Makeup Specificity

Controlled Disembodiment

In a moment of artistic self-awareness, Scott McCloud put together a comic explaining the definition, origin, and previous examples of comics. Although it varied from the traditional “superhero” aspect of comics, McCloud’s piece explored the complicated meaning of “comics” through an in-depth exploration of his own medium. Jackson Pollock did something similar; In an effort to break away from traditional painting methods, Pollock used everyday objects to splatter house paint on a horizontal canvas. This deliberate variation from the norm illustrated the specificity of painting as a medium. Pollock gave painting a new meaning as he warped the conventional techniques.

My medium specificity project represents various aspects of makeup as a medium. Daily cosmetic makeup is meant to cover up facial imperfections, accentuate desirable features, and give us control over how we look. So what if we could do all that without actually putting makeup on our face? In a reverse-Pollock, I used traditional makeup and application methods, but I changed my canvass completely. Instead of putting makeup on my face, I applied it to the mirror.

            I followed traditional contouring rules and application techniques, applying makeup to the mirror exactly as I would to my face. I ended up with a semi-realistic facial reconstruction with blank spaces for my eyes to look through. Technically, my disembodied face still counts as makeup. As I stood and looked into the mirror, the face obscured my reflection. While doing so, it covered up my facial imperfections, it accentuated desirable features, and gave me a great deal of control over how I looked.  It functioned exactly like makeup, but it rested on an unconventional canvas.

            This piece explores—although it does not necessarily critique—the mask-like qualities of cosmetics. We create illusions of perfection and control when we apply makeup. When combined with the animate movement of our faces, these cosmetics become an animated mask—a seamless (when applied correctly) integration between art and organism. Standing behind makeup, our faces are concealed, perfected, controlled. Our faces are exactly as we want to perceive them.

            Without the humanity of our faces behind it, however, makeup is just a false construction. It floats, disembodied and eerie, as a dangerous barrier between reality and self. Makeup turns into a mask that strips our individuality. It separates us from our own existence. It guards us from our life. Makeup can be beautiful, accentuating, and individual, but when we take it too far, we risk losing ourselves behind a stock projection of the ideal.