Eyeball masks

## The Residents' eyeball masks

Three generations of eyeball masks: left, second generation, created in 1995; center, third generation, premiered in 1998; right, first generation, created in 1979 and used until the late 1980s

### Used in

*Eskimo*, *Commercial Album*, The Mole Show, The 13th Anniversary Show, most public appearances in the 1980s, *Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses*, *Wormwood*, Wormwood Live, *Icky Flix*, *Demons Dance Alone*, The Way We Were, Remembering The Beatles, *The Ghost of Hope*

### Years Used

1979 - 2007

For the front cover of their ambient "documentary" album *Eskimo* in 1979, The Residents (previously having appeared publicly in a variety of disguises) appeared as four figures in **eyeball masks, top hats and tuxedos**, reinforcing their self-appointed role as detached cultural observers.

The success of *Eskimo* and cultural recognition of the group that followed resulted in the eyeball masks and tuxedos becoming The Residents' most identifiable of their (many) costumes, and they have since often appeared in these costumes (or variations thereof) on their album covers, in promotional appearances, and in their live stage ensembles.

## History

Before the 1979 studio album *Eskimo*, The Residents used a large variety of different costumes to shield their identities from the public; their earliest disguises have been compared to the costumes from Futurist ballets and the Dadaist movement.

As *Eskimo* was being recorded, The Residents initially wanted to wear silver spherical masks ("like gigantic Christmas ornaments") with top hats on the album cover in order to reflect the Arctic mists, however, this design was ultimately rejected as impractical. Instead, they designed four eyeball masks, to be worn with detachable top hats and tuxedos, representing The Residents' position (both within the context of the *Eskimo* album as well as within the wider popular culture) as observers "looking back at the world".

The group commissioned Mark Seigel of Dinosaur Productions to construct the masks. Seigel's main project at the time was making Cylon masks for the TV series *Battlestar Galactica*, though his best-known work would come later with Slimer from the *Ghostbusters* series of films. The four original eyeball masks, made of neoprene rubber, cost The Residents a total of $1800 US at the time (equating to approximately $7380 as of December 2022).

While they were designed specifically for the cover of *Eskimo*, there were some complications brought on by delays in the album's release, so as far as the public were concerned, The Residents first appeared in the eyeball masks and tuxedos in a photo session where they were photographed in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. This image, now one of the most famous shots of the group, was first released as a poster.

After the release of *Eskimo*, the eyeball masks continued to feature on album and promotional artwork, from *Commercial Album*, the *Subterranean Modern* compilation and onwards. One mask, "Mr. Brown", was first used live during the group's debut live tour Mole Show, worn by The Singing Resident during the first half of the show, with the other three members of the group instead hidden by a veil, wearing cardboard cutouts of eyeballs with top hats behind their heads.

During the group's 13th Anniversary tour in 1986, one mask, specifically "Mr. Red", was stolen from the backstage area at a concert. The Residents ended up getting the stolen eyeball back, but it had been damaged, and The Residents felt it had been philosophically tainted by the theft.

As a compromise, the group's keyboard player, who had worn Mr. Red on all previous occasions, thereafter decided to wear an oversized black skull (originally a prop purchased during production of *Vileness Fats*), and adopted the name Mr. Skull, who would feature alongside the remaining three eyeballs in the group's iconography from that point on.

A second set of masks (Mr. Blue, Mr. Green and Mr. Brown) with an updated design were created in 1995, and were prominently featured in a photo session which produced most of the well known photos of the eyeball-headed Residents in the years since (as seen in the cover art of *Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses*, *The Ghost of Hope*, and many others).

A third generation of the masks were created around 1998 and were premiered in the group's Wormwood live tour. This set of masks were built on "sort of welder's helmet frames", and are porous, so that the Residents wearing them can have better visibility and airflow than was possible with the previous eyeball masks. This set of masks appears to have only blue irises (as seen in Wormwood Live).

A fourth generation of (at least) three eyeball masks were revealed in June 2023, in photographs from the production of the upcoming Marie Losier documentary film *Behind The Mask*. The new masks appear to be closely modelled on the original generation masks, though feature slightly slimmer and taller top hats, and do not appear to include a Mr. Red mask. It has not yet been announced whether the masks will be used by The Residents or are simply intended for the film; The Residents themselves have not yet been pictured in the new masks.

## On stage

#### The Mole Show (1982 - 1983)

For The Residents' first world tour The Mole Show, arrive on stage in their original eyeballs, constructed in 1979 for the *Eskimo* album cover, but remove them once behind the burlap certain behind which they performed the majority of the show. Following the removal of the eyeballs, The Residents would instead tie a piece of carved wood designed to look like the eyeball's silhouette from behind the curtains.

During the "The Hole Worker's New Hymn' Mr. Brown walks to centre stage to sing, giving the audience a tantalising glimpse at the eyeballed man. The rest of the show featured the group performing in groucho glasses and searchlight helmets, visible only during the last two songs.

#### The 13th Anniversary Show (1985 - 1987)

On the initial dates for The Residents' second world tour The 13th Anniversary Show, the four original eyeball masks were seen on stage consistently, although not all were performing. The Singing Resident once again portrayed Mr. Brown, and the Keyboardist played Mr. Red, whilst both Mr. Green and Mr. Blue acted as backing dancers, portrayed by Carol LeMaitre & Sarah McLennan.

Following the theft of Mr. Red in December of 1985, the original Mr. Skull (then referred to as "Dead Eye Dick") replaced Mr. Red on keyboards.

#### Cube-E (1988 - 1990)

Cube-E was The Residents' first tour to not feature the traditional eyeball masks; instead, entirely new costumes were created for the show's three segments. Although, a unique variant of the eyeball masks did appear at the conclusion of the show, where the group entered the stage wearing full-body outfits based upon Mr. Blue and Mr. Skull during the curtain call.

