Word: masks
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Open ambition is a dangerous thing for a mafioso. For years, Salvatore Lo Piccolo managed to mask his highest aspirations as he rose from loyal foot soldier to the upper reaches of the Mafia hierarchy. The 65-year-old Palermo native always seemed to know how to wind up on the winning side of internal feuds, a gift that eventually made him supreme boss in the Sicilian capital. But Lo Piccolo wanted more: control over the entire island of Sicily, expanded cooperation with U.S. mobsters, even the title of capo dei capi - the boss of bosses...
...appearing to work on a mural of yellow lines that snake down the street, hop a curb and bloom into a flower climbing a wall. In the photo, the man dons blue jeans and sneakers and a dark green jacket. What appears to be a spray-paint mask is perched atop his head. (See pictures of Banksy...
...Would being caught in the act lessen Banksy's mystique? Certainly, his work now seems to depend on anonymity. Perhaps, in the future, he should leave the mask...
That would describe C.F.A.O., which Puryear completed this year. It consists of an old wheelbarrow that carries a timber framework tower that's over 7 ft. (more than 2 m) tall. Embedded face-first in the nest of wood is a replica of the underside of an African tribal mask...
...Occidentale, a French trading company that once operated in Sierra Leone. Puryear connects the piece to ideas about cultural contact, about the French and Africans colliding in the place where history mingled them. I couldn't help thinking of Puryear himself, the artist venturing into the world in the mask we all wear sometimes and carrying his gifts and burdens before him. He might object. But as I said before, he's not a man to be understood too quickly. Not by us. Maybe not even by himself...