Kest Schwartzman lives in the hills with their dog, their wife, and their many, many hammers. They have been making copper faces for over two decades, have never repeated one in all that time, and are still getting better. They have a degree in metalwork from MassArt.
Kest Schwartzman
they/them
“The deliberate choice of a mask shows more about one's insides than a naked face ever could. This covering allows one to change one's face dependent on context; sometimes using it as a way to obfuscate, sometimes as a way of revealing brazen truths, sometimes just as a distraction while one acts out an unrelated truth. Regardless, the important bit is this: you can choose your own face.”
“I think of all of my masks as little bits of safe haven; they allow one to be oneself, either by hiding or revealing as much as one wishes, wherever one goes.”
How does your work relate to the theme Adorned Serenity— How does the work function as a wearable safe space?
Yulecat, Raised from one sheet of copper, 20"x11"x10", 2022
How do you see this piece existing in the world as a wearable safe space?
Or is this piece specific to you?
“I think the choice of which mask to wear IS an important part of the mask acting as safe space, but any one face will work, at least a bit, for any one person.”
“Apply to face. Act at will.”