Drawing Inspiration from the Masters

For two months every year in Laguna Beach, California, Van Gogh, DaVinci, Rembrant, Renoir and other masters literally come to life with the help of Make-Up Artists at the Pageant of the Masters. 

Starting in 1933, citizens of Laguna would gather, dressed in costumes, to represent a living canvas of various art masterpieces. These tableaux vivants, or "living pictures," have come a long way from those early days. Today, the pageant is a 90 minute experience complete with narration, an orchestra, and vocal performances. As well as some of the most amazing make-up transformations the world has ever seen. 

Joy Trent, the show's Make-up Director, is always using new innovations in the application of the nearly 100 gallons of make-up that are used on the 150 performers that make up these paintings each year. One of her tricks to making the transformations so smooth is creating template styrofoam heads for each face in the show.  The heads have the exact tones and hi-lights the artist must use to represent that role. Trent says that each night the make-up for each cast member takes anywhere between 25 to 45 minutes to complete by the 50 volunteer make-up artists. 

That is the most astonishing part, all of these amazing artists and performers are volunteers. As they have been for the last 78 years! The make-up artists that create these masterpieces are not just freelance make-up artists, but more often teachers, doctors, lawyers and other community members, all with the common goal to pay tribute to the Masters through make-up artistry. 

You can see this unbelievable concert performance at the Laguna Beach Festival of the Arts from now until August 31st.  Check out some of these photos from behind-the-scenes at the pageant: 

http://www.foapom.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pageant_of_the_Masters

This pageant is one of the many ways we, as Make-Up Artists, can draw inspiration from traditional works of art. Like with the canvas, make-up artistry is translated differently from face to face and artist to artist. Check out our students' interpretation of works by Joan Miro in last month's Advanced Beauty Seminar and feel free to share any work you've done to pay homage to the greats.