if is a word
that seems to gravitate to me
a word
I qualify my meanings with
as if
as if
nothing is allowed to be
permanent or definite
who is the them that is
me? define me
I think perhaps
I will choose to be someone else
I must accommodate myself,
defer to my mask
while the other me
struggles to understand what
we both have
in common
am I who they think I am?
or am I a secret
that will never be
explained?
These drawings of ventriloquist dummies in the Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky were inspired by a book of photos of the dummies taken by Matthew Rolston. The Kick-About prompt of a circus immediately brought them to mind.
Haunting and aware, I had always wanted to try to capture some of the sentience of the photos in a drawing. And so I did, randomly opening the book to 4 different faces.
One of the essays in the book says they are meant “to suggest life”—but any supposedly “inanimate” object so entwined with a human life is alive. Any child can tell you that. They may have been separated from their humans, but these faces remember them.
You can read more about the Vent Haven Museum here, and read more about Rolston’s book here.
K. 
Ouch. This is so good it nearly hurts. (no worries if that don’t seem to be making sense) Think I like your paintings over the actual wooden faces. Softer? I’m not sure. But faces AND narrative, powerful, like the sun is bright. Already thinking of your post like good soup, something that calls for a spoon to best enjoy. Thanks.
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Thanks Neil. I’ve always been interested in masks. I suppose I do tend to humanize them.
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Simply fantastic, Kerfe ~ I’ve never seen this sort of art from you before. It’s like magic manifested on my screen.
❤
David
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Thanks David. I guess I don’t post my drawings that much, but it doesn’t seem that different to me. Although these faces are really special I think, and maybe that’s what comes through. I have a long fascination with masks, but these seem much more lifelike than most.
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Back again. OK Kerfe, asking permission to use one of your faces for a poem/post of my own. Spring-boarded from one of your lines actually. Let me know. Thanks.
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Sure, no problem.
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Thanks, thanks. But in the meanwhile I went a slightly different way. You’ll see. But thanks. Neil
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Delightful!! I love the musing on “if” and the portraits do look imbued with personality and life!!
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Thanks Muri. If is a common word in my vocabulary.
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The whole notion of masks, puppets, animated images is unsettling. Slightly grotesque.
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It does have a strangeness, like a fun house mirror. But I’ve always been interested in masks–really any kind of effigy. Even though they can be, as you say, unsettling.
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And I’m the opposite. All of that kind of thing has me fidgeting on my seat.
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Kerfe, your creativity and taking art to the next level is always a pleasant surprise. Delightful choice to share on Halloween; it fits perfectly. The poem is so good and wise.
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Thanks Jade.
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You are very welcome!
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p.s. I just went and looked at the book link. Those things are damned creepy. They give off the same vibe as clowns do. You’ve softened them with your art, and I believe you did it intentionally. You made them possible to be regarded without revulsion or fear.
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I feel that way about clowns too. Ventriloquism is creepy in and of itself.
There’s something about the strangeness of masklike images that I’ve always found fascinating.though. Perhaps I’m always looking for the life hidden inside.
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Yes, yes, and yes. I think the mask makes a protective barrier between what’s behind it and the viewer as well.
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Both a barrier and a portal. We all have “invisible” masks too of course.
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I like the idea of a mask being a portal that both the wearer and the viewer may escape into. OK now you have me intrigued. Will you say more about “invisible” masks?
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The persona we present to the world. Which is different in different circumstances, at least for most people.
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agree with all of the above Kerfe, a new and insightful type of art from you. Your questioning is confronting, masks, puppets, facades … who are we?
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It’s a question I’m always asking myself. Thanks Kate.
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Your drawings show a lot of compassion and sympathy for these doll people. You make fine portraits of them. And your poem adds intrigue to the question of faces and what they reveal about the person inside.
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Thanks Aletha. I do feel for them–I don’t see how there could not have been an exchange of energy between them and their humans. And now they are mute and severed from that relationship. All those things we consider to be lacking life are made of the same elements we contain. Their molecules are moving too.
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I loved these then and I love them now!
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Thanks Phil. I found the perfect time to post them!
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I have always been fascinated by ventriloquism. Your art is mind-blowing, Kerfe! These faces jumped out to me from the screen! Perfect for Halloween. I love your wise words too.
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Thanks Punam. It is a fascinating subject for sure. Out of fashion as entertainment these days, but the ghosts live on in the dummie’s faces.
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Yes, sadly out of fashion now. You are welcome.
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Kerfe, I agree with Lisa, you have softened the faces so as to make them more palatable. They are grotesque, but I like how you want to find the life in them. Some of these were carved (long ago). I wonder if the artist was trying to do that as well??
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Thanks Collen. I’m sure many of the artists were looking for life in their materials. Even a caricature can contain humanity. (K)
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Exactly… there is beauty even in the ugly.
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A wonderful consideration of the masks we wear, Kerfe.
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Thanks Robbie.
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I love those last questions. And your drawings! Believe it or not one of my Christmas presents that I wanted and loved most when I was a kid (can’t remember what age) was a Charlie McCarthy dummy. My dad had a phobia of dolls so I can’t believe he went for it. But I was an only child so, who knows, maybe they thought I was pining for a surrogate brother. In hindsight I think he was more my male alter ego, but we had fun together until I gave him up like all of my toys. I’d completely forgotten about Charlie, so thanks for calling it back to mind!
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Thanks Sun. I think we all had some kind of alter ego in that way, whether doll, stuffed animal, or imaginary friend (my older brother had one of those). Lots of people find dolls creepy but I think there is humanity in every one.
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