By Susie Davidson
Special to the Advocate

Robert Weeks would like not only to showcase his life and death casts, but create a singular way for the public to learn about the Holocaust survivors still among them.　

Weeks, who holds a BFA in illustration and animation from the Rhode Island School of Design, owns some 900 plaster, bronze, wax, fiberglass　and resin pieces, all housed in his International Life Cast　Museum　in Allston. He is seeking funding to expand his collection into a full-blown　museum　in Greater Boston. To that end, his “Making of a　Museum” series at the site will feature displays, informational materials and sponsorship opportunities from June 2 to12.

His lifelong course in the art of life and death casts began at the basement　museum　at the Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site in Washington, D.C., where visitors have long been mesmerized by exhibits of Abraham Lincoln’s life and artifacts such as the derringer used by John Wilkes Booth. But　it was the life mask of the 16th president　that fascinated a 12-year-old boy from Belmont.
　　
Weeks’ holdings include curios such as a 1833 bronze of a　Napoleon death mask made in 1821; plaster originals of Bela Lugosi, Kirk Douglas and Ingrid Bergman; and casts of Amelia Earhardt, Sir Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison, Lincoln, Pretty Boy Floyd, and John Dillinger.

He has just received a repository of the 70 casts of Holocaust survivors made by artist Robert Sutz of Arizona, an interviewer for　Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation. Weeks envisions a special wing featuring the casts, with wall texts and biographies of the survivors. The　section would house the two decades’ of work by Sutz, who besides making life casts of survivors has videotaped their stories, occasionally painted their portraits and fashioned artwork inspired by the interviews.

Sutz, 81, has thus far created 70 life masks with accompanying brief biographies, and 70 paintings of depictions of the Holocaust as recollected by the survivors, as well as nine portraits done in pastel. Weeks has secured funding for six of the painted masks and accompanying stories. Two are on display now at the gallery, and Weeks plans to acquire as many as he can. “At the museum, we would interchange the displays, with eight masks and accompanying interviews showing at a time,” he said.
　
Other wings of the proposed museum would be titled Historical, Hollywood, Fine Art Body Casts and Nature Casts (featuring, for example, Weeks’ T. Rex footprint and saber-tooth cat bones).
　
Weeks, who is not Jewish, connected with Sutz after learning his work had no permanent display home. Weeks sent his West Coast lifecaster, Greg Smith, to Sutz’s Scottsdale studio to make positive impressions of Sutz’s molds, which Sutz then painted.
　
“Many people tend to avoid　Holocaust　museums　because of the horrors that they might see,”　said　Weeks, who has visited the US Holocaust Memorial　Museum　in Washington and attended German-Jewish Dialogue group meetings. Since his　museum　is dedicated to a craft that has been around for thousands of years, he envisions Sutz’s work as being presented as another chapter in the field’s history. “People could then walk into the room and view the life-masked, painted faces, and accompanying interviews,” said Weeks. “This would give them an opportunity　to experience something they ordinarily would not.”

Ancient Romans used colored wax to fashion masks. Today, mask makers　use dental alginate, commonly used by dentists　for impressions,　as well as　plaster and plaster bandages.

Weeks envisions the Holocaust Survivors’ Room as silent, incorporating “audio spotlights” audio spotlights created by Holosonics of Watertown, poised over benches facing each individual survivor exhibit. The stories, along with Sutz’ artwork, would be posted on a large screen on the far end of each exhibit. Weeks said that many of the survivors are still alive, and could perhaps visit and give talks.

Unpainted touch copies for the blind would be on a dashboard　in front of each subject. Weeks has conducted hand-casting workshops at the Perkins School for the Blind. He said the medium lends itself to people who are visually impaired, since copies with Braille can be made from original casts. “This is one of the few works of art where a copy is almost identical to the original,” he said. Also, the medium is tactile.
　
Weeks also hopes to have life casters create masks and exhibits of local Holocaust survivors. “Every month that goes by is a lost opportunity for me, as time grows short for the survivors still among us,” he said. Thus far, information has been sent out to local and national Jewish organizations. Weeks also received a letter of support from Elyse Rast, who coordinates JCRC’s Holocaust Awareness Committee.

A history area might include a Civil War mini-theatre including death masks of Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis, U.S. Grant and　　General William T. Sherman, and a life mask of Lincoln. A “Making a Difference” Gallery will be patterned on　groups such as dental care organization　Team Smile, YouthBuild USA, the National Scoliosis Foundation, and others.
　
In a music tunnel, visitors will walk　through rings of time, facing musical figures from Tchaikovsky　to Paul McCartney. A full theater would show films on　the history of life masks (the Teaching Company has given Weeks an open license to use any of its materials), the people in the masks, and their historical times.
　
A children’s section would incorporate pinscreen, a tactile form of sculpture using straight-pins through a fine-mesh screen, silhouette art, and a life-casting workshop for hand and face casts using Safe Laser Digital scanning technology. A gift shop and café are also planned.
　
Hours for the June 2-10 “Making of a Museum” at 119 Braintree St., Allston (near the Stop & Shop bridge) are 6:30-9:30 p.m. on weeknights, and noon-9:30 p.m. on the two Saturdays and Sundays, with a June 2 opening reception from 6:30-9:30 p.m.　Admission and parking are free. For details, visit on the museum and its founder, visit　www.ilcmuseum.org　or email　rw@ilcmuseum.org.