Frame of Mind: Not just clowning around

Clowns symbolise fun, and a lot more

Published: Jan 11, 2017

For this sailor, standing near an F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet on the USS Dwight D Eisenhower in

Image by : Allison Joyce / Getty Images

1/10

For this sailor, standing near an F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet on the USS Dwight D Eisenhower in July 2016, the war against terror seems a world away. The US Navy’s aircraft carrier is deployed in the Mediterranean Sea for Operation Inherent Resolve, against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Libya, Iraq and Syria

Pope Francis meets circus performers—members of circus clubs, fairs, funfair workers, street&n

Image by : Henry Romero/ Reuters

2/10

Pope Francis meets circus performers—members of circus clubs, fairs, funfair workers, street performers, designers, puppeteers, musicians and folk groups—at the Jubilee for Circus and Travelling Show People at the Vatican in June this year. The pontiff told them, “Your festiveness and joy are distinctive signs of your identity, your profession and your life.”

A protester dressed as a clown perform next to the riot police during march in Mexico City against P

Image by : Grzegorz Galazka / Archivio Grzegorz Galazka / Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images

3/10

A protester dressed as a clown perform next to the riot police during march in Mexico City against President Enrique Pena Nieto's education reform plans in May 2016

A clown celebrates as the Olympic Torch Relay reaches Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Image by : The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images

4/10

A clown celebrates as the Olympic Torch Relay reaches Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ,ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics in the city

Clown doctors perform for children affected by the April 2015 earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Image by : Navesh Chitrakar / Reuters

5/10

Clown doctors perform for children affected by the April 2015 earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal. A team of five medical clowns from Israel visited the victims to try to ease their trauma with their clowning skills

New York clown duo Acrobuffos—Christina Gelsone and Seth Bloom—perform on the CopaCabana

Image by : Ian Gavan / getty Images

6/10

New York clown duo Acrobuffos—Christina Gelsone and Seth Bloom—perform on the CopaCabana Beach in Southbank, London, in August this year

Clowns celebrate the ‘Day of the Peruvian Clown’ in the streets of Lima, Peru, in May 20

Image by : Ernesto Benavides/ AFP / Getty Images

7/10

Clowns celebrate the ‘Day of the Peruvian Clown’ in the streets of Lima, Peru, in May 2016

Ecuadorian politician Lenin Voltaire Moreno plays with a clown nose as he addresses students a

Image by : Jose Cabezas / Reuters

8/10

Ecuadorian politician Lenin Voltaire Moreno plays with a clown nose as he addresses students after he was awarded the ‘Doctor Honoris Causa’, a honorary degree, from The University of El Salvador in October 2016

Clowns from various countries celebrate the 8th International Festival of Laughter in San Salvador,

Image by : Marlon Gomez / LatinContent / Getty Images

9/10

Clowns from various countries celebrate the 8th International Festival of Laughter in San Salvador, El Salvador, in May 2016. Clowns from across the Latin American continent met to exchange their knowledge and skills at the event

Chandra Bahadur Dangi, the shortest human adult in recorded history, is carried by a clown after an

Image by : Danish Siddiqui / Reuters

10/10

Chandra Bahadur Dangi, the shortest human adult in recorded history, is carried by a clown after an event at the Rambo Circus in Mumbai on March last year. Dangi—who was from Nepal and died on September 3, 2015 at the age of 75—stopped over in India on his way to the South Pacific island of Samoa to make a guest appearance in the circus