The Mask Series shot by Morath commenced between her initial encounter with Steinberg, 1959, up until 1962:
'[...] portray a range of figures wearing various cardboard box and paper bag masks created by Steinberg, photographed in a rather straightforward and unpretentious manner by Morath.' (Schuman, n.d.)
The collection emulates a much more complex narrative than the initial glance. The consideration of location, posing matched with the persona of mask acts as a social commentary of class, the American Dream and performance. The masks created are fast hand the materials used consist of paper bags and cardboard box, the fast pace complimented by the improvisation adds an element of relatability with the basic but natural performance, then exaggerated by the caricature mask. Additionally, the fast pace approach to the mask creation further pushes the societal commentary Morath and Steinberg creates through the fast changing approach people have to masking in everyday society to fit the surrounding performance.
The improvisations of the characters, fig. 1, act in eerie and cynical performance interacting with both each other and the viewer to create an ambiguity in the narrative with no further anchorage other than the over riding title of The Mask Series.
' People invent personas through makeup, facial expression, hairstyles, and these facades become who they are. “The mask,” Steinberg wrote, “is a protection against revelation.”' (Steinberg Foundation, n.d.) The masks add a cynical persona to the subject, accompanied by location, poses and costume to further emphasis a caricature performance exaggerating elements of stereotypes to delve into social constructs.
Fig. 1- Untitled. Photographed by Inge Morath (from the Mask Series with Saul Steinberg), USA. 1962.
These masked performances created and captured by Morath and Steinberg encapsulate ideological and societal constructs:
'We have mask of the Englishmen, the American Mask, we have a mask of the poor and the mask of the rich [...] constantly done by people and what every society in order to function within society without having to reveal themselves [...]' (Steinberg, cited by Flashback, 0:26)
These masks act as a cloak allowing the subject to act up the personality in which the mask represents in an overly exaggerated way. Considering figures 2, 3 and 4 the masks in which embellish the subject formulate an eerie feel with the direct eye contact which pierce the viewers's gaze. The directness of the subject emulate a sense of relatability through the mirroring between subject and viewer, this opens internal conversation with the viewer in finding relatability or similarities in the characters portrayed.
'the this mask here is a mask of a I called this mask the Sleeping Beauty. I personally find the young girl defined by her shadows she is not she the statue, there is a coldness and a lack of formation a lack of character in herself' (ibid, 3:38)
Steinberg comments on themes of adolescence within this mask specifically. The 'lack of
Fig. 5- Untitled. photographed by Inge Morath, Mask Series, USA. 1962
formation' of the mask is further emphasised in the minimal definition of facial features possibly commenting on the development purity experienced by the young girl. Furthermore the outfit that accompanies this mask adds a corporate aesthetic, again this could imply the capitalisation of young people through the mis-sold ideology of the American Dream, the coldness Steinberg expresses promotes the emphasis of corporate and capitalistic ideology and pressures which are implemented by society.
Reference List
Aaron, S., n.d. The Mask Series: Inge Morath & Saul Steinberg • Magnum Photos Magnum Photos. [online] Magnum Photos. Available at: <https://www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/art/inge-morath-saul-steinberg-masks/> [Accessed 13 July 2022].
Flashbak, 2020. Saul Steinberg's Mask Series. [video] Available at: <https://youtu.be/rQdC-ru-GLQ> [Accessed 13 July 2022].
Saul Steinberg Foundation. n.d. Paper-bag Masks - Saul Steinberg Foundation. [online] Available at: <https://saulsteinbergfoundation.org/essay/paper-bag-masks/> [Accessed 13 July 2022].
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