Hun Mask

Buff Clay Raku Fired with Oil Paint and Glaze

1997

The second of "The Case Western Series" including "Patriot Mask" and "Cartridge Mask". This piece a reference to both to Otto Dix's portfolio of etchings entitled "The War", and the broadly witnessed dehumanized portrait of the gasmask-clad German trench raider the had its origins in The First World War and persists, augmented by subsequent history, to this day. An additional component to Shuckerow's instruction was that of the raku firing process, a technique of Japanese origin involving the placing of the still hot piece from the kiln into a covered, straw-filled pit where it is effectively smoked- the porous clay absorbing the carbon from the burning vegetable matter and taking on a random dark mottle. It was hoped that the smoke would create a pattern reminiscent of noxious vapors. It was not entirely satisfactory, so an application of underglazes was applied to the helmet, and the rest treated with layers of diluted oils.

Available for purchase.

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