Panda Bear from The Mask Series

Posted by Julie Green July 19, 2014

Panda Bear from The Mask Series

"Panda Bear No. 1" from The Mask Series

It's no secret that humor plays a large part in my photographs. My motto is "You Can't Fake Having Fun" and the Mask Series is a testament to having as much fun as possible while making Art. The power of humor and the barriers it tears down can be seen in all sections of life. But for me, it reveals itself most clearly in the Arts. You can hear it in the music, you can see it in the painting, you can feel it in the line of the sculpture: the pure essence of joy cannot be contrived.

When I set out to create this series, I limited myself 2 rolls of 120 black and white film per subject and shot them only in natural light. Subjects were given a bag of masks and asked to choose one that most resonated with them. I have always felt that the selection of the mask revealed a little bit more about the individual: their tastes in design, form, nature and character identification. The selection process, I noticed, also set them more at ease by giving them a little bit of control over the project.

Yes, masking ourselves is a freeing experience, one in which we can allow ourselves to drop our guard even if only for a second. Humor can be a mask but in this particular instance, with each and every consecutive subject I photographed (33 total) the silliness of playing a different character and the joy of creating together produced what I consider one of my most important body of work.

Once again, two limited edition prints from this set are available through my Etsy store.

Long Live Silliness,

Julie Pavlowski Green
July 19, 2014

Subscribe to our mailing list