Masks and lyricism in figures of the past

By La Nueva Provincia

Several cultures represented in the works produced by artists from the provinces of our country. Marta Díez and Rubén Vela expressing themselves through plastic arts and writing.Marta Díez, a distinguished artist from Tucumán, and Rubén Vela, a poet from Santa Fe, have brought together their gift for creativity in a joint publication by AEC Publishers, where masks and poetry form a unique creation of great artistic value. As if it were an invitation to visit spaces and return to the time of the various ancient cultures – and even to some others closer to us – the words take one more step toward the understanding of those symbols depicted in cartapesta or papier maché, coloured in oils and acrylics.Artist Marta Díez found inspiration in her trips to Venice, the birthplace of the internationally most important mask festivals. Her visits to Europe must have left questions in the mind of the artist, for which she later found answers in her anthropologic studies and plastic creations. But also Rubén Vela, himself an archeologist and diplomat, selected the series of masks which make up the edition. Having felt fascinated by these art works, his poems tell stories, they depict symbolic images and give a voice to representatives of an accomplished past.Marta Díez studied art under Lobo de la Vega in Tucumán, Maculán Bagarotti in Buenos Aires, and Molina Carranza. Rubén Vela is a poet, essayist and art critic. He lectures in Argentina and abroad. He is a co-founder of the Argentine Foundation for Poetry.