Trinidad and Tobago Carnival: Part 9 - Peter Minshall

Filed Under thoughts, articles, series, Trinidad and Tobago Carnival | Posted on March 9, 2007

This is part of the series:

If Machel is the foremost innovator of soca, Minshall is the foremost innovator of mas. Eccentric and chameleon-like, his designs have captured Trinidadian’s imaginations for several decades. Born in Guyana, his family moved to Trinidad when he was 4 and we consider him a ‘true son of the soil’.

Peter MinshallFrom his official website:
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Minshall was born in Georgetown, Guyana, but moved to Trinidad as a child after his father took a job as a cartoonist. Growing up in the capital, Port of Spain, he was exposed to Carnival from a young age. He made his first costume at the age of thirteen, entering the children’s Carnival competition as an African witch doctor, and winning a prize for originality. He attended Queen’s Royal College, then went on to study Theatre Design at the Central School of Art and Design in London.
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Minshall’s costumes have sometimes been called “dancing mobiles.” “Mas” as he conceives it is performance art that combines the qualities of sculpture with those of movement. Each costume is designed with the motion of the performer in mind, so that performer and costume are one. “I provide the means for the human body to express its energy,” he says. His bands are never merely costumed parades, but exercises in total theatre, using music, drama, dance, and visual spectacle to communicate a metaphor-rich narrative.
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Minshall claims that mas–”living art that we make fresh every year”–is the truest artistic expression of Trinidad. “Our aesthetic is performance, the living now.” A major aim of his life’s work has been to prove that mas can be “high” art, as capable of the sublime or the universal as any other artform.

SIGHTS:

Man Crab

?¢‚Ǩ¬¢ Peter Minshall - House of Lime
?¢‚Ǩ¬¢ Callaloo Company - Peter Minshall’s Production Company
?¢‚Ǩ¬¢ Peter Minshall on Wikipedia

SOUNDS:

Barcelona 1992 Olympics: Opening Ceremony

Costume Design by Peter Minshall

TASTES:

Callaloo

Callaloo

Callaloo, is the name of Peter Minshall’s design company. It is also the name of a well-known local dish, one that is considered by some to be our national one.



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12 Responses to “Trinidad and Tobago Carnival: Part 9 - Peter Minshall”

  1. Lilandra on March 9th, 2007 11:11 pm | link

    I don’t eat callaloo :)

  2. Chennette on March 12th, 2007 1:59 pm | link

    Some Minshall woulda be good for the opening for CWC last night!

  3. MeltingWok on March 13th, 2007 6:29 am | link

    Sarina, that looks like hummus ya ? So, care to share your secret recipe ? *wink* :)

  4. Rasa Malaysia on March 14th, 2007 12:47 am | link

    Your alignment is off, the center part is pushed down to the bottom…please check. ;)

  5. Sarina on March 18th, 2007 6:33 pm | link

    why? :D

  6. Sarina on March 18th, 2007 6:34 pm | link

    CWC??!! what’s that? :) I’ve been out of it so be kind :)

  7. Sarina on March 18th, 2007 6:35 pm | link

    nothing has changed on my side, can’t reproduce sorry …

  8. Sarina on March 18th, 2007 6:35 pm | link

    it’s more like a spinach sauce/soup? I’ll be sharing the recipe! :)

  9. Chennette on March 19th, 2007 9:34 am | link

    Cricket World Cup! tsk tsk :-)

  10. Chennette on March 19th, 2007 9:46 am | link

    I have noticed some browsers on some computers cause this to happen where there are more than 2 frames, but not all of them.

  11. Sarina on March 19th, 2007 11:37 am | link

    oh hor! of course :D never mind me :D lolz

  12. Sarina on March 19th, 2007 11:38 am | link

    strange…

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