Raquel Beechner
Story Telling and Masks
Opening Reception
October 1, 2009
6 – 8 p.m.
Free.
This exhibition focuses on the art of storytelling through the art of masks and mask making approaches. Masks have had many purposes though out History and have meet the needs of many cultures as part of special rituals, religious ceremonies, performance events, protective gear for battle or sports events and special disguises.
Raquel uses the mask to develop character and bring life to her stories. She feels all cultures respond well to masks as is evident with the American use of the Halloween Mask used mainly to give the wearer a disguise for ‘All Hallows Eve.’
The masks on display will encompass everything from small decorative masks to large functional mask helmets as part of the wardrobe for a play adapted by Raquel for the stage in 2007 entitled: “Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears” by Verna Aardema. This play is based on a folk tale from West Africa and was performed by and for Middle School Students.
Many masks will be available for sale and you are invited to come participate in a special story telling adaptation directed and performed by Raquel in the Jump-Start gallery. This audience participation event will thrill children from ages 3 to 103.
Raquel Beechner is a local San Antonio performing artist that was born in Mexico City, Mexico and raised throughout Central and South America. She has lived in San Antonio since 1970 having arrived to establish her career in Arts Education. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Our Lady of the Lake University and her Bachelor of Fine Arts and Masters of Education Degrees from the University of Texas in San Antonio.
Raquel taught both art and theatre at various schools in the San Antonio Independent School District before retiring in 2007. Her work as a public school educator has been recognized as follows: In 1995 she was a recipient of the Disney American Teacher Award in Visual arts; in 2004 she received a Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Award to study the education system of Japan; in 2005 she received the SAISD Teacher of the Year Award; and in 2006 she received the Texas Art Education Middle School Art Teacher of the Year Award.
Presently Raquel teaches part time at the University of the Incarnate Word helping students improve their drawing skills as part of the Computer Graphic Arts Department in animation. Raquel dedicates her time to creating art and exhibiting her work and the work of others. She has been a guest curator at Jump-Start Theatre preparing several shows and performance art pieces showcasing the work of Raul Castellanos, Robert Rehm and Graham Toms.
In July 2008 for Contemporary Art Month her art exhibition/performance was entitled Women’s Intuition: the Dual Nature of the Female Soul. The live performance piece that accompanied the exhibition consisted of writings and drawings that addressed the four seasons of a woman’s journey into self-awareness and self-fulfillment. The writings were based on many interviews of women of all ages throughout Mexico and the United States. The collective voice of women was narrated as she danced on a canvas of sand drawing the symbols present within her art.