The Transformational Nature of Magic Masks

Captain-Mustard-by-Rebecca-WanmerLubeznik Center for the Arts presents Magic Masks, an exhibition showcasing various masks made by student artists from Michiana Resources (MR) and Social & Learning Institute (SLI). This exhibition was made possible thanks to a generous grant from the Duneland Health Council that enables Lubeznik Center for the Arts to provide art instruction to clients of MR and SLI. Magic Masks will open on May 31st, 2013 and run through August 8th, 2013.

Debra Sawyer is an arts educator for the Lubeznik Center for the Arts Special Arts Program. She leads students to develop new skills through art. Sawyer says, “the student artists who attend this program have intellectual and physical challenges. The act of making art stimulates their sense of self, changing the playing field of what they think they can do with their minds and hands.

The students learned about different cultures and how people from around the world use masks for festivals and various religious and nature ceremonies. Students were inspired by the interactive nature of this form of folk art and designed their imagined mask first by sketching its front and side views. They then used a face pattern and created form by developing eyes, noses, jaws, ears, horns, etc. out of recycled materials such as newspaper, paper tubes, cone cups and packing material. The mask structures were then covered in paper maché and finished with acrylic paint and other decorative objects.

Lion-King-by-Robert-KruegerDebra Sawyer says, “The students discovered the mask persona interacts in the world magically. To be someone or something other than oneself, be it an animal, character or fantasy creature, is a transformative experience for the person behind the mask and the person who experiences the mask.”

The masks will be on display in the NIPSCO Education Studios at Lubeznik Center for the Arts. An opening reception will be held at Lubeznik Center in conjunction with the June 7th First Friday at 5 PM.

Admission to Magic Masks is free and open to the public. For more information, please call Lubeznik Center for the Arts at 219-874-4900 or e-mail jbloch@lubeznikcenter.org.

Upcoming Events at Lubeznik Center for the Arts

May 17, 2013: Opening reception for Construction Sites, Body Language and In Bloom exhibitions
June 7, 2013: First Fridays: Banana Slug String Band, environmentally conscious, family friendly performance art
June 29, 2013: LCA Art Bash: A Nautical Night at B&E Marine
July 5, 2013: First Fridays: Hot Dog Culture in America, presentation & book signing by Bruce Krieg and Patty Carroll
August 2, 2013: First Fridays: Exhibition openings of Magical Realism, Documentation of Nature, and Water Wrackets
August 17 & 18, 2013: 32nd Annual Lubeznik Center for the Arts’ Lakefront Art Festival

The Jack and Shirley Lubeznik Center for the Arts

The architecturally iconic Lubeznik Center for the Arts stands just steps away from Michigan City's lakefront. In addition to a full exhibition schedule in six galleries, LCA is home to an outdoor art collection; a Gallery Shop featuring hand crafted, artisan items; plus classes, performances and after-hours events. Open Weekdays 10 am to 5 pm, Thursdays 10 am – 7 pm and Weekends 11 am to 4 pm (Central Daylight Time). Please note the Hyndman Gallery is closed from 11 am – 1 pm on Thursdays. [Please note these are our summer hours of operation.]