OldFriends4Sale said:

^ Good '94... Anyone have more with the wig?

CatB said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Looks like Tyka

80tomato said:

CatB said:

Looks like Tyka

they really do look alike.

purplefam99 said:

poppys said:

It really crosses many 'boundries'. That's what makes CherryMoon's topic so amazing and vast, yet encompassing .

It's a brilliant thread topic!!!!

Thanks to both of you for all your wonderful comments and pictures!!

CherryMoon57 said:

Krewe of Rex - Mardi Gras - New Orleans, Louisiana. Rex (the King) masks until his identity is revealed on Lundi Gras, the day before Shrove Tuesday.

The krewes of Rex and Comus meet with detailed pagentry and fanfare. The King of Comus masks at all times, his identity is hidden, (white suit next to page in photo from left).

Rex parade on Mardi Gras Day.


Court of the Krewe of Rex

[Edited 10/14/17 7:05am]

poppys said:

Krewe of Rex - Mardi Gras 2017 - New Orleans, Louisiana. Rex (the King) masks until his identity is revealed on Lundi Gras, the day before Shrove Tuesday.

The krewes of Rex and Comus meet with detailed pagentry and fanfare. The King of Comus masks at all times, his identity is hidden, (white suit next to page in photo from left).

Rex parade on Mardi Gras Day.


Court of the Krewe of Rex

[Edited 10/14/17 7:04am]

to live in a community where this type of tradition and pagentry is celebrated and enjoyed and looked

forward too year after year i think is the delight of life. i must experience this and the mardi gras indians!!!!!

Yeah yer right, purplefam! It should be experienced by everyone at least once, imo. People who think Mardi Gras is all about beads, boobs and Bourbon St are missing the whole thing. That is a modern construct for certain types of tourism The real deal Mardi Gras involves the whole family. Huge parades and revelry go on for 2 weeks prior to Fat Tuesday.

Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club - Krewe of Zulu. The history of Zulu is very interesting. It was started as a satirical clap-back to Rex, which was segregated and did not allow people of color. They deliberately wore black face (as they do to this day) to emphasize how they were viewed by whites. Rex threw doubloons (coins) to the crowd, Zulu threw cabbages.

In modern times Zulu is the only krewe that parades on Mardi Gras Day along with Rex. The courts meeting on Lundi Gras is elaborately staged. King Zulu arrives by boat greeted by Rex.








Mayor Mitch Landrieu parades with Zulu on Mardi Gras Day.

These krewes are not just for fun. The Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure club aids the community, raising funds for widows and orphans, and the proper burial of the dead. All hail Zulu!

[Edited 10/14/17 7:44am]

Louis Armstrong was one of the most famous and beloved Kings of Zulu.

poppys said:

Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club - Krewe of Zulu. The history of Zulu is very interesting. It was started as a satirical clap-back to Rex, which was segregated and did not allow people of color. They deliberately wore black face (as they do to this day) to emphasize how they were viewed by whites. Rex threw doubloons (coins) to the crowd, Zulu threw cabbages.

In modern times Zulu is the only krewe that parades on Mardi Gras Day along with Rex. The courts meeting on Lundi Gras is elaborately staged. King Zulu arrives by boat greeted by Rex.








Mayor Mitch Landrieu parades with Zulu on Mardi Gras Day.

These krewes are not just for fun. The Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure club aids the community, raising funds for widows and orphans, and the proper burial of the dead. All hail Zulu!

[Edited 10/14/17 7:44am]

Thanks Poppys! Do you have any specific examples in mind on how you think certain aspects of zulu may be reflected in Prince's style, work or music?

Yes, the photos in reply #162 - walking with his Dad, and onstage. His stage clothing could be any krewe, not just Zulu. There are many, including some all female. Each krewe has a different theme every year and the colors change. But I will say Prince personified Zulu attitude, swagger and satirical comedy all the way!

Pierrots & masks are a common design feature in New Orleans, being originally French. We are 40% Roman Catholic. Mardi Gras is on a different day each year, according to the lenten calendar. This year is the day before Valentines, so there will be lots of heart beads and throws. The official colors of Mardi Gras are purple, green and gold. People often paint entire houses purple in New Orleans.

