Relating Art Movements to Face Mask and Masking in the Age of COVID-19

Abstract

At present, face masking is part of our qualification as global citizens. Many face masks
that abound during COVID-19 pandemic are essentially and significantly art driven;
needing novel, scholastic interrogations of their creativity generation, classification and
contextual clearance. Most literature available on face mask art is new, peripheral,
sensational and generalised. Most of these face masks and their masking styles
luxuriantly utilise properties of all specialisations of the Visual arts. The artistic trends
that all of these elicit, therefore, need adequate and systematic documentation,
particularly in creativity repositories. This paper studied some face mask artforms
through their characterisation in art movements. Collection of data was unstructured
and samples were sourced from the internet, several media and direct photography from
close associates. Twenty samples were used for multiple-case study and the content
analysis was explorative. Qualitative methodology was adopted, while samples were
grouped into ten categories of art movements, with two portraits representing each
movement’s philosophy and/or characteristics. Images were spread across race,
material, design, functionality and purposefulness for study. The study showed that based
on the creative and visual demonstrations and socio-psychological impacts of COVID-19
inspired face masks, there is need for multi-directional documentation in varied
scholarly forms other than the medical sciences. Since there are over a thousand face
masks already in public domains, nations need to document and possibly preserve their
locally stylised face masks as part of the arts that are traditional to them.