MF Doom Memorial Aesthetics

I decided I wanted to do a memorial to artist Daniel Dumile or better known as MF Doom. He passed away in October of 2020. I had almost completely forgotten he had passed away at the age of 49. He was one of my favorite artists in high school and really introduced me to how rap and hip hop can be truly poetic, calculated, and complex. Having his death be pushed to the wayside is truly a testament to how crazy this past year has been where it seems as if there is something new to worry about every week. I wanted to create a memorial in honor of him for myself.

One of his most defining features is his mask. It is a modified version of the mask worn by the main character in the film gladiator. MF Doom takes on a persona in his music, one that parallels comic book villains rather than himself. The mask is another layer to add to this persona, but it has almost become more iconic than himself.

I am essentially trying to make something that would not look out of place in a museum. Clean cut, preservative, and full of detail. I am going to 3D print and make a case to put the mask in which could have some room for expression but I’d rather all the expression be put into the mask. At this time, I am planning to 3D print the mask because that allows me to add certain things to the model on my own that will look more natural since I can add them onto the model. To see what I liked best on the mask, I printed some blank pictures of the mask and added some color and did some different things with each.

I kept the first one more true to its original form. It would be metallic with more of a clean shiny look. If I did this, I think it would be to cater to the aesthetic of something you would see in a museum that has truly stood the test of time against natural wear and tear where it looks almost pristine in the case. The second one is more of my interpretation of the mask. I would add more color and more symbolic features plus some weathering so it would tell more of a story when sitting in the case. At the moment I think I am leaning towards the 2nd design since I could add a lot more details that you would have to truly look at in order to get the full story out of it.

Image References

1. https://www.vulture.com/article/mf-doom-wake.html
2. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/191332684145893941/