[Edited 10/15/17 14:40pm]

poppys said:

Yes, the photos in reply #162 - walking with his Dad, and onstage. His stage clothing could be any krewe, not just Zulu. There are many, including some all female. Every year is a different theme and the colors change. But I will say Prince personified Zulu attitude all the way!

Pierrot & masks are a common design feature in New Orleans, being originally French. We are 40% Roman Catholic here. Mardi Gras is on a different day each year, according to the lenten calendar.

This is all very interesting stuff, but I personnally do not recognise any distinct similarities between the zulu movement and Prince, other than the fact that he dressed in a creative way. And since creativity is a trait that can be found in many people all around the world, it does not seem to me a tangible basis for comparison.

CherryMoon57 said:

poppys said:

Yes, the photos in reply #162 - walking with his Dad, and onstage. His stage clothing could be any krewe, not just Zulu. There are many, including some all female. Every year is a different theme and the colors change. But I will say Prince personified Zulu attitude all the way!

Pierrot & masks are a common design feature in New Orleans, being originally French. We are 40% Roman Catholic here. Mardi Gras is on a different day each year, according to the lenten calendar.

This is all very interesting stuff, but I personnally do not recognise any distinct similarities between the zulu movement and Prince, other than the fact that he dressed in a creative way. And since creativity is a trait that can be found in many people all around the world, it does not seem to me a tangible basis for comparison.

You are drawing a line from Commedia dell'arte to Prince. As you mentioned in one of your first posts, Mardi Gras has a historical line to the Commedia dell'arte. I'm connecting that line to the USA and Prince because of the satirical comedy he used on stage, his theatricality, costumes et al. All of the things you mentioned, pierrot clowns, masking, the innamorati are all celebrated here and were used by Prince onstage. Whiteface or blackface, it's all the same thing.

Rex and Zulu are not "movements". They are Mardi Gras krewes started in 1872 and 1916. They parade & mask for the festivities before Lent, what Commedia dell'arte was created for. It's our version with the same origins. Lots of history about it online.

poppys said:

CherryMoon57 said:

This is all very interesting stuff, but I personnally do not recognise any distinct similarities between the zulu movement and Prince, other than the fact that he dressed in a creative way. And since creativity is a trait that can be found in many people all around the world, it does not seem to me a tangible basis for comparison.

You are drawing a line from Commedia dell'arte to Prince. As you mentioned in one of your first posts, Mardi Gras has a historical line to the Commedia dell'arte. I'm connecting that line to the USA and Prince because of the satirical comedy he used on stage, his theatricality, costumes et al. All of the things you mentioned, pierrot clowns, masking, the innamorati are all celebrated here and were used by Prince onstage. Whiteface or blackface, it's all the same thing.

Rex and Zulu are not "movements". They are Mardi Gras krewes started in 1872 and 1916. They parade & mask for the festivities before Lent, what Commedia dell'arte was created for. It's our version with the same origins. Lots of history about it online.

As far as I recall, the mention I had made was about the Comedia Del Arte being originated from the Venice carnival (in Italy) and further observed that Venice carnival masks and Pierrots regularly appeared during the purple rain era.

But that mention of the carnival doesn't imply that ALL things correlating with any carnival or any group that branched out from the original Venice carnival (or even connected to the yearly Mardi-gras event in one way or the other) will have necessarily been assimilated by Prince into his work.

Unless you can draw a more specific parallel, or point to noticeable similarities, what you are doing is the same as saying 'Prince was born in the USA, therefore anything that connects to the USA has influenced Prince's work'. And no, it's not necessarily 'all the same thing'!

I feel like you are relentlessly trying to divert the thread towards the Mardi Gras, almost forgetting Prince at times, as well as the actual topic of the thread.

