I am Stanley Ipkiss...
well, I was him, for a very long time. When the Mask came out in July of 1994, Stanley Ipkiss was me in grammar school. I was shy, picked on, a hopeless romantic with a love for cartoons. Always quiet, I never got the girl but always desperately wanted to. At 10 years old I felt I was watching myself on screen, letting my imagination run wild as the Mask doing everything I've ever wanted, it was all there.
Afterward, I started wearing my own figurative "Mask" whenever I needed a boost of confidence as a kid. When it came to talking to girls, showing a little backbone or just being social, I'd change my personality and stopped being the quiet shy guy. The Mask encouraged me to snap out of my shyness and I like to think that even now I still wear that Mask from time to time.
It was only very recent that I realized the movie was approaching its 20th anniversary in July, which also happens to be my Birthday. So to celebrate these 2 awesome events I designed a print that captures everything about the movie that I love.
It took me a while to think of a great layout, but thankfully i was inspired to design a coco-bongo flyer for the club. I really like the art nouveau style i've seen online and wanted to try something different I thought would work.
Looking at the design, I hope "kid" me would've really gotten a kick of seeing this. I hope at some point I'll have an opportunity to meet Jim Carrey and give him a poster in person. He is still my hero....
The Mask turns 20 years old, I'm turning 30, and I'm happy to mark this milestone by celebrating a movie that encourage me to be different.
S'mokin'...
-Mauro
