Make-up Art

On her blog, Katie asked: "Can make-up artists really be artists?"

I think that depends on what is meant by make-up artist. Some make-up artist, commonly called beauticians, deal with everyday make-up. They are the women sitting at the make-up counters in the mall who help you pick out the right make-up and show you how to use it. Some of them will even give you a make-over. Personally, I don't think that this is really art; it seems to be more of a skill.

But, there are other types of make-up artists. I think that the make-up artists that work on shows and movies are artists. They can spend hours working on one characters look, especially if it requires complicated make-up, such as the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera. For example, I recently performed in Cats at my high school. Cats requires a lot of make-up, as all of the characters are cats.

The make-up artist for our production designed different make-up for every cat. Applying the make-up was almost like painting and required several applications to achieve the different  layers. The make-up for the show required intention, thought, and planning. In my opinion, it was art.

Are hair stylists artists?