As a reminder, here is the OP:

Prince, the 'comedian del arte'

[Edited 10/15/17 16:07pm]

CherryMoon57 said:

poppys said:

The Prince of the Purple Rain era, with his ruffled shirts, brocade costumes and a heavily powdered face is somewhat reminiscent of the traditional characters of the Venice carnival and the subsequent Commedia Del Arte era.

This 16th-18th century period of early Italian theatre, essentially based on the use of masks and an intuitive acting style, blossomed during the Mannerist period and Prince's own improvised thespian performances onstage or in his videos and films are legendary.

Were Prince's multiple onstage personas a mere revisiting of some of the comedia del arte characters such as the sad Pierrot or the audacious Harlequin?), as well as to discuss the possible origins/inspirators behind the theatrical aspect of his work in general. I am inviting those interested in the topic to join me in exploring the various moments in Prince's career that may correlate with this theatrical era (such as the use of masks or specific costumes), as well as to discuss the possible origins/inspirators behind the threatrical aspect of his work in general.

Well, I started with Charlie Chaplin, tarot, then masking and have posted many photos where I think Prince's look and work meshes with the Commedia dell'arte. I brought in it's cousin, the American Mardi Gras tradition, along with photos of Prince but was not aware I was doing it relentlessly. Have you ever been to New Orleans? All 4 of Prince's grandparents were born in Louisiana. The bolded part is what I was trying to show in another, not just Eurocentric way. I am sorry if you don't like it so I won't post anymore. Ciao.

I am sorry if what I said to you about being off-topic has offended you, made you feel that I didn't like Mardi-gras or that I was trying to limit the discussion solely to the European side of these theatrical influences, as that was not the case at all.

In fact, if you had followed the thread from the start you would have noticed other mentions such as the US Tramp clown and that I even myself welcomed the possible influences of the US mardi-gras on Prince (as you've said, partly due to his Louisiana ancestors).

That said, the OP was aimed at 'exploring the various moments in Prince's career' that 'may correlate with this theatrical era' (i.e. the Comedia Del Arte) as well as to 'discuss the possible origins/inspirators behind the threatrical aspect of his work in general.'

... whereas what you principally did was to describe extensively one single aspect of possible influences and then posted many photos about the Mardi-Gras festival without further specific references to how you thought - or not - it corroborated with Prince's work.

Since you seem so passionate about the MG celebrations (nothing wrong with that! ), have you thought of starting another thread about it in GD?

^ Well, I was actually the one who brought in Mardi Gras right on the first page (#6) in this thread as Prince talked about it. So that would make me guilty too...

Mardi Gras is by no means an American phenomenon, it originated in Europe and was celebrated in all French colonies. Carnival still is a big thing in Europe.

CatB said:

^ Well, I was actually the one who brought in Mardi Gras right on the first page (#6) in this thread as Prince talked about it. So that would make me guilty too...

Mardi Gras is by no means an American phenomenon, it originated in Europe and was celebrated in all French colonies. Carnival still is a big thing in Europe.

You are missing all my points CatB.

As I said, nothing wrong with bringing Mardi-gras into the equation,
No one actually said Mardi-Gras was just an American phenomenon,
And yes I am aware that it is a big thing in Europe, thanks for the info, I am French lol.

CherryMoon57 said:

CatB said:

^ Well, I was actually the one who brought in Mardi Gras right on the first page (#6) in this thread as Prince talked about it. So that would make me guilty too...

Mardi Gras is by no means an American phenomenon, it originated in Europe and was celebrated in all French colonies. Carnival still is a big thing in Europe.

You are missing all my points CatB.

As I said, nothing wrong with bringing Mardi-gras into the equation,
No one actually said Mardi-Gras was just an American phenomenon,
And yes I am aware that it is a big thing in Europe, thanks for the info, I am French lol.

My post was not directed at you but at the thread in general.

CatB said:

CherryMoon57 said:

You are missing all my points CatB.

As I said, nothing wrong with bringing Mardi-gras into the equation,
No one actually said Mardi-Gras was just an American phenomenon,
And yes I am aware that it is a big thing in Europe, thanks for the info, I am French lol.

My post was not directed at you but at the thread in general.

Hmm ok...