month. We decided to bring the masks with us to Berlin, from where we are working in October 2009.
As trained actors with little experience in working with masks, Torbjörn`s workshop was like a reminder to rediscover the child within ourselves. We were too eager to succeed, and not as open to what could come out of the mask and the situation. Therefore we wanted to make an exercise where we could observe actual children bearing the masks in public. Our own children, Ingeborg and Asbjørn, were presented to the masks on location, at the memorial site of the holocaust victims in Berlin. This is a really exciting site whit great room for much interpretation from whoever visits it. To our children, it looks like a great playground, but to us who know the history, the rectangular stones very much remind us of tombstones or sarcophaguses. It is a place for life and for death. Let the children play!
We got some interesting photos out of our session with children and masks at the memorial site, and it was interesting to see how the masks attracted attention from both the children and other visitors at the site. Especially strange when a photographer started taking pictures of us taking pictures of the masked children.
When we asked the children how they had experienced wearing the masks, they both said they felt like grown-ups. And as you can see of the pictures, we think this influenced their physique and behavior.
We will work with the masks ourselves later this month, and will remind ourselves of how a child would approach the mask with curiosity and open-mindedness, and let the mask lead the way into grown-up characters! To start with an open mind…
Ketil Kolstad
Hanne Fjerdingstad
Tales from a mask
We are so lucky to have made friends with actor and maskmaker Torbjörn Ahlström, whom we also invited to teach us in the mysteries of the masks at the S-laget – a place for cooperative art in Norway. It was with awe and great respect we accepted Torbjörn`s invitation to participate in his project “Tales from a mask”, where Nordic artists work with two of his masks for one month. We decided to bring the masks with us to Berlin, from where we are working in October 2009.
As trained actors with little experience in working with masks, Torbjörn`s workshop was like a reminder to rediscover the child within ourselves. We were too eager to succeed, and not as open to what could come out of the mask and the situation. Therefore we wanted to make an exercise where we could observe actual children bearing the masks in public. Our own children, Ingeborg and Asbjørn, were presented to the masks on location, at the memorial site of the holocaust victims in Berlin. This is a really exciting site whit great room for much interpretation from whoever visits it. To our children, it looks like a great playground, but to us who know the history, the rectangular stones very much remind us of tombstones or sarcophaguses. It is a place for life and for death. Let the children play!
We got some interesting photos out of our session with children and masks at the memorial site, and it was interesting to see how the masks attracted attention from both the children and other visitors at the site. Especially strange when a photographer started taking pictures of us taking pictures of the masked children.
When we asked the children how they had experienced wearing the masks, they both said they felt like grown-ups. And as you can see of the pictures, we think this influenced their physique and behavior.
We will work with the masks ourselves later this month, and will remind ourselves of how a child would approach the mask with curiosity and open-mindedness, and let the mask lead the way into grown-up characters! To start with an open mind…
Ketil Kolstad
Hanne Fjerdingstad
No comments:
Post a Comment