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Article: Masks: the artist in me.
- Article from:
- Arts & Activities
- Article date:
- January 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Publishers' Development Corporation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Whether masks are made from cardboard, papier-mache, metal, wood, leather, fabric, clay or any combination of these materials, they bring out the artist in us. As young children, most of us liked to wear masks when we played to pretend we were another person or animal. Masks let us fantasize and be creative.
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Probably the two most important functions of masks are to protect or disguise. The earliest form of mask I could trace was back to prehistoric times. Hunters in the Stone Age wore animal-style masks to disguise themselves to make the hunt easier.
In 1874 the gas mask was invented. Soldiers and, surprisingly, horses ...