|
 LMC:
Talk
about how masks have evolved over the decades. What were designs,
quality and appearance like in the early days as compared to today?
DL: I don’t think there’s been a huge
shift in design, but some things have happened quality-wise. In the
early ‘80s there were a lot of small, independent mask companies all
around, selling handmade “garage masks”, making wonderful stuff.
Then most of them disappeared and in there were a lot fewer mask
artists around in the ‘90s. Everything was being mass-produced
overseas by the major manufacturers and sold for prices that were
inflated in terms of the quality you were getting but were still
cheaper than an independent artist could produce them. Only a few
true fine artists, like Jeff Death, hung on. Even Harry Inman gave
up for awhile, and collectors were thrilled when he got back into
the business. Harry is just too good not to be making masks.
There were companies that
got too big too fast. They suffered a severe drop in quality and
lost their reputations with collectors. The reason was that they
wanted to sell to the big catalog dealers, who would promise them
gigantic orders for masks if they could offer wholesale prices
lowered to a pittance. Unable to resist these offers, maskmakers
who had once been producing wonderful, first-rate work suddenly
started cranking out flimsy cheapies with rush job finishing work in
order to satisfy the big suppliers. The funny thing is --and when I
say “funny” I mean “tragic”--by the time the retail markup was
added, many of the newer breed of quickie masks were selling for
roughly the same prices as the beautiful collectible ones had been
before.
Just recently though, I’m
seeing a very positive trend toward masks as art pieces, with a lot
of new faces (artists and monsters) on the horror-izon. People who
are offering fine, handmade works of mask art aimed at true
connoisseur. I see more expert maskmakers right now than I have
since the ‘80s.
LMC: Are
there any mask artists that really stand out?
DL:
I
don’t know, but if they do they should come back in before it rains.
LMC:
Any
stuff you buy almost without seeing because you know the artists are
that good?
 DL:
Yes, I
think if Henry Alvarez decides to do a character, I can be sure I’m
going to like his interpretation of it and I’d say “sign me up!”
even before the sculpture is done. I’d say the same thing about
Cathy Tharp, John Smith, and Dwight Shundo, except Dwight isn’t
working as a sculptor anymore. And I know this is going to sound
like nepotism, but I can’t help it, it’s the truth: I think Carol
Hicks is that good too. I think that if you like the character idea
at all, if it’s being done by one of those people, you’re going to
like the finished mask. I love a lot of work by a lot of different
artists, but those are some who are at the top of my list.
LMC:
Tell
us about some of the collectors out there. Anyone rivaling your
collection? Friends that share the same affection for masks that
you do?
DL:
Is
that “affection” or “affliction”? When I was a teen I thought I
must be the only person in the world with a roomful of monster
masks. But now that I’m an old corpse it’s amazing how many
collector friends I have. There are dozens of us who trade phone
messages and such every time a cool new piece is produced. Dan
Roebuck, Bob Burns, Frank Tocco, Bill Simons, Scott Solomon, Rhonda
Underwood, Rich Correll, Arthur DeLuca, Guy Thorpe, Ron Magid, Dante
Renta, Rob Cametti, William Malouf, Jim Greenwald, Craig Teschler,
Jamie Lurgio, Pete Roberts…those are a few of the people I know who
have amazing wonderful collections. All hopeless addicts, like me.
LMC:
Do
you like to collect any particular style of mask? (movie masks,
originals, etc.)?
 DL:
I used
to collect pretty much everything. Anything I saw that I liked, no
matter the source. But when we moved from Hollywood to Ohio I had
to sell off a huge, huge portion of my collection to raise
the money for the move. And since most of the stuff I decided I
could live without was the non-movie original designs, I guess that
proved that the movie (or TV) character masks were ultimately more
important to me. And that’s mostly what I collect nowadays.
LMC:
You
wrote a few books on mask collecting and mask making. What
motivated writing them?
DL:
People
made me aware there was a demand for it. I’d get calls and faxes
and letters all the time, often from total strangers, asking
questions about certain masks. Who sculpted them, when were they
made, what movie they were from, that sort of thing. I started to
realize that I was probably the only guy on the planet who’d
collected all that information from ever since my childhood, and had
most of it (quite accidentally) committed to memory. So I figured
the world needed a permanent, reliable, fully-researched guide for
future collectors to refer to, in the event that I got run over by a
steamroller or abducted by aliens or something and wasn’t around to
pass on all of that information. There needed to be a ‘one-stop’
source to contain all that history.
LMC:
Was
it more work than expected?
DL:
Oh, of
course. Everything takes longer than you expect it to take, even
when you expect it to take longer than you expect it to take.
LMC:
How
have they sold?
DL:
Through mail order, mostly. The first edition was successful
enough that I had to do a second printing. Then before long there
had been so much more new stuff created that it seemed a little out
of date. So I did a new, revised-updated second edition. I was
pretty sure mask collectors would be happy to have a book like that,
but the really great thing is that after awhile I started hearing
from people who were never into masks until after they bought my
books, and then became collectors, excited about this new world of
collectibles they weren’t aware of before! From what I hear, it
seems that my books turned a lot of formerly normal human beings
into fanatical mask collectors. So it’s good to know I left my mark
on the world. A lot of people in the industry refer to my books now
for mask info; even Don Post told me he carries a copy around with
him on business trips so he can answer questions about his studio’s
older products. That was a huge compliment, for Don Post himself to
respect my work. I’m really glad I came out with those books; so
many monster fans seem to have enjoyed them.
 LMC:
What’s
your paint formula and paint style (airbrush, stipple, etc.)?
DL:
I came up with my own paint formula back in the ‘80s. I make all my
own paint, using a latex makeup adhesive as a base. It sticks to
masks really well and stays flexible. It doesn’t crack or rub off
of latex like ordinary paints do. The only drawback is that it
doesn’t work over 100% of all the other paints other maskmakers
use. So when I’m commissioned to repaint something, I always dab a
little paint on the back somewhere to see if it will stick to what’s
already there. On raw latex it’s unbeatable! No good on vinyl,
though.
As for
technique, it depends on the character. I use an airbrush most of
the time or else a combination, but if the mask is a mummy or
dried-out corpse character, sometimes it looks better to stipple
paint it. A lot of my masks start out getting a base coat of a dark
red, brick or burgundy color. Then I apply the main colors over
that. The dark red base coat doesn’t show by the time I’m finished,
but I like the way the lighter colors look over top of it. It’s
just something I picked up through experimentation, trial and
terror, err, I mean, error. My ‘dead’ characters, zombies and the
like, get painted with a black base coat. It makes the final result
look a little more cold, bloodless and creepy. Which is how good
zombies should usually look. And which, come to think of it, is
also how I usually look…
LMC:
What
kind of clay do you sculpt in?
DL:
I use
Roma Plastilina, which is an oil-based clay. It never needs to be
moistened, and never dries up and cracks. I’m too emotional to use
water clay!…If I ever got 90% finished with a sculpture and left it
overnight, and then found the next morning that it had dried out and
chunks the size of large rodents dropped off of it, I’d probably
shoot myself.
Page 5 |
;)
;)
;)
;)
