Thesis Title: A study on the concept of mask in photographs of Inge Morath, Ralph Eugene Meatyard and Gillian Wearing   

BY: Mina Abbas Panah

 Supervisor: Dr. Mehdi Moghimnejad

Degree: MA

Course of Study: Photography 

July 2019

Abstract
Since thousands of years ago, masks have appeared in virtually every region of the world in different forms and for different purposes. Masks were primarily made for ritual and magical uses, and later they were used in religion and performance; sometimes masks are only made as decorative objects. Because of their everlasting attraction for man, and their mysteriousness, masks entered the world of arts and they emerged in different art forms like theatre, painting and sculpture. The main purpose of this research is to study on the concept of mask in photos of three photographers who actively worked on this matter, and used masks in their pictures throughout their artistic career, or at least for some years: Inge Morath, Ralph Eugene Meatyard and Gillian Wearing. For this mean, firstly the history of using masks in modern art and particularly in photography will be reviewed briefly; and later the concept of mask in the artworks of these three photographers, the masks they used and their reasons to choose these masks will be surveyed. Also a background of their artistic career and their engagement with the concept of identity will be observed. This research comes to the conclusion that Inge Morath used masks to reflect her critical view of the society; Ralph Eugene Meatyard used masks to depict his personal fears and anxieties; and Gillian Wearing used masks to attain a deeper recognition of her own and other people’s identity.

Key Words: Mask, Identity, Photography, Inge Morath, Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Gillian Wearing