:00:00. > :00:00.Also, we should say this programme does contain strong language.
:00:00. > :00:27.Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome your host for tonight...
:00:28. > :00:35.As a ventriloquist, I have encountered the power of masks.
:00:36. > :00:39.Not only using my monkey puppet as a liberating mouthpiece
:00:40. > :00:43.Look at her standing there, trying not to lose her mouth.
:00:44. > :00:50.But also, in using masks on audience members and seeing how this frees
:00:51. > :00:57.She's going to throw it into the crowd.
:00:58. > :01:03.Hello, I'm Nina and this is my puppet, Monkey.
:01:04. > :01:07.I am the conduit for Nina's true self.
:01:08. > :01:11.Oscar Wilde once said, man is least himself
:01:12. > :01:15.Give him a mask and he will tell you the truth.
:01:16. > :01:20.Thank God you're not wearing me on your head,
:01:21. > :01:25.I'm interested to see how disguising the self in order to set free
:01:26. > :01:29.artistic expression is prevalent in other art forms.
:01:30. > :01:35.What is it about masks that enable us to shed our psychological skins?
:01:36. > :01:53.Looking at some of the bands who have used masks over
:01:54. > :02:04.the decades, psychiatrists could have a field day.
:02:05. > :02:13.It's so they can delight and surprise and challenge
:02:14. > :02:21.I know this is Artsnight, Nina, but there is no need to sound
:02:22. > :02:39.One musician who was never scared to take risks with his image
:02:40. > :02:49.From early in his career, he used the concepts of physical
:02:50. > :02:53.and metaphorical masks to create the characters
:02:54. > :03:00.Ever since his 1972 album, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders
:03:01. > :03:05.from Mars, he adopted and adapted these, from Aladdin Sane
:03:06. > :03:11.And as his music changed over the decades, so,
:03:12. > :03:23.Artist Mark Wardel has immortalised some of these in a series of masks.
:03:24. > :03:26.I borrowed a cast of David Bowie's face from a friend in
:03:27. > :03:36.Just for my own use, really, but the V somehow saw them
:03:37. > :03:40.and commissioned me to do an edition in conjunction with the David Bowie
:03:41. > :03:44.exhibition and Bowie actually bought two of them for his collection.
:03:45. > :03:53.This is inspired by a scene in The Man who Fell to Earth,
:03:54. > :03:56.where Bowie is an alien and he goes into a lift and it cannot cope
:03:57. > :04:00.with the pressure so his nose bleeds.
:04:01. > :04:13.I like the graphic of the red just against plain white so I kind of use
:04:14. > :04:22.this as a metaphor for stress, pressure.
:04:23. > :04:31.And, obviously, there is a drugs connotation because it is quite
:04:32. > :04:34.well-documented that he was taking a lot of cocaine and everything
:04:35. > :04:38.at the time so there is all those connotations in it.
:04:39. > :04:42.But apart from that, I just think that it is that
:04:43. > :04:44.Snow White thing, the red and the white is such
:04:45. > :05:06.Can you tell me about these masks here?
:05:07. > :05:09.Yes, well, these actually, in light of what has recently
:05:10. > :05:13.happened, the Bowie mask thing has taken
:05:14. > :05:19.They almost have an air of a death mask, which they kind
:05:20. > :05:28.So it is kind of quite strange because you almost,
:05:29. > :05:37.Whereas one used to think you were waiting for the eyes
:05:38. > :05:43.to open, now you kind of know they are not going to open.
:05:44. > :06:00.What do you think the performers find appealing about wearing a mask?
:06:01. > :06:05.It is a barrier and it's also a projection.
:06:06. > :06:09.In a way, they're kind of hiding certain aspects of themselves behind
:06:10. > :06:11.the mask and projecting other aspects through the mask
:06:12. > :06:16.to the audience that they are reaching.
:06:17. > :06:20.And it is a very interesting thing to see how performers actually
:06:21. > :06:23.change, how their whole persona actually changes once they get
:06:24. > :06:26.the mask on, whether it is a figurative mask or a literal mask,
:06:27. > :06:29.whether it is cosmetics or they're actually using a mask.
:06:30. > :06:40.And you really can see that happening as the mask goes on.
:06:41. > :06:43.Of all the bands who have used masks, Slipknot kind of stand out
:06:44. > :06:49.Imagine a metal band that ran away to join the circus.
:06:50. > :07:00.But this circus was a circus of horrors.
:07:01. > :07:03.The Grammy-winning band have been using masks on stage for 20 years.
:07:04. > :07:11.Worldwide, they are more recognised by their fans as their masked
:07:12. > :07:25.The masks hurt when they have them on, which is also awesome.
