Magician
of the carnival turns thousands of people into work of art
Just
wearing a red nose is not enough. If you want to be part of carnival in
Trinidad, you have to join one of the masquerade groups. Two dozens of
such masbands compete with each other for the best costume
designs. One of them has made dressing up at carnival a form of art.
Each year Peter Minshall and his Callaloo Company turn thousands of
people into a living work of art.
By Bernhard Grdseloff |
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The
fine art of carnival
The carnival
costumes by Peter Minshall are works of art. This is particularly true
of the over-sized masks of the "Kings" and "Queens"
(photo). Each year the artist creates at the most three or four of these
magnificent specimens as central figures of the respective costume
topic. The enormous structures made of fabric, wire and glass fibre are
mounted on rollers, amplifying each movement of the person carrying
them. Those wanting to shine at carnival with a work of art of this kind
will need to lay out 5,000 US-US-Dollars at least. Standard costumes, by
contrast, are priced at 150 to 250 Dollars. You can admire Minshall’s
art work in the Internet at: www.callaloo.co.tt. The current hit
parade of the most popular masks can be found at: www.trinmusic.com |
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"I
don’t make costumes, I create ways to express human energy", is
how the magician of carnival outlines his work. The graduate of the
London College of Art and Design detests Las Vegas style skimpy feather
glitter. When his masked parade passes by, luxuriantly flowing fabrics
and colorful flags fill the streets of Port of Spain. Often there’ll
be forty different masks on one topic, and huge dancing figures moving
in between them.
This
kind of magnificence has its price. Every carnival season, the Callaloo
Company uses around 20 miles of fabric in more than 30 colors to create
2,500 to 3,000 costumes. That’s how many people take part in Minshall’s
Masband each year, making up his "tribe", as the
61 year-old puts it.
Each
year the chieftain presents a topic to his tribe, mostly relating to
some current issue. In 2003 it was the "Ship of fools" – the
world as a space ship full of maniacs. The Callaloo Company creates
costume samples according to the designs of Peter Minshall, which are
displayed in a mas camp and presented in the Internet. The fans
only buy the masks if they like them. "Our kind of carnival
represents theatre in its most original form", says Minshall.
"In Europe people pay to watch, here they pay to join in".
The
way the actors play their role is up to them. "We do give each
person buying a costume an leaflet explaining the philosophy behind the
topic", says the transformation artist. "But its up to them
what to do when it comes to actually dancing in the streets." |
Peter
Minshall: master... |
