keep it together
April 26, 2016
Melisa V
April 26, 2016

“Vision Reigns”
Wooden masks are an important element of African art; they are often used in ritual dances and social and religious events. Vision Reigns is a mask that captures Garth Fagan’s leadership in the contemporary dance community and celebrates his anniversary, birthday, and lifelong achievements. The inside of the mask is lined with 24k gold to denote the many awards that Garth’s work has received. Vision Reigns also demonstrates that, while Garth pushes the limits of dance, Scott Grove pushes the limits of his medium, wood. Wood veneer typically bends in one axis, similar to a sheet of paper—one can only make a cylinder, not a ball, without wrinkling or tearing the paper. Grove has developed an original technique for extreme compound veneering, enabling him to stretch and compress wood veneer to conform to the human face. To create Vision Reigns, a mold was made from Garth’s face, and a subsequent casting produced. The casting was then modified into a mask using his image as its foundation. Additional male and female molds were then created to be used as forms for Grove’s pioneered wood veneering process.