- Mblo (portrait mask)
- Baule peoples, modern day Ivory Coast
- early 20th century
- wood
Baule Culture
- entertainment dances are newly invented every few generations
- mblo mask are oldest art forms
- Baule sculpture style embodied in mblo
- mblo is type of structured perfomance
- “ambomon” is performance with unmasked dancers
- ambiguous trickster who amuses audience
- death and danger
- men should abstain from intercourse before wearing the mask
- sexually active women should not touch the mask
- amuses audience by causing trouble but no real damage
- entertains between appearances of masks
- dances become old-fashioned
- young men reinvent it when it gets old
Mblo Masks
- prototypical human face
- portrait
- believed to be old as time
- show beauty and desire to give pleasure
- Owie Kimoh carved the mask for Moya Yanso
- new generation of “kpan kpan” dance
- people are allowed to reveal identity
- masks represent political ideas, not individuals
- new music
- cause for rare performances
- portrait masks require good dancers
- person protrayed needs to be present
- smooth curving surfaces
- coiffures
- scarification
- introspective
- large, downcast eyes
- ornaments chosen for beauty
- tall forehead
- small mouth and ears