Special Effects Exhibit at 721 Broadway
To Robert and Alyce Benevides, the real Halloween horror is probably seeing the rest of us clumsily administer our five dollar make-up kits. That’s because indulging in the macabre is a year-round enterprise for the Tisch pair.
Chances are you already know the Benevides’ work. Robert, distinguished teacher and area head of special fx make-up, and Alyce, supervisor of the digital media library and classrooms, are behind the ongoing window exhibit that frequently summons passersby to the Tisch building’s facade (721 Broadway). The faculty and student work on display, from maquettes to masks to wet specimen jars, are products of Robert’s Special Effects Make-up I and II courses.
“The work is typically ghoulish,” Robert says, leading to a convenient association with Halloween and thus the annual exhibit timed to the fall season. But don’t be mistaken, this is as scrupulous creative work as any. From drawing to sculpting to painting, the special effects form is as much a melding of mediums as it is an artform on its own. That doesn’t mean it’s an inaccessible one, though. “These are Open Arts courses, so anyone at NYU can take the classes,” Robert says. All of the creative work happens in the classroom, which he finds offers a much-needed respite from our modern habits. “That’s kind of a rewarding aspect, getting away from the devices… And I try to give them as much creative leeway within the concept as possible.”
So bear in mind when you’re hastily smearing vampire blood onto your face this evening: you could go to school for this—kinda.