#### Wormwood and others (1998 - 2007)

The Wormwood tour saw the group expand their lineup from the typical quartet to a more advanced quintet. As a result, The Residents scrapped the four alternate colored eyeballs in favor of a uniform blue-eyed look. By this point, Mr. Skull had become The Singing Resident's de facto identity in order to distinguish him on stage and make for easier performance.

This presentation would be broadly consistent in the group's live performances until the eyeballs' retirement from stage appearances in 2007. There were slight variations in their appearances following Wormwood. For Icky Flix, Mr. Skull was the only part of the eyeball head costumes present on stage, except for appearances of Mr. Blue at the beginning and the end of the show.

For Demons Dance Alone, no eyeballs were worn on stage; they only appeared during the song "Life Would Be Wonderful", where the Demonic Resident would present The Singing Resident with the Mr. Green mask.

The Residents last appeared on stage in eyeball masks in 2006, at the group's Remembering The Beatlesperformance. The group have since largely returned to their preferred method of using a wide variety of disguises and identities, and many of the original eyeball masks no longer remain in The Cryptic Corporation archive.

Despite this, eyeball imagery is still regularly used for merchandising and promotional purposes, and the group are still occasionally represented as four figures in eyeball masks and tuxedos, with the costumes featuring prominently on the cover art of the album *The Ghost of Hope* in 2017, and in the feature film *Triple Trouble* in 2022.

## Current status

### First generation masks

The first generation "Mr. Green" was sold as part of an *Ultimate Box Set* in 2013, to a fan known as "Tripmonster". It is thought to remain in the fan's possession, despite the fan eventually proving unable to pay The Cryptic Corporation the full $100,000 value of the *Ultimate Box Set*. A second *Ultimate Box Set* was sold to the Museum of Modern Art in New York in July 2014, containing "Mr. Brown".

The first generation "Mr. Blue" (along with the original "Residents at Golden Gate Bridge" photograph) was stolen from Homer Flynn's doorstep in 2015 following a lengthy museum tour, and has not yet been recovered. As of 2015, the eyeball was valued at $100,000.

"Mr. Red" (which had been stolen and returned "tainted" in 1985) still remains in the Cryptic archives, and was most recently photographed in April and October 2021 by publisher Melodic Virtue. This mask is intact but visibly damaged, with noticeable discoloration to the top hat and eyeball and chipped paint on the veins.

### Second generation masks

The second generation "Mr. Green" is known to remain in The Cryptic Corporation archive; it has most recently been worn by a mannequin at the premieres of the films *Theory of Obscurity: A Film About The Residents* in March 2015, and *Triple Trouble* in July 2022.

    The second generation "Mr. Blue" is also held by Cryptic. In April 2022, the mask was spotted on a mannequin in The Residents' rehearsal space. The second Mr. Blue most recently appeared publicly in San Francisco in September 2023, being filmed at Amoeba Records and Fisherman's Wharf by filmmaker Marie Losier for the documentary *Behind The Mask*.

At least one of the second generation masks is featured prominently in the film *Triple Trouble*.

### Third generation masks

One of the porous third generation eyeball masks was auctioned by The Cryptic Corporation in the mid-to-late 2000s, and is now owned by noted collector Andreas Mathews of Psychofon Records, and is on display in his Eyeball Museum in Bremerhaven, Germany, alongside one of the Cube-E full-body eyeball costumes.

## Official latex masks

The first-ever release of official replica eyeball masks was announced by The Residents in the latter half of 2020, and the first run of masks were released in November, listed as the "Deluxe Classic Eyeball Latex Mask" on the MVD Audio online shop.

Created by manufacturer SikRik Masks, the latex eyeball masks are available in three color options (blue, green or red). Each features a fixed top hat and an open pupil covered by a black mesh panel to allow for airflow and visibility.

The first run of masks sold out within the first day of sale, and a second run followed, with SikRik stating that he intends that everyone who wants to order one will have the opportunity to do so. The second run of masks had sold out by late 2022.

## See also

* List of disguises
* Mr. Skull

## External links and references

* "Residents History - Part 65" at Maurice and Me
* The Deluxe Classic Eyeball Latex Mask at MVDShop

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "They feel what they do is take the world in and regurgitate it back out again. It’s their symbol of looking back at the world." Homer Flynn interviewed by Steven Cerio, Seconds no. 43, 1997
2. ↑ "They're built on these sort of welder's helmet frames. Best thing those things have been invented for!" - Homer Flynn, quoted by Jeff Economy in a comment in The Residents unofficial Facebook group, May 18th 2018
3. ↑ Instagram post by François Yves Octave Marcel, June 22nd 2023
4. ↑ Instagram post by François Yves Octave Marcel, 23rd June 2023
5. ↑ Josh Keppel, "The Residents' $100,000 'Ultimate Box Set' Sold and Delivered", NBC Bay Area News, October 22nd 2013
6. ↑ *Theory of Obscurity: A Film About The Residents*, 2015
7. ↑ Josh Keppel, "30 Years Later, The Residents Are Missing Another Eyeball" at NBC Bay Area News, May 25th 2015
8. ↑ Post on Melodic Virtue's official Facebook page, October 5th 2021
9. ↑ Post by Tim Cridland in The Residents unofficial Facebook group, July 29th 2022
10. ↑ Post to MVD Entertainment Group's official Twitter account, April 27th 2022
11. ↑ Post by James Dillon in The Residents unofficial Facebook group, September 8th 2023
12. ↑ Post by Allen White in The Residents unofficial Facebook group, September 8th 2023
13. ↑ Post to Eyeball Museum's Facebook page, July 23rd 2016