Wednesday 31 October 2012

Scarification



Scarification is a a marking of the body to mark milestones in tribemas lives, such as puberty and marriage. it is also used to mark the family and tribe they are from. This sort of ceremonial act is prefomed widely across tribes in africa, incising the skin with  a sharp instrument to control the shape and size of the scar. scars are created in patterns and repetitious designs to show where that person is from and to celebrate and confirm that they have been through different stages in there life such at entering man hood. 





 A unique feature of the west african tribe culture can be seen not only in the face and body but in pottery and art.




Scarification is also a way of expressing the beauty of the body and some on the patterns created are very attractive.














Here is a clip of scarification from the National Geographic program channel:







To create this effect of scars and patterns for my own make up design i have experimented with using latex and mediums such as rice, string and popcorns. here are some examples of my trials..


I want to incorporate scarification into my make up design as i feel its a very visual and striking aspect of tribal culture, how they use this rather brutal and outlandish technique to mark there bodies is intriguing and would be a prominent feature in a design for my make up.


Thursday 25 October 2012

Native Indians

Native American Tribes.

There were many different Native American tribes and those with similar characteristics formed a main tribe or nation. Each had its own language, religion and customs.
For the most part the tribes lived peaceably believing that nature was sacred and was to be shared. However, the coming of the Europeans and the removal of their land led to conflict both between the different tribes and between the Indians and whites.
By the end of the nineteenth  century the Indians had lost their fight to preserve their traditional way of life and those that had survived the conflicts were confined to reservations.






Native american clothing was a distinctive part of native american culture, weaving, beading, and detailed work such as feathering played an integral part in there clothing. Intricate beadwork and feathered headdresses were also commonly worn during ceremonial displays. They were very resourceful with all of the materials that were available to them, they used the skins of deer to  

make clothes as well as leather. Beads and shells were also frequently used to embellish tribal dress. There were many different beadwork patterns that were symbolic to each tribe.











 Native Americans worshipped and appreciated nature, they showed this in there dress and make up by using a variety of materials were used to make dye such as roots, berries and tree barks. Clay, mud, plants and even duck droppings were used to apply to the body. They would add warm water to these products and apply them using brushes made from natural materials such as willow sticks, chewed cottonwood or even buffalo bone.
Colour was a important part in native american culture and symbolised different things when painted onto the face along with the placement of the design, telling a story.

Red was the colour of aggression, danger and war. White symbolised peace. Black was the colour of living, and was worn during war preparations. Green was worn under the eyes and was believed to give the person night vision. Yellow was the colour of death and was worn when a person was in mourning, on men yellow would show that the man had lived a long life and would fight to the end.
These colours would be applied in a variety of patterns, which would range from a few lines to the whole face being covered.










I like the idea of using colours to express emotion and a story into my make up and hair design. i want to explore the idea of adding colours and contrasting colours to the hair and face. using colour to make one area of the face pop.

here are some examples of how native american tribes make up and dress can be translated to an editorial look.






Tuesday 9 October 2012

Maori Tribe

The Maori people are the indigenous tribe from New Zealand they have a very distinct culture with their own language, recognisable art, tattoos and mythology due to the separation from the rest of the world.
Around 1280 AD they came to New Zealand from eastern Polynesia.





Maori Warrior



Maori Warriors are acclaimed for the brutal and barbaric nature, they go down as one of ferocious warriors that have lived. 

Warriors would be subjected into wars over land and pride, throughout Maori history war was a defying part of Maori culture, much conflict was also caused when Europeans started to inhabit New Zealand taking land away from the tribe.
Tribes would always want to regain and defend the pride causing and endless cycle of violence for the Maori people.





Jewellery


Art and Jewellery are also a very traditional and distinct attribute to the Maori tribe.Bone jewellery would be carved into spectacular shapes and figures which represented different qualities from fertility and strength to a mythical creature being the messenger between the earth world of mortal and the domain of the spirits.


Koru Bone Carving

                                                    Fertility necklace

                                       

Tattoos





The Maori tribe have a form of body art known as moko or more commonly known as Maori tattooing. The tattooing was brought by the Maori from Polynesia. This art is considered highly sacred, and continues to be copied in modern cultures today.

The Maori tattoo is one of a kind, and no two tattoos are alike. It is highly complex and detailed, which displays the skill and artistry of the Maori culture.The most popular kind of Maori tattoo was the facial tattoo as the Maori consider the head to be the most sacred part of the body. The tattoos would be composed of curved and spiral patterns. It often covered the whole of the face, and was a symbol of rank, social status power, and respect.Tattooing was a rite of passage for the Maori it was ritualized.

 Maori tattooing would usually begin at a young age and would be continually performed to celebrate important events throughout a tribesman’s life.