MASKING – FESCH.TV

FESCH.TV INFORMIERT:

MASKING is an experimental video by Joellyn Rock, created during the evolving pandemic of 2020-2021. The visual narrative draws from historical imagery of plague and pandemic masks, theatrical and ritual masques, protective masks designed for science and medical use, and homespun mask-making rising to meet the supply demands of the Covid-19 crisis. MASKING uses a mix of zoom-remote and live-local interviews, a motley collection of audio/visual media marked by these scrappy times. Segments feature costume designer Sasha Howell of Zeitgeist Arts Mask Force, textile artist/designer, Kirsten Aune, and mixed-media artist/puppeteer, Mary Plaster. Philosophy Professors Dr Alexis Elder and Dr Jeanine Weekes Schroer thoughtfully consider the ethics and social justice issues raised by masking. Social scientist, Dr Jeremy Youde and Essentia Health’s Chief Well-Being Officer, Dr Nancy Sudak help us think about public health attitudes during pandemics past and present. This work remixes colors and textures from public domain images, improvised dance by Kayla Schiltgen and Kristen Hylenski, and electronic music by JJ Sivak. MASKING is a messy search for a way to process the baffling days we are living through. Special thanks to many friends and family who contributed thoughts, creative work, and masked selfies to this project. MASKING is dedicated to life-long puppeteer, Alice Wittig, whose wisdom and creativity at age 91 is astonishing.

Credits:

1_Intro Segment / Mask Definition
Read by Rob Wittig
Metamorphoses / Of disease and disguise
by Matthew Battles
Anthropostures / May 14, 2020

Dance Kayla Schiltgen and Kristen Hylenski
Music by JJ Sivak
Dance input Cathy Podeszwa
Videography Vicky Lehman, Rob Wittig, Joellyn Rock

2_Making and Masks
Sasha Howell
Costume Designer and Maker
St. Scholastica Theatre
Zeitgeist Mask Force

3_Ethics and Masks
Alexis Elder
Associate Professor of Philosophy
University of Minnesota Duluth
Credit Thomas video and tech support?

4_Creativity and Masks
Kirsten Aune
Textile Artist and Designer
Forestasia Aune
Fashion show models

5_Public Health and Masks
Jeremy Youde
Dean, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
University of Minnesota Duluth

Video interview by
Dan Fitzpatrick, UMD MMADLab
Students in Art 2040 Digital Filmmaking

Jeanine Weekes Schroer
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Head, Department of Geography and Philosophy
Chair, Philosophy and Cognitive Science
University of Minnesota Duluth

Nancy Sudak, MD
Chief Well-Being Officer
Director of Integrative Health
Essentia Health

6_Social Justice and Masks
Jeanine Weekes Schroer
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Head, Department of Geography and Philosophy
Chair, Philosophy and Cognitive Science
University of Minnesota Duluth

Alexis Elder
Associate Professor of Philosophy
University of Minnesota Duluth
Thomas Dorr video and tech support

7_Ritual and Masks
Mary Plaster
Mixed-Media Artist and Puppeteer
Duluth All Souls events and crowd-sourced video
Jason Fredrickson, Tate Huckstad, Eleanore Hunt, Tony Nowak, Daniel Benoit, Joellyn Rock, Troy Rogers and many others
All Souls 2021 puppeteers, parade participants, musicians, fire spinners

8_Let’s Get Quarantined
Dance Kayla Schiltgen and Kristen Hylenski
Music by JJ Sivak
Dance input Cathy Podeszwa
Videography Vicky Lehman, Rob Wittig, Joellyn Rock

Images of creative work
by Sasha Howell, Kirsten Aune, and Mary Plaster
used by permission of the artists

Public Domain Images from NIAID and NIH Image and Animation Galleries
Credit: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / CDC / cdc.gov
Historic Images in Public Domain from Wikimedia