Every year in early December Rett and I decorate our Christmas tree(s), and the largest tree that is placed in the Great Room is decorated with ornaments that we have collected since 1976 (our first year as a married couple). Many of the ornaments display a date of the year that they were purchased or were given to us by family or friends, and some commemorate significant events from a particular year. It is a fun time to recall memories.
On December 7, 2021 as I was hanging the ornament pictured below, I stopped long enough to thoroughly examine it and it became the Muse for this blogpost. I suggest you examine it carefully. Here is its story.
"The Professor" ornament
In the Autumn of 1986, I received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. Having been on the faculties of two different “institutions of higher learning” by that time, I knew that I would be required to participate in graduation ceremonies in the coming years if I stayed in academe, so when it came time to decide whether to participate in graduation ceremonies from CCM, I declined, but decided to purchase a doctoral robe, hood, and mortarboard. My Dad offered to purchase it for me and I proudly accepted his offer. Then in December of 1986, Dad also gave me “The Professor” ornament, the only Christmas ornament he ever gave me. I remember being surprised by the gift, for it was not his custom to give anyone Christmas ornaments. I have treasured it through the years.
The comedy and tragedy masks serve to show us the two aspects of human emotions― the comedy mask shows us how foolish human beings can be, while the tragedy mask portrays dark emotions, such as fear, sadness, and loss. The two masks are paired together to show the two extremes of the human psyche.
A Short History of Clowns
The art of clowning has existed for thousands of years. A pygmy clown performed as a jester in the court of Pharaoh Dadkeri-Assi during Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty about 2500 B.C. Court jesters have performed in China since 1818 B.C. Throughout history most cultures have had clowns.
The Commedia del Arte began in Italy in the sixteenth century and soon dominated European theater. It was a highly improvised theater based upon stock characters and scenarios. It contained many comic characters divided into masters and servants. There were three types of comic servants: the First Zany, the Second Zany, and the Fantesca. The First Zany was a male servant who was a clever rogue often plotting against the masters. The Second Zany was a stupid male servant that was caught up in the First Zany 's schemes and often the victim of his pranks. The Fantesca was a female servant, played by an actress, who was a feminine version of one of the Zany characters and would participate in the schemes and provide a romantic story among the servants.
The history of clowning is a history of creativity, evolution, and change. Harlequin started off as a Second Zany, the victim of Brighella. Performers portraying Harlequin gradually made him a smarter character until he eventually usurped Brighella’s position. In English Pantomime, a style of theater based on the Commedia del Arte, John Rich completed the evolution of Harlequin elevating it to starring position.
The Joker (The Clown Prince of Crime)
The comic book character, The Joker, first appeared in 1940, but the creation of the Clown Prince is shrouded in controversy, with the three men involved — writer Bill Finger and artists Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson — each offering a different account of how the Joker came to be. The exact order of events varies depending on who you believe, but in essence, the character was a hybrid of influences. Robinson produced a joker playing-card design. Finger provided inspiration in the form of a clown-face logo from Coney Island and, crucially, a picture of actor Conrad Veidt playing the disfigured, permanently grinning title character in the 1928 horror film The Man Who Laughs. Both Robinson and Kane, who for decades received sole credit for the creation of Batman, designed the character on the page, while Robinson and Finger helped develop the concept of the Joker as Batman’s nemesis.
https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-features/complete-history-of-the-joker-889033/
“The Joker represents all sides of the quintessential antagonist with as much style and grace as you can expect from an unhinged clown with a knack for dark comedy.” –Blake Chapman
“I believe, whatever doesn’t kill you, simply makes you…stranger.”
-Heath Ledger as The Joker (2008) “The Dark Knight”
Send in the Clowns
If you haven’t left me already, I now offer you three photos of yours truly in “white face”.
As "Harlequin" in 1977
Singing Harlequin's aria, "O Columbina, il tenero fido" in a production of I Pagliacci by Leoncavallo
As The Joker-Halloween circa 2005
The Robe
Giving the commencement address at a backyard gathering in opposition to John Boehner as OSU's commencement speaker, Spring 2011
My proudest moment in robe: bestowing a Bachelor of Science degree to my daughter Caroline
Salute to Yeats
In conclusion, let’s circle back to " The Professor” ornament. Presently, as a retired "Associate Professor Emeritus" the ornament symbolizes my mixed feelings about my role as an academic “Dr.” and teacher for over forty-five years; for the doctoral robe covers up my true identity, and the clown face symbolizes the poles of my psyche. But notice, the figurine holds up a light for an optimistic future. I leave you with a poem by Yeats that is a fitting end to this blogpost.
A Coat
I made my song a coat
Covered with embroideries
Out of old mythologies
From heel to throat;
But the fools caught it,
Wore it in the world’s eyes
As though they’d wrought it.
Song, let them take it
For there’s more enterprise
In walking naked.
-William Butler Yeats
CPW
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