10 October – 1st December, 2009
MICHAEL TAYLOR
VENEER

Leather Mask Sculptures
An exquisite exhibition of sculptured masks

Selected Works now in the Main Gallery

Opened Saturday 10th October at 2.30pm by Meredith Hinchliffe, Journalist and Arts Reviewer

Born in Burlingame, California, Michael Taylor is a graduate of both San José State and San Francisco Universities, where he studied art, sculpture and marine biology. At a graduate level he worked with renowned artists/teachers John Battenburg and Fletcher Benton and while enjoying oil painting and the genre of portraiture, he eventually moved almost entirely into welded sculpture.

After graduating he spent three years sailing around the world in a 17 metre yacht built with his father, returning to the US to continue his career as an artist. A 1976 commission in San Francisco to make a mask proved to be a pivotal point in his life. Between 1984 and 1988 he undertook a study tour focussing on masks. He made masks using native leathers and worked with local artists in Mexico, Hawaii, Fiji, Australia and South Africa.

His work is collected Internationally and he has exhibited and lectured throughout Australia and the US, Germany, Switzerland and Japan. Intrigued in 1988 by the excellence of his work, all carried out without the use of traditional leatherworking tools, the members of the International Leder Guild , the ancient guild of leatherworkers, have included his work in every touring exhibition since. In Australia an exhibition of his work toured Regional Galleries continuously for four and a half years.

Since 1992 Michael and Liz Taylor have lived and worked in South Eastern Queensland while raising their family. Michael has given the discipline of mask making in Australia, a country with little or no tradition of masks, a status it has not previously known.

When one conjours up thoughts that come to mind on the subjects of leather it may well be about the everyday, such as shoes, furniture, carry bags and so on, but in another light it could well be thoughts of more of an exotic even sensual nature like cowboys and Indians, bikies and bikers, bondage and even fetishes.

Allied to those ideas are notions of identity be it the physicality of projecting one’s character in the public eye or the psychological that of application of implied character or traits via the media induced hype such as in the present day case of the bikie.

Michael Taylor has plied his art-form that addresses both the primal notions addressed above for over 3 decades. Combining an almost unique way of working with leather as an artistic medium with the inherent nature of the mask as a personal hideaway of identity. Attaining an extraordinary level of sculptural skill first from his creative father, bolstered by degrees in Marine Biology and the structures and patterns of nature together with degrees in the arts.

Fascinated by the intrinsic concealment properties of the mask in society and opportunities afforded by the realism of leather in itself both a physical and metaphorical skin, this exhibition’s title Veneer sits well in the context of the Wood Works Gallery.

Lone RangerTaylor’s masks began as the basic identity concealing “Lone Ranger” inspired black leather mask quickly adopted worldwide by the 70’s underground Gay community. His rise to almost mega star status was aided by extensive involvement in the New Orleans Mardi Gras scene and then further afield, and the use of his masks by such luminaries of popular culture as musician Annie Lennox, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, director Clint Eastwood and actress and singer Cher.

With his artistic direction set as sculpture in general and exquisite leather masks in particular, he continued an evolutionary quest that has led him to the pinnacle of his art-form via the beauty of the worn mask, to the almost self descriptive asymmetrical sculptural forms of the present day. These are named thus identifying their characteristics, from the mythological, the actual or the language elements of exotic cultures, as well as icons, symbols, gods and goddesses of societies from the ancient past to the present day.

At a point in time Michael’s masks ceased to be wearable in terms of design and scale, and have evolved fully into sculptural objects. There are however still the signifiers of a mask present, like the ties that bind it to the the wearer. The eye sockets remain, waiting for the wearer’s own to fill the void. At this point the mask loses their ability to be identity concealing and rather, enters a realm of character description. By definition the mask is nothing without a face, and the face reveals little if anything of its character without its surrounding decoration and adornment.

Allow yourself to experience the character of the mask let your eyes and mind follow closely the mask’s seductive lines, curves, colours and adornments and the character locked within its name and ethnic or metaphorical source may be revealed to you. And if your mind perceives, or places, eyes in the vacant sockets of the mask don’t be alarmed, you will have been affected and are privileged, you have unlocked the character of the piece and its intrinsic beauty, mystery and being is yours for the beholding. You may also find references to yourself within the character of the mask. We all wear them throughout our varied lives.

Stan d'Argeavel MA(Visual Arts)
Exhibitions Cordinator

EXHIBITION REVIEW

MICHAEL TAYLOR – VENEER: An exhibition of exotic leather mask sculptures
by Meredith Hinchliffe

People have worn masks for ever, whether they are physical or metaphorical. Masks can hide our persona – our emotions, our fears and our vulnerabilities. We wear them – probably constantly – to project a persona that we select for any given occasion.

