MASK MAN

                   Francisco Sainz is a man of many faces. No, he doesn’t wear them. Rather, Sainz is an artist who makes masks. Sainz, 63, began his career as a painter in his native Spain and continued it when he came to America as a refugee from the Spanish Civil War. Fifteen years ago he began making masks and “nothing has ever satisfied me as much."

         He was so satisfied that he decided to devote himself exclusively to mask-making, and has turned our more than 500 of them. “I found masks interesting because are more than art,” he said. “They began  as a tool of the shaman, the medicine man of primitive times.”

         Sainz said masks and culture are linked: “There seemed to be an inner need of man to make masks” and called them the most universal form of art. “I studied some primitive masks and thought, “Why not contemporany masks? ”  And his new career was born.
         Sainz does not share the primitive shaman’s notion that masks can cure the sick, or make one rich, but does feel that they bring luck, as long as one believes. And Sainz believes: “They bring me luck. I am in perfect health and at the top of my creatíve powers.”

         He has stories to tell about good omens, ones in which  he said masks have played a part. For example, 10 years ago Sainz was living in a loft on Second Avenue in Manhattan. His building caught fire: “The whole place was wiped out. There was extensive damage and most people had to move out.” But Sainz’s apartment, filled with masks, was untouched. It suffered no smoke or water damage at all. “People can think what they what,” he said, “but I feel very protected with my masks around me.”

                   Nor does he think the masks can work just for him. “I had a good friend—I won´t say her name because she is a fairly well-known artist—and she was very unhappy because she wanted to find someone to share her with,” he said. “She is really a wonderful person and I couldn't under-stand why it never worked out with any of the men she dated.”

To make a long storv short, one day Sainz and his friend decided to trade art: “She gave me one of her paintings and I gave her one of my masks.” And the next time the two spoke? «She called to tell me she was getting married, and she is still very happy today. I dont’t think she has ever made a connection with the mask, but I have."

          Sainz himself is not unlucky in love. He has been living with the same woman for 15 years and said she is very supportive of his work, although she is very involved with her own career, which is writing. Sainz has made a mask in her honor: «I won't tell you which one it is because she doesn't even know. But I will tell you that it is one of the prettiest.”

 He said it’s not uncommon for him to design a mask with a specific person in mind, although, as is the case with his woman friend, he never admits it to the person. “They are portraits to me, “he said, but I don’t say it because right away the person will say 'Oh, I hope that's not what I really look like. '”

Sainz is inspired by his materials as well as his friends. He often uses things in his masks that others would throw away. “I try to recyde things instead of wasting them," he said. The “things” include marbles, pieces of mirror glass and rope, to name a few. He also works with iron, wire, wood and metal chains, plus a variety of paints. “You name it, it's in one of my masks," he said.

 Many of his masks are two-faced; flip them over and you'll see a completely different face. Sainz has specific reasons for making two-faced masks: “In case one side doesn't work for you, you can try the other side. They are meant to be used, to be touched, to be changed.” Also, he said many people become quickly bored with artwork shortly after they purchase it. A two-sided mask can provide some variety.

   “At least they will notice it for a little longer if it can become another thing entirely just by turning it around.”

Sainz could not tell you the perfect place to put your mask because he believes in covering all bases. "I have them in each room of my house, and I also have some outside the house," he said. "My house is well-protected." Pressed to describe an ideal setting for his artwork, he admitted to one fantasy. "I would like to have a huge wall filled with masks so I could study how they relate to each other. Then I would like to take one down and put it on a wall by itself. Alone, they can look completely different."

Unfortunately for Sainz, the mask business is not exactly booming. When he does sell one, he can make from $400 to $1,500, but finding a buyer isn't always easy. "When I was a painter I did much better financially," he said. "In a way, masks are a sacrifice. But I didn't begin making them for financial reasons anyway."
He said many artists in history, including Pablo Picasso, were interested in masks at one time or another. "I never met anyone else who has done them for as many years as I have," he said, "but they always have an appeal."

Part of that appeal, said Sainz, is that the masks can mean different things depending on who looks at them: The expressions can seem contented, or pensive, or even sad. But as far as Sainz is concerned, all the masks are happy because they reflect his mood when he is creating them.

"I could not begin to work on one if I'm unhappy," he said. "They are a source of joy to me; aside from the creative joy, I like just feeling them in my hands." He said they have become a part of him: "A little of me goes into each of them, and I plan on making them until I die."

Some masks can be completed in three weeks, while others take six months, but Sainz wouldn't play favorites even if he five years on the same one. They are like my children," he said. "I love them all. How could I pick a favorite? The rest of them would be jealous."
 
 

East Hampton,  June 1986