Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
in the 1950s, Joe Blasco's fascination with the entertainment
industry was sparked by the monster movies of that time. He
later apprenticed with Hollywood's legendary makeup artists,
and went on to paint the industry's most glamorous faces,
open training centers on both coasts and launch his own product
line, Joe Blasco Cosmetics. Here he shares some colorful moments
from his life as a Hollywood makeup artist.
LR: You're
known for your work in the movie industry. What sparked your
interest in makeup, and when? Were you drawn toward makeup
specifically, or the entertainment industry in general?
JB: At first I was drawn toward the entertainment industry in
general; I wanted to be a filmmaker, but I wasn't certain
exactly which aspect of film making attracted me the most.
When I watched a film or a television show I understood, even
at a very young age, that the performers were following a
script, that they were being directed, lighted and made up,
and that there were camera people in the background. I knew
incredible teamwork was responsible for creating what I was
seeing, and that fascinated me.
 In
junior high school I focused mainly on lighting, directing,
makeup and camera work. When I was about 13 or 14 years old,
a neighborhood friend received an 8mm camera as a Christmas
gift; over the next two years, all of the kids in the neighborhood
proceeded to create films. Of course, being the entrepreneur
of the bunch, I spearheaded the efforts: I wrote scripts,
directed, did makeup, set up lights - even acted.
While
I was doing the monster makeup for one of these films, I became
fascinated with the process. And once I saw my handiwork on
film, I set my sights strictly on the path of a makeup artist.
And that's really how I got started.
Joe Blasco (left) and Matthew W.
Mungle display the silicone negatives used to produce stone
positives of Mr. Mungles hands for the, "Makeup Recognition
Award" presented to graduates of Mr. Blasco's schools
who have demonstrated great talent and achievement in the
art of professional makeup. Mr. Mungle was the first recipient. |
Of
course, I saw pictures of the makeup artists working in Famous
Monsters of Film Land magazine;
just about every makeup artist in my peer group was inspired
by this publication, which was created and edited by a man
named Forest J. Ackerman. And if it weren't for Forrie
- we all lovingly call him Forrie - many of us would have
never gotten the inspiration to go into the field of makeup.
Jack
Pierce, who was the head of makeup for Universal Studios from
the late '20s until 1947, also inspired me greatly. He was
the makeup artist who created the original Frankenstein monster
that was played by Boris Karloff, and I'm sure in one way
or another he assisted Bela Lugosi in the makeup for Dracula.
He did the original mummy, also played by Karloff, and the
original wolfman, played by Lon Chaney Jr. When I was growing
up these films played on TV quite a bit.
"New low-light film emulsions
and television cameras required less intense lighting, which
meant the makeup colors needed to look more natural."
LR: What fundamental differences
separate entertainment make-up from society makeup?
JB: I suppose
the primary difference is that in entertainment makeup there
are technical requirements which must be satisfied. For instance,
in makeup for the live stage, the facial features are accentuated
enough to carry over the footlights and well into the house
so that the people sitting in the audience are able to see
the actors' features and facial expressions.
In
television, the features have to be painted in such a way
as to be photogenic under the lighting that's used, and able
to reproduce well through television's electronic process.
Your goal is to make up the face so that it's not distorted
in any way by the electronic process-the lighting and the
camera.
When
you're dealing with makeup for film and television, or even
still photography, you're dealing with a photographic process
that translates the 3-dimensional form into a 2-dimensional
format. So makeup must be applied in a manner that helps to
create the illusion of a third dimension.
A
more obvious difference between the two types of makeup ,would
be that of character makeup, which is rarely used in society
unless it's Halloween. But in motion pictures, makeup artists
must be very adept at understanding highlighting and shading
so that they can transform the face into various characters
depicted in the script. If you're doing a monster in the script,
of course, you need to have a knowledge of monster makeup.
Very often you see a character in a film that progresses to
a very old age, and the makeup artist would have to know how
to apply highlights and shadows properly to effect that aging. |