:07:26. > :07:33.It just makes me horny, it makes me get off, OK?!
:07:34. > :07:37.Artsnight caught up with lead singer Corey Taylor and percussionist
:07:38. > :07:42.Shawn Crahan, AKA Clown, backstage in Gothenburg,
:07:43. > :07:51.I had gotten a version of this mask when I was 14.
:07:52. > :07:58.I just never knew why it was in my world but it was always around me.
:07:59. > :08:04.And one day it just so happened, it was that moment of clarity,
:08:05. > :08:26.I was there for the very first Slipknot show.
:08:27. > :08:31.This was before I had joined the band.
:08:32. > :08:34.It was so many different themes all at once.
:08:35. > :08:43.It was antagonistic, it was dangerous, it was powerful,
:08:44. > :08:51.like I had never seen a band like that before.
:08:52. > :08:57.It was taking everything that had been done creatively,
:08:58. > :09:01.artistically, visually, and, to me, taking it to such a different realm.
:09:02. > :09:08.And I loved the fact that every mask was different because it represented
:09:09. > :09:14.It wasn't all linear and just kind of thrown together.
:09:15. > :09:17.And I really felt like everyone had put a lot of time and thought
:09:18. > :09:21.So when I did join, after some trial and error,
:09:22. > :09:27.it came to emboss that theory onto the mask I was wearing.
:09:28. > :09:33.The mask for me has always been that physical representation
:09:34. > :09:35.of the person inside me who just never had a voice.
:09:36. > :09:42.You talk about the representation of the person on the inside.
:09:43. > :09:48.I am showing you more than I'v ever revealed because if you take this
:09:49. > :09:51.away, and it comes back to this, there are niceties,
:09:52. > :09:55.there are manners and morals and rules, all of these things that
:09:56. > :10:00.And just having to bump into other human beings, you know?
:10:01. > :10:06.When it comes to this, you know, all bets are off.
:10:07. > :10:10.And you can really let that animal off the chain as far as you really
:10:11. > :10:26.None of us really know what we look like anyway.
:10:27. > :10:29.We rely on mirrors and things like this but you cannot see
:10:30. > :10:35.So we're all uncomfortable with our faces, we're always looking
:10:36. > :10:38.for a better face, we're always looking to improve the eyebrows
:10:39. > :10:43.or whatever we do, all of this crappy vanity, we never just
:10:44. > :10:49.solidify the thought of who we are and we are always looking.
:10:50. > :10:57.Everyone who wears a mask, embrace it because you are not
:10:58. > :11:00.being somebody else, you're being yourself.
:11:01. > :11:04.And the closer you can get to that middle, to getting to know that
:11:05. > :11:07.honesty, is better for everybody because then you can
:11:08. > :11:26.Slipknot are touring the UK between 8th and 15th February.
:11:27. > :11:29.Masks have also been used recently in political protests,
:11:30. > :11:35.Well, that is certainly one way of outwitting the CCTV.
:11:36. > :11:38.The iconic mask was designed by David Lloyd for the graphic novel
:11:39. > :12:07.The inspiration was Guy Fawkes, basically.
:12:08. > :12:09.Because when we created V for Vendetta, the idea
:12:10. > :12:13.was to bring him back in a sense, so he is kind of a resurrection
:12:14. > :12:18.If you are going to resurrect Guy Fawkes, you have to use
:12:19. > :12:21.the image of Guy Fawkes and what we know from Guy Fawkes
:12:22. > :12:23.is basically prints of what we think he looked like.
:12:24. > :12:26.So when you produce a mask that is supposed to look
:12:27. > :12:30.like Guy Fawkes, you do a stylised version of it.
:12:31. > :12:34.And that is basically where it came from.
:12:35. > :12:40.The graphic novel was adapted for the big screen in 2005.
:12:41. > :12:44.The film is set in an alternate future where a neofascist regime has
:12:45. > :12:51.The screenplay for the film was written by the Wachowski
:12:52. > :12:53.brothers, who also created The Matrix.
:12:54. > :12:55.The movie fuelled a global interest in the graphic novel.
:12:56. > :13:06.Can you tell me in your words what has happened to this mask?
:13:07. > :13:11.Well, of course, it has become a piece of merchandise
:13:12. > :13:23.It exists in the real world, now, as a symbol of protest
:13:24. > :13:26.for all kinds of movements, from Anonymous to Occupy
:13:27. > :13:31.and lots of political protests throughout the world,
:13:32. > :13:37.It is good for me as an artist to see that happen because it is
:13:38. > :13:42.something you have created that has sprung off the page.
