Mas Stories

The Art Factory

By David Robertson

Carnival impinges on every aspect of society in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), good and bad; those who condemn it are either unaware or dismissive of its history. This year I did a stint at Brian Macfarlane’s mas camp, the Art Factory. His presentation for Carnival 2009 was Africa, Her People, Her Glory, Her Tears. Africa won the Band of the Year title, and the King and Queen of Carnival competitions, bringing the band leader his third consecutive (Band of the Year) victory. As befitting a three times title winner much has been written about Brian Macfarlane but this article looks at the people working behind the scenes as it were the story behind the headline, the carnival artisans, master craftsperson’s, mas workers, wire benders, volunteers and novices, mostly unheralded and unacknowledged but vitally important to the organisation. In fact there’d be no carnival without them.

The Art Factory is aptly named. A mas camp is essentially a factory, it might seem a strange term but it’s quite accurate it’s a place where people literally camp out. During the carnival season, it becomes a home away from home, at the start of the season it opens Monday to Friday and will close around 8pm. However, nearing the start of the two day street procession it’s 24/7 - seven days a week and open until the wee hours. As the clock winds down and the excitement ratchets up there is nothing quite like it and no place else to be, all roads lead to T&T. As the festival, the masquerade draws nearer the camp like much of the islands is raw energy: the sleep deprived mas workers survive on coffee, cigarettes and the entity that is carnival. It is the thing which draws them together, the love for the art. There is also the bond of friendship that is formed between workers and rekindled during the carnival season. It is why they toil in the intense heat of the day and cool of the night. It’s also important because it provides people with an income and some who are well placed can make an awful lot of money.

The Art Factory is the largest production house of its kind; there are small pockets where people are doing innovative and interesting things but nothing on this scale. It is where dreams are realised, ideas generated, a band comes to fruition. It’s glue, paint, dyes, the stench of reeds being soaked to be made pliable and then bent into shapes, stencils being cut, sewing, stitching, metal being moulded and the constant whirl of fans and humming of the air conditioning to ward off the heat. It’s also the realm of Bacchus, seething with ideas, a whole host of personalities coming together; it’s a hot house, part-soap opera part-melodrama, tantrums and hissy fits, and its constant pressure to finish the costumes for carnival.

A mas camp is not a place for the faint-hearted or the easily shocked, it’s a tough environment, exceedingly hard work but also a lot of fun and then there’s the camaraderie. At the end of the season many of these workers are so tired after the festivities they sleep for days. It's with a twinge of sadness to see pieces that have taken hundreds of people hours to create lying abandoned by the roadside as the heat and combination of fatigue and alcohol take their toll. These artisans will turn basic materials into all manner of beautiful things; they will cut, bend and cajole wire and wood into all manner of figures.

The workers come from all different walks of life, professional and educational backgrounds, ethnicities, gender and sexual orientation: there are students, artists, teachers, postal workers, civil servants, seasonal workers, volunteers, locals and foreign visitors alike. It is a microcosm of life, in fact it has a life all its own. And they all have their own stories. It’s a shame that the devout and the hypocritical only focus on the profanity, vulgarity and fail to see the artistry: the dedication, skill and creativity. They are the same type of people that on seeing Michelangelo’s ‘Last Judgement’ when it was unveiled on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, thought it obscene because it contained nude figures. They promptly painted clothes on them; in their eyes everything they deem secular is sinful. The truth is if anything is going to kill the artform it’s the greed and rank commercialism that seems to have taken root. It shows where some of the other mas bands are charging US$300-$800 for an accessorised swimsuit, in the most factual way, less is more. My concerns are about ensuring that we do not lose the core skills like wire bending and the traditional aspects of the art, the small bands and individuals. We need to find a place and a space for all, and for costumes to be affordable so that more people can don a costume and participate as opposed to watching from the sidelines.

The simple front of the building belies the sometimes frenetic activity going on at the back. On entering the Art Factory, the cool of the air conditioned front offices where the framed drawings of the costumes are displayed and the costumes sold, gives way to the heat and humidity of the production at the back. It’s sweaty and noisy, and the presence of mosquitoes brings a sort of gritty reality to the proceedings, the pesky little critters even bite during the day. This is where headpieces are fashioned out of cardboard and where the workers toil. This is the engine room and it’s interesting that many making costumes can’t afford to play mas. Of course not all mas camps are like this some of the so-called bikini and beads bands import costumes from China and the little work needed to finish them is done locally. At the Art Factory you can literally see the creative process. Some of the production workers are assigned to work on different sections of the band depending on their strengths.

As you leave the front office you’re likely to encounter Robbie the designer, who exists in a universe of fabric and design. He is one of the pivotal figures at the camp and workers seem to go to him with all sorts of issues, including those about personnel. He is constantly scribbling ideas on his desk. It’s covered in loads of sketches and is often walking about the camp wearing a headpiece or costume; it may look a bit odd to casual observer but its pure theatre. He’s a creative genius and like all creative geniuses eccentricity lurks just beneath the surface. Robbie has been working with Macfarlane for 5 years. He initially started working at Macfarlane Design Studio, which is the interior design company. He describes his talent as part gift (for seeing things and bringing them to reality) and the discipline and experience of years of training. He worked for 17 years with Peter Minshall, not only on his carnival presentations but also extensively as the assistant textile designer on the opening ceremonies for the Barcelona and Atlanta Olympic Games. He says he came to the Art Factory with the expressed desire of passing on knowledge.

Space permitting, I’d liked to have mentioned all of the workers individually; they all contributed in ways large and small, even if it were mainly hubris and negative energy. They can all take pride for contributing to Africa winning Band of the Year. Now to start planning for 2010!

The photographs, also taken by David Robertson, show the making of the elephant dancers’ headpieces to illustrate the work that goes into producing the costumes.

(David Robertson is a is a contributor to Island Vibes Magazine and writes about culture, politics, and social issues, from his perspective. For comments, please feel free to contact him at david@islandvibesmag.com.)