Clown Makeup and Foreshadowing
Michalis 'BIG Mike' Kotzakolios

Defined Tag: Clown Makeup.

It would be virtually impossible to find someone on the planet who is not familiar with the classic image of the clown. Clowns have been around for centuries and through the years, the use of clown makeup has foreshadowed the demeanor of the clown’s performance by essentially defining the role that the clown will play: as a patsy, as a dandy, as an august clown, etc.

The classic image of the clown is something that has been burned into the mind of people includes the classic white, pasty faced clown makeup that is accompanied by the red nose and full red lips. This image has been the most famous image of the clown that has endured for centuries. Yes, there have been numerous other types of clown makeup styles that have appeared over the centuries, but the classic image is the one that endures the most,

Perhaps the reason that this classic image of clown makeup continues to endure is the fact that usually the simplest concepts are the best concepts. Instead of required highly detailed drawings to create a sense of personalities, the general design of the happy clown or the sad clown provides a general frame work that displays the general role of a clown to an audience. From this initial connection, the person playing the role of the clown will go on to perform exaggerated mannerisms that operate in concert with the image that the clown makeup displays. So, it is slapstick and pathos that make the clown’s personality come alive, but these traits would be considered jarring if they were not foreshadowed by the clown makeup that the performer is wearing.

So, while on the surface it may not seem that makeup contributes to the clown’s performance, the reality is that the choice of the design of the clown’s makeup helps define how the clown will perform.

BIG Mike is a well known author, developer and Adsense expert as well as the owner of Niche Maniacs - a unique Adsense Marketing System designed to build long-term passive income streams from Adsense, Amazon, YPN, Chitika and other PPC services.