:13:43. > :13:46.But also I think it is great because it has become this symbol
:13:47. > :13:49.of protest and freedom in lots of different causes.
:13:50. > :13:54.So it has got a new life, so I am very happy about that.
:13:55. > :14:00.Have you ever joined a protest in that mask?
:14:01. > :14:05.No, I haven't, because I am too cynical, that's why.
:14:06. > :14:08.I have a very cynical attitude to the possibilities
:14:09. > :14:12.that we have in life, I have to say.
:14:13. > :14:16.So I haven't, but I am very glad that people who are not so cynical
:14:17. > :14:18.and who are idealistic, because without idealists
:14:19. > :14:29.So I'm really glad that people are using that.
:14:30. > :14:48.Vendetta was about somebody wanting to change the way things were,
:14:49. > :14:52.to actually defeat a tyranny. And he adopts the persona
:14:53. > :15:00.He doesn't want to do exactly what that revolutionary did,
:15:01. > :15:17.Beneath this mask there is more than flesh.
:15:18. > :15:20.Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr Creedy.
:15:21. > :15:26.It is very important to me that it represents protest
:15:27. > :15:37.Wanting to tell people the way they should live or the way
:15:38. > :15:42.And I think it is very important that that,
:15:43. > :15:58.used to be this joke - no matter who you vote for,
:15:59. > :16:02.It doesn't matter what government you get because corporations
:16:03. > :16:09.So I'm just glad there are people around who do see the value
:16:10. > :16:27.Thank you very much, David.
:16:28. > :16:29.It has been really interesting to talk to you.
:16:30. > :16:31.It's interesting to talk to you.
:16:32. > :16:48.In America, it has been a girl thing for over 30 years.
:16:49. > :16:53.The Guerrilla Girls, formed in 1985, use facts,
:16:54. > :16:54.humour and striking visuals to expose discrimination
:16:55. > :17:04.Well, they stage masked protests in the art world against racial
:17:05. > :17:09.We are going to speak to them in New York on a Skype call.
:17:10. > :17:15."I'm" going to speak to them in New York.
:17:16. > :17:39.I'm Monkey, I'm Nina's puppet, her alter ego, her mask,
:17:40. > :17:48.What are the advantages of being an alter ego?
:17:49. > :17:53.That's not the case with us. We're totally accountable.
:17:54. > :18:07.We're masked avengers. Yeah? What's that like?
:18:08. > :18:12.We've got to be outrageous, but also prove our case about issues
:18:13. > :18:16.Using facts, humour, fake fur, our masks, etcetera.
:18:17. > :18:19.And then your masks become your personas and you've got to be true
:18:20. > :18:26.No one's ever asked us that before, but it's actually true.
:18:27. > :18:41.We're us, but we're also not the real us.
:18:42. > :18:44.And it's great to wake up in the morning and be able to choose
:18:45. > :18:47.Your one self or your Guerrilla Girl self.
:18:48. > :18:52.I mean, the Guerrilla Girls are just so much fun and we've been so lucky.
:18:53. > :18:54.We've all worked so hard, everyone in our group,
:18:55. > :18:56.all these years, on so many different issues.
:18:57. > :18:58.And we feel really lucky that thousands and thousands
:18:59. > :19:02.What they respond, saying, is, they want to do their own crazy kind
:19:03. > :19:19.But to be honest, when we first took these masks we wanted
:19:20. > :19:23.Because we were complaining about the art world which was a very
:19:24. > :19:24.small and kind of vituperative place.
:19:25. > :19:27.So we couldn't bite the hand that we wanted to feed us.
:19:28. > :19:30.So it was kind of self-serving in the very beginning.
:19:31. > :19:33.And then we realised we had tapped into something much more important
:19:34. > :19:36.But no one knows who you really are yet?
:19:37. > :19:38.Nobody knows and we want to keep it that way.
:19:39. > :19:44.There have been over 55 members of the Guerrilla Girls
:19:45. > :19:48.We are two of the founders and we have always worked with other
:19:49. > :19:51.members and now we have new members, people coming in and out,
:19:52. > :19:54.so there are a lot of former Guerrilla Girls out
:19:55. > :20:21.there in addition to current Guerrilla Girls.
:20:22. > :20:24.What do you consider your biggest achievements?
:20:25. > :20:29.We have made it OK for people to account and criticise art
:20:30. > :20:35.For a long time people thought the history of art was just la creme
:20:36. > :20:51.And then we started to look at museums and
:20:52. > :20:53.realised that they participate in institutional discrimination.
