Where new design goes to blossom and lost design goes to live again.
Chris Burns on May 18, 2010 10:00 PM
The shortened path to this post is http://wfdj.us/whfve

Behold a mask carved in wood, hung on hinges and opening to the skull inside. Carved with love by the 3D artist and designer Anthony Santella. Made to reflect Native American transformation masks which originate in many places in the old North America, including our very own Minnesota! Santella resides in Teaneck, NJ, and definitely has a heart for the whole. View the opened mask and closed mask above and below, then glance through a selection of the other wood carvings Santella’s executed as well. It is an undeniable form of craftsmanship that’s shown here and in every single one of the carvings in his portfolio of works. What a fantastic gift it is to be able to work a material into a masterpiece.

Santella’s got the gift.

Woodworking’s been around for a long time, and trees have been one of our unendingly helpful providers. In this mask I, personally, see the two faces of humanity itself as it looks at the forest. One one hand it is genuinely kind, using the woods as a source for materials and food and whatnot, planting two trees where we take one. On the other hand, it is a mask, and inside there is the face of death.

While I’m not sure if Santella meant it to be this way, this wooden mask represents how we hinge on this natural world to me. But check it out. If you look through the rest of the works of Santella, even the limited amount provided here, you see many such similar messages. The heart is a prevalent sign, as is the pregnant human body. Mother Nature is here, you can bet that to be true here.

You can contact Santella at t. 1 201 951 1060 or by emailing anthony.santella (-insert at sign here-) gmail.com, or by viewing his santella.org webpage. He may be open for commissions or to be invited to show artworks at group or single shows.

Pretty pretty!

This post is part of the World Famous Design Junkies sculpture category.

7 Comments

  • Posted by Kiki | 05.19.10

    Is the last one “GHOST RIDER” ?

  • Posted by Chris Burns | 05.20.10

    It’s a backwards-color version of VENOM from Spiderman

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Categories: 3D, Environment, Sculpture, Wood
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