Selective Memory 2 – symbols and their power. This exhibit is a sequel to the exhibit “Selective Memory 1” held in late 2008 which focused specifically on Kristallnacht and the subject of evil in general. This exhibit focuses on the symbols of this period and their power and anything that has a connotation associated with the utter chaos, insanity and inhumanity that prevailed during the Nazi era: the Magen David (Star of David) and the yellow star, the German eagle, clothing, buttons, moldy food scraps, destruction, looting, parts of broken toys, heavy locked gates, barbed wire, piles of glass shards that accumulated on the streets as a result of the shattered windowpanes of stores and homes owned by Jews. The vast majority of the artists participating in this exhibit are first generation Holocaust survivors as well as second generation children of Holocaust survivors, and those for whom the Holocaust is a significant component in their familial history. These artists have joined the ranks of many other artists who create art in Israel and whose works feature elements of pain and suffering, that derive from the national, cultural and historical past of the Jewish people, wrought with tragedy and suffering, even though they themselves nor their families actually ever experienced the atrocities of the Holocaust. This is because we stand in solidarity with our people. Artists, who touch upon the essence of the symbols of evil and convey personal and family “memories” in their works dating from the pre-Holocaust era, the course of the war, the labor and extermination camps and how Jews ran a traditional Jewish household in the Diaspora in the pre-war and post-war periods. They give voice to the imprint that the suffering experienced by their families and the families of their friends has left upon them personally. All this occurs against a backdrop of symbols and life-altering events that are portrayed according to their point of view vis-a-vis this same period. The important message embodied in this exhibit is: the Holocaust must be remembered and never forgotten! Meaning – we should mull over it again and again, discuss it and delve into it, from every possible angle, write, paint and tell the story of those who perished, who can no longer tell their story, the story that they would have wanted us to pass