:20:54. > :21:01.And that for a long time our history has
:21:02. > :21:16.They can really control what is recorded in museums
:21:17. > :21:27.And it does not come out of the art market.
:21:28. > :21:40.Well, you know, there is a downside in that when you come up
:21:41. > :21:43.as an artist you are used to getting credit for what you do,
:21:44. > :21:45.so the Guerrilla Girls get the credit but our individual
:21:46. > :21:48.We are egoless in an ego-driven world.
:21:49. > :21:51.When you think about it, what kind of an art world
:21:52. > :21:54.is it, that you have to wear gorilla masks to be taken seriously
:21:55. > :22:05.Bye, you've got my Skype now, so call me again if you're feeling
:22:06. > :22:24.Masks have been a part of global culture for years.
:22:25. > :22:28.They enabled theatre to become more magnified and less personal.
:22:29. > :22:34.But over time, masks have become a part of theatrical
:22:35. > :22:44.No, his voice and face, masks ask for something deeper.
:22:45. > :22:47.So I've come to the Trestle Theatre Company to see what that feels like.
:22:48. > :22:53.What happens when a mask wears a mask?
:22:54. > :22:59.Where the true self gets to express its true self?
:23:00. > :23:04.I don't want to see you getting all weird,
:23:05. > :23:12.Do your drama student stuff. I find it mortifying.
:23:13. > :23:29.The Trestle Theatre Company in St Albans specialises
:23:30. > :23:47.They work in schools, and with adults with mental health issues.
:23:48. > :23:50.And also run their own acting workshops with masks.
:23:51. > :23:52.Right, would you like to come and choose a mask?
:23:53. > :23:55.I can't tell if he's smarmy or Machiavellian.
:23:56. > :24:00.It's all in the body, there is absolutely no talking
:24:01. > :24:07.and you don't want to eyeball your audience.
:24:08. > :24:14.It doesn't essentially hold magical properties.
:24:15. > :24:17.But what it does, there is something about the mask and the sense
:24:18. > :24:18.of the imagination that gets unleashed
:24:19. > :24:21.It's very accessible, immediate theatre.
:24:22. > :24:28.You want to be her friend, but she doesn't want to be
:24:29. > :24:35.This element allows you to be freer, for the imagination,
:24:36. > :24:48.She's very upset now, did you realise that?
:24:49. > :24:53.It is a key, somehow, to unlocking somebody to be more
:24:54. > :24:56.Before we get into any sort of fights or anything let's say
:24:57. > :24:59.that's how it's going to be, these two together, these two
:25:00. > :25:02.together, excuse me, and you can turn around and you can
:25:03. > :25:10.So is the mask a switch that enables you to enter
:25:11. > :25:13.another persona, or is it unleashing you, what do you think it is?
:25:14. > :25:15.The thing I felt, with having the mask
:25:16. > :25:18.on, was that it just allowed me to forget everything else and just
:25:19. > :25:24.It didn't feel that anything was contrived, it was just coming.
:25:25. > :25:27.You didn't think about the acting, just get on with it.
:25:28. > :25:29.I think it is as simple as hiding, sometimes.
:25:30. > :25:33.You are just hidden behind something.
:25:34. > :25:35.And it does, it's that thing that liberates you and lets
:25:36. > :25:41.Picasso said, this is only one facet of the person I'm
:25:42. > :25:45.There is this, this, this, and therefore you get that
:25:46. > :25:49.And I think the mask is doing that, and it allows doors to open.
:25:50. > :25:59.So, thinking about the half masks, the physicality thing is the same,
:26:00. > :26:02.it's all in the body but obviously with
:26:03. > :26:08.It is all about finding different voices that
:26:09. > :26:27.Turn around and take your mask off then.
:26:28. > :26:33.Lovely, that went right into your body!
:26:34. > :26:34.The physicality of that was beautiful.
:26:35. > :26:46.It is so enabling or befuddling, it is so
:26:47. > :26:49.different when you put it on and then you act a certain way,
:26:50. > :27:03.I'm thinking, can I blame that on the mask?
:27:04. > :27:12.There is that sense of going, did I really?
:27:13. > :27:15.It is like the one night stand gone wrong.
:27:16. > :27:31.So, not only do masks provide us with a disguise to hide behind,
:27:32. > :27:33.but they can unleash multiple personalities within us.
:27:34. > :27:35.Are you ready to take your mask off now, Nina?
:27:36. > :27:41.That's no good, the hand is still a mask.
:27:42. > :29:11.Hello, world weather is certainly not going to behave itself during
:29:12. > :29:16.the weekend, it will be blustery with heavy rain on the way, in fact
:29:17. > :29:17.already to light in the south-west we will see gale force