Jonathan Cohen's photos with the keyword: masks

Lucha libre, meaning "free wrestling", is a term used in Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, for a form of professional wrestling that has developed within those countries. Although the term nowadays refers exclusively to professional wrestling, it was originally used in the same style as the English term "freestyle wrestling", referring to an amateur wrestling style without the restrictions of Greco-Roman wrestling. Mexican wrestling is characterized by colorful masks, rapid sequences of holds and maneuvers, as well as "high-flying" maneuvers, some of which have been adopted in the United States. Tag team wrestling is especially prevalent in lucha libre, particularly matches with three-member teams, called trios. Lucha libre wrestlers are known as luchadores (singular luchador). They usually come from extended wrestling families who form their own stables. The history of Mexican wrestling dating back to 1863, during the French Intervention in Mexico, Enrique Ugartechea, the first Mexican wrestler, developed and invented the Mexican lucha libre from the Greco-Roman wrestling. In 1942, lucha libre would be forever changed when a silver-masked wrestler, known simply as El Santo (The Saint), first stepped into the ring. He made his debut in Mexico City by winning an 8-man battle royal. The public became enamored by the mystique and secrecy of Santo’s personality, and he quickly became the most popular luchador in Mexico. His wrestling career spanned nearly five decades, during which he became a folk hero and a symbol of justice for the common man through his appearances in comic books and movies, while the sport received an unparalleled degree of mainstream attention. The wearing of masks has developed special significance, and matches are sometimes contested in which the loser must permanently remove his mask, which is a wager to which great emotional weight is attached.

Gaia is a New York artist who graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. Given his American background, the theme of this mural is somewhat unexpected. But Gaia is active around the globe and immerses himself in the social and historical context of each project he tackles. Note the text in the lower left quadrant of the mural. Translated from the French it asks "To whom does nationalism belong?" In an interview, Gaia mentioned that the division of the mural into quadrants was influenced by the flag of Québec. Three of the quadrants show aboriginal masks, inspired by the work of First Nations artists from Canada’s west coast. The lower right-hand quadrant shows the face of René Lévesque, founder of the sovereignist Parti Québécois and an icon of Québec nationalism. For my part, I can’t help feeling that the vertical stripe in the centre of the mural represents Saint Lawrence Boulevard, the site of the mural. Saint Lawrence Boulevard (or "The Main") divides Montréal’s east side from its west side. The west side is primarily anglophone, and its residents tend to see themselves as Canadians first, and Québécois secondly; the residents of the east side are primarily francophone who tend to see themselves as Québécois first, and Canadians secondly.

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of world culture and natural history based in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of the largest museums in North America, attracting over one million visitors every year. This exhibit entitled "Carnival – From Emancipation to Celebration" presented a selection of costumes from Brian Mac Farlane’s creations for the Trinidad Carnival from 2010 to 2012. Mac Farlane is a major Carnival artist from Trinidad and Tobago, whose designs and installations have dazzled and inspired people all over the world. Mac Farlane’s last three seasons were inspired by an historical reflection on traditional Carnival characters and their ability to embody broader social and political issues. In the 18th century, enslaved Africans were banned from Christian festivities of the French and British colonists. They held their own celebrations in barrack yards and, after the 1834 abolition of slavery was fully implemented in the Caribbean in 1838, the freed Africans together with people of Asian origin took their Carnival to the street. The red and black costume above is entitled Sheol – the term describing the underworld abode of the dead in the Hebrew Bible. Red, black, and white are the colours of the Trinidad and Tobago flag. They reflect the artist’s deep sense of concern over the social and political problems affecting his country. Depicting departed and lost souls, Sheol is a costume that represents inner turmoil, a commentary on the troubles of modern society. The exhibition also commemorated John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (as Ontario was known then). Simcoe abolished slavery in Upper Canada in 1793 – some 40 years before it was done away with elsewhere within the British Empire.

... with apologies to Flanders and Swann

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