Masks have the capacity to alter human perceptions of reality – for both the wearer and the viewer. In ancient Greek culture, where the arts achieved highly sophisticated levels, actors in the dramas of the day wore masks that depicted the characters portrayed, so that each mask signified its own persona. Today performers tend to get into their characters more deeply, creating another kind of mask.

There is a rich and complex history of masks around the world. The roles of masks in our culture and others are many and varied. They can be worn as a protection against real and imagined threats. They might prevent miscreant acts and maintain the circumscribed activities of a tribe. When worn, the masks made by ancestors might serve the dual roles of paying respect to those ancestors as well as teaching younger generations about past glories. They have both a religious and a social significance. In an article written about Michael Taylor’s masks, Gordon Foulds stated that despite its decorative qualities, the mask is still perceived as an artifact that alters current realities, usually for enjoyment and pleasure – but also sometimes for more sinister purposes.

Several Australian artists, including Michael, have created their artistic practice around the mask and as ornamental works, masks are viewed favourably by viewers. Michael has made sculptural leather masks since 1976. Initially he began making them in papier mache, but he soon decided that leather was more appropriate for achieving life-like features. The masks have become larger and more sculptural, so that they are no longer wearable.

Using clay moulds for the basic facial features, Michael adorns them to create the fantastical objects on exhibit. He carves, softens and moulds leather building fronds, leaves, ‘pleats’ and other shapes and uses pigments and dyes to colour the leather. And they have become more and more colourful. The added pieces frame the faces, and become the personality Michael determines by an exotic name, frequently taken from world mythology.

The faces remain central, however, and viewers can apply their own narratives to them. Are they male or female? What is the facial expression portraying? The placement of the faces in their frames imbues emotion and personality. While the faces themselves, many with vacant eyes, are serenely expressionless I believe that many viewers see likenesses to friends and relatives.

AmaiaMonifaAgurtzaneSeveral of the newer masks, such as the pensive Amaia have two faces giving a more reflective feeling, although the two profile masks facing each other in Agurtzane are almost lost, covered by highly coloured fronds.

I find the simpler works more successful – a case of ‘more is less’. In Monifa, the face shines through the woven ‘sticks’. This work might give different personalities depending on the time of day, the light and the current mood of each viewer.

Michael has used a more restricted palette in Levana. The frame is also more restrained, with the fronds curving around the face with an upswept forehead, which sits proud of a large, pleated collar.

A whimsical feature of several works is that the masks are ‘masked’ so that the area around the eyes, over the nose and part of the forehead are highlighted. For example, the area around the eyes and forehead in Sancia, which has a curvaceous, baroque frame, are darker than the face itself. Similarly, Gioia is masked. Both works are in a limited palette, with a more restrained frame.

SanciaGiolaAirliaIn contrast, Airlia is disconcerting as a large part of the face is removed. The lips appear to float amongst the fronds that surround the nose and eyes.

With several works, I find the composition is turbulent and stormy, and others combine too many colours, with sparkling dyes, and splashes of dyes, so that the eye is diverted in several oppositional directions.

It is not possible to wear the masks. Michael has said that wearability restricted his creativity. However, they have reached their maximum size as if they were larger the face would become insignificant and the work would lose its impact as a mask.

A table in the gallery features several patterns that he uses to cut his leather, drawings and a mould for a face. It also shows the entire – very small – range of tools he uses to create these artworks.

These works deserve to be viewed carefully and individually. The installation in the centre of the gallery, consisting of photographs (by Stan d'Argeavel, Exhibitions Coordinator) and backboards from Michael’s working surface, allows some works to be seen in isolation.

© Meredith Hinchliffe
Freelance arts writer and advocate.

Viridis: Latin, youthful, blooming $5000Tecla: Italian, shining $4700Shappa: Native American, red thunder $5000 SOLDSaxena: English, woman of the sword $4700 SOLDSancia: Latin, sacred $4300Marietta: Italian, star of the sea $4600
Ledell: Greek, Spartan queen $5100Gioia: Italian, joy $4400Gaudenzia: Italian, reveler. pleasure seeker $4600Fosca: Italian, dusk $4600Emalia: Latin, flirt $4800Caprinina: Italian, fanciful, unpredictable $4600Amaia: Latin, from the night sky $4900 SOLDAlta: Latin, tall in spirit $4400 SOLDAirlia: Greek, ethereal $4400 SOLDAgurtzane: Basque, adoration $5000 SOLDAdria: Latin, lady from the sea $4200Variazone: Italian, change opinion $4700Kai-nalu: Hawaiian, sea wave $5100 SOLDLevana: Latin, rising sunXimena: Spanish, listener $4700Monifa: Yoruba (Nigeria), I am lucky $4300 SOLDCela: Latin, celestial, heavenly $4300 SOLD bodyRuna: Scandinavian, secret lore $4800Ahneta: Latin, ambitious, Faber est suae quisque fortunae - Every man is the artisan of his own fortune $4700 SOLD