Who Were Those Masked People? : Children’s Museum Takes a Look at Reasons and Uses for Cover-Ups Throughout History

The talent to become someone, or something, else seems to come as naturally to a child as a case of the giggles. Drape a towel over his shoulders and he’s a super-hero. Give her a cardboard tube and she’s Pinocchio, or maybe a pirate king peering out to sea.

“Festival of the Masks,” the current interactive exhibit at the Children’s Museum at La Habra, takes that idea a step further, demonstrating the ways we transform ourselves through the use of masks, whether it is for cultural celebrations or on the job. The exhibit continues through Jan. 4.

The exhibit, organized by Carrie Wictor, the museum’s recently named curator of education, includes about 150 masks ranging from a pair of ornate Balinese festival masks to a beekeeper’s helmet and veil, with a few masklike curiosities thrown in for good measure. Because of the value and fragility of many of the items, only about one-third of the exhibit is dedicated to hands-on activities (papier mache animal masks and theatrical masks, as well as a do-it-yourself face-painting station, are available at the back of the gallery), giving “Festival of the Masks” more of an academic feel than past Children’s Museum shows.

Wictor, however, is confident her young viewers are up to the challenge.

“I think children are largely capable of taking whatever you tell them as long as they can relate it to something they know,” she said. “For example, a lot of these masks deal with good and evil. (Children) deal every day with those concepts.”

Because they are used in virtually every corner of the globe, masks also help teach children about common ideas and practices among different cultures, she continued.

“We have children coming through here from a lot of different cultures,” noted Wictor, “so there’s a good chance that we have a mask someone will be familiar with.” That familiarity can help them relate more easily to another culture that may use masks in a similar way, she said.

In her book, “Mask Magic,” author Carolyn Mayer traced the evolution of the mask from the Stone Age to modern times. The earliest evidence of masks, wrote Mayer, can be found in cave paintings in southwestern France that depict Stone Age man wearing animal heads, presumably as hunting disguises. In the theater, actors in ancient Greece wore oversized masks with speaking tubes that projected the voice, allowing a small cast to play a wide variety of roles. In the 14th Century, masks became an integral part of Italy’s commedia dell arte and Japan’s Noh plays.

Masks have even done their bit as beauty aids. In the early 17th Century, many European women used a small velvet eye mask to “conceal a bad complexion as well as to lend an air of mystery to their appearance,” wrote Mayer. In the United States, masks are an integral part of holiday festivities from Mardi Gras to Halloween.

These and other facts about the evolution and uses of masks were passed on to museum docents during pre-opening workshops, and the volunteers are always willing to share their knowledge with viewers, said Wictor. It’s a good thing, too, because gallery cards for “Festival of the Masks” are terse. To get the most from your visit, be sure to buttonhole one of the docents, or take part in a tour, available by reservation to groups of 10 or more.

Mexican masks typical of those used in Christmas plays and processions make up about 20% of the exhibit, all on loan from the Bowers Museum and private collectors, including Los Angeles mask maker and dancer Alfredo Calderon. (Calderon, by the way, will lead a free mask-making workshop at the museum on Nov. 9.)

Ranging from roughly woven basketry masks to brightly colored wooden masks, the characters depict the strong European influence on native Mexican traditions, and the result is not always flattering. For example, a mask of Malincha, an Indian woman who served as an interpreter for Cortes and his conquistadores during the 16th Century, has European coloring, blue eyes and snakes slithering down either side of her face.

Transformation, or metamorphic, masks that blend animal and human characteristics are thought to give superhuman qualities to the wearer and are common in many cultures, said Wictor. A Mexican mask that is part man and part coyote is one of several examples on view. She said the combination of the nocturnal animal and man lends the wearer “the dual forces of night and day.”

A pair of Balinese dance masks depicting the evil witch Rangda and the noble Barong demonstrate the different ways we view good and evil, said Wictor.

“In our culture, good and evil are two completely separate entities. But these two with their bulging eyes and protruding tongues are very similar in appearance. Good and evil are seen as two sides of the same coin. The way to know which is which is to know the costumes and moves.”

A small section of the exhibit is dedicated to masks used on the job and in sporting activities, including a gaudy red and green wrestler’s mask with a stitched grimace, a welder’s mask, a surgeon’s face mask and an antique English fireman’s helmet with eye guards that resemble small windows. Children are free to handle some of these and to complete their role-playing with a selection of professional garb. Theatrical masks, including several on loan from South Coast Repertory, are also available for hands-on fun.

Weekly mask-making seminars integrating a wide variety of materials and themes and other related workshops are offered as part of “Festival of the Masks” every Saturday at noon at the museum and are included in the price of museum admission. This weekend, it’s a costume presentation of traditional Mexican dress and accessories; on Oct. 26, children can take part in a Halloween-themed workshop.

What: “Festival of the Masks.”

When: Through Jan. 4. Hours: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: The Children’s Museum at La Habra, 301 S. Euclid St., La Habra.

Whereabouts: From the Orange (57) Freeway, exit at Lambert Road. Drive west to Euclid St. and turn right.

Wherewithal: $2.50 for ages 2 to 16 and seniors; $3 for adults.

Where to call: (213) 905-9793.