68 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • MAY 15, 2014 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com Looking into the artwork of LIC artist Luba Lukova COMPLEXITY © Luba Lukova Aeroblue FLEX SPENDING Use it or lose it! SPRING INTO SAVINGS ONSITE DOCTORS • EYE EXAMS • CONTACTS • 1 HOUR SERVICE • VISION PLANS ACCEPTED • SUNGLASSES • LOWEST PRICES 2 PAIR OF EYEGLASSES QC QC QC $99 Includes: EYE EXAM, Frames & Lenses Select frames with clear plastic, single vision lenses+/- 4 sph., 2 cyl. Not valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase. Offer valid at this location only. Offer ends: 6/16/14 NO-LINE BIFOCAL EYEGLASSES $99 Includes: EYE EXAM, No-Line Bifocal Lenses & Frame Select frame with select clear plastic no-line bifocal lenses +/- 4 sph., 2 cyl up to 2.50 add. Not valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase. Offer valid at this location only. Offer ends: 6/16/14 BAY TERRACE SHOPPING CENTER 211-51 26 AVENUE • BAYSIDE, NY 11360 718.631.3699 *FREE with the purchase of glasses. Contact Lens Exam and EYE EXAM tting add’l. *See store for details. QC DISPOSABLE CONTACTS $99 Includes: •EYE EXAM •2 Boxes of Lenses Contact Lens Fitting additional. Clear Soft contacts brand clear spherical lenses.Not Valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase. Offer ends: 6/16/14 DESIGNER SUNGLASSES st STARTING AT $99 Place of the 2013 THE QUEENS QueensCourier.com Some Restrictions Apply. See Store For Details. In Stock Items Only. Not Valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. QC Must present prior to purchase. Offer expires: 6/16/14 BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected] @aaltamirano28 What was only supposed to be a one-week visit to New York for an international exhibition has turned into about 25 years of success for Long Island City artist Luba Lukova. As a young girl in Bulgaria, Lukova never had a doubt as to what she wanted to be when she grew up. Infl uenced by her grandmother who was an artist, Lukova began to attend art classes and then graduated from an art academy. Through an invite from Colorado State University, where school offi cials had seen some of her early artwork, Lukova came to New York for an organized exhibition featuring artists from all over the world. Her initial idea was to stay in New York for a week and then return to Bulgaria, but she decided to stay indefi nitely, and in 1991, she began drawing illustrations for the book review section of The New York Times. She then moved on and drew for the publication’s Op-Ed section covering subjects such as the Middle East. These illustrations opened up doors for Lukova, exposing her to a larger audience, which got her into theatre work creating posters, and years later she even got a call from then-presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign to use one of her images months before his inauguration. “It was just a miracle. I never went back to Bulgaria,” she said. “For a young artist, it was a mind-blowing experience and when I saw the reaction of the people, it was really very exciting for me.” Lukova’s pieces, whether they are on a canvas or a theatre poster, all convey social and political issues in what she calls a “simple and accessible way.” She tells a whole story with just a few colors and images and creates visual metaphors for viewers to take in. “My artwork involves thinking and the viewer’s participation,” she said. “All of my work is like that — it’s always provoking stuff. I try to make it accessible and bring something to the contemporary viewer that can stop them and make them think.” Her “Social Justice” poster portfolio, the fi rst publication from her own publishing company, has gotten her national and international acclaim. Currently some of her work is part of a show at the Museum of Modern Art. After moving out of Manhattan following 9/11, Lukova has been working and living in the booming art scene found in Long Island City. Last year she took part in the LIC Arts Open festival, which introduced her to a community she has now become a part of and loves. “I think it’s a great group of artists with a lot of energy,” she said. “The art community here is growing and it is so huge.” This year Lukova designed the poster for the LIC Arts Open, and her exhibition “Drama on Paper: Posters for the Stage” can be found at The Local at 13-02 44th Ave. throughout the festival. “I’m excited to be a part of it again,” Lukova said. “I think what the festival organizers do is very admirable and I hope we will keep the community here and we will expand. Because New York without the arts would be a very sad picture. We don’t just want New York to be the city with museums; we need the real art here.” buzz SIMPLE © Luba Lukova © Luba Lukova Delta Blues
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