Artist Statement

The Noh Mask originates in Japan and is part of a costume that is utilized in Noh theatre performances. Noh theatre is one of, if not the oldest form of surviving theatre. Many performers feel the masks contain some sort of energy, making them more spiritual than a normal prop. As of now, there are over 200 kinds of masks that are in use. The exact creation date of the masks is unknown, but it is speculated that they were first made around 1392-1573 in the mid to late Muromachi period. Story themes usually centered around dreams and the supernatural. The masks are constructed using a wide variety of materials including wood, clay, dry lacquer, cloth, and paper. 

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Like most others, I spent most of my summer being quarantined in my home with my cats to keep me company. My outdoor cat loves me and constantly begs for attention while my indoor cat hates my guts and uses every chance he has to bite or scratch me, but I still love him. Seeing as the Noh theatre commonly used different supernatural creatures in their stories, I thought of my cats as Bakeneko (Japanese cat spirit). I went a little farther with this idea, as I assigned a personality onto each of the masks. I used mischief for my outdoor cat and judgement for my indoor cat. If you look closely at my masks, you can see the different characteristics of each of my cats. The smiling cat definitely shows more emotion while being a bit larger with taller ears while having stripes. The judging cat shows little to no emotion while being mostly all white save for a few blue accents and patterns for more color. It is also smaller with fatter and more rounded ears.