Eastern Beauty Meets Middle East
I’m writing to you from the sandy state of Qatar (quick geography debrief: it’s the small peninsula jutting off the east coast of Saudi Arabia); I’m here helping out with an art & design conference at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, the school where I used to work. It’s a sweet reunion—I get to see old friends, former students, and bask in the endless sunshine and surreal, super-luxury of this country I once called home. Also, I get paid in shawarmas. Lots of ‘em.
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Of interest to you is a workshop I’ve been covering over the week. Shanghai-based designer, Ailadi Cortelletti, and professional opera singer, Gao Mingbo, have been teaching students face-painting techniques used in traditional Beijing opera, called Lian Pu. Referred to as “painting of the heart and soul,” Lian Pu is high impact full-face makeup that exaggerates performers’ expressions and emotions for the audience. Colors are also symbolic of character traits—for example, red is for bravery, blue denotes strength, gold/silver are signs of the supernatural (e.g. gods and spirits), and white equals treachery, etc. As a performer, Mingbo is a Lian Pu expert; his professional training began when he was young, and he brought traditional Chinese paints, powders, and brushes with him to the desert.
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Photos courtesy of the author. Read Connie Tsang’s experience in Cartagena and other postcards right here.
