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Lasting Impression

At the age of twelve, during a visit to Washington, D.C., I was impressed by the towering, larger-than-life statues honoring our nation's history. Although nowhere near the scale of these monuments, one single object absorbed my total attention and made a lasting impression. This artifact, on display inside a small museum in Ford's Theatre, was a life cast made directly from the face of President Abraham Lincoln himself.

I clearly remember my train of thought as I pondered this life cast of Lincoln. My first impression was total wonder: this artifact was not a sculpture at all, but a cast of Abraham Lincoln's face, taken directly from the man himself. As I stared face to face at our 16th President, I felt as if I had defied the laws of time.

Next, scrutinizing the details of Lincoln's face, I had the urge to touch the cast. Clearly this life cast was delicate and singularly significant; touching it was out of the question. Finally, I began wondering, "What if I had no sight and had the opportunity to touch Lincoln's life cast? Would I feel the way I do now, as a sighted person?" My questions went unanswered for decades.

Now, as then, we live surrounded by media -- magazines, newspapers and TV broadcasts -- that constantly present us with two-dimensional images of people, places and things in our world. Through the centuries, such representative images have evolved from illustrations to photographs to videos. Each medium depicts these images in flat, two-dimensional perspective.

Nowadays, we take for granted these two-dimensional images of celebrities, coming at us in an unending stream on TV, on the Internet, and at the multiplex. But when we encounter an actual celebrity or newsmaker in person, the moment can be truly extraordinary. Extraordinary because suddenly -- immediately -- we perceive the celebrity in three dimensions, and this immediacy unleashes a spontaneous flood of comparisons between the celebrity and ourselves. "How short (tall!) s/he is! How petite (or massive!) How slim (plump!) What great posture (what a slouch)! " and on and on...

Now, imagine stepping back in time and encountering an actor or historical figure that died before you were born. Newton...Napoleon...Abraham Lincoln! But for life casts, and the art of life and death masks that have been created over the centuries, such an encounter could never take place.

We at the International Life Cast Museum hope that all that enter these doors have many wondrous -- immediate -- encounters with celebrities and newsmakers throughout history, to the present day. You will have your own audience with Kings and Presidents, your own encounter with Czars and Popes. You can even create your own life cast at the Museum. And you might find that staring back at it may be the strangest encounter of all!

I hope to witness firsthand the answer to the question I asked myself that day in Washington. For the visually impaired, Braille, oversized text, special lighting, and the accessibility to touch copies of the casts, we trust that the experience of an immediate encounter will be as magical for all who visit, as it was for me, so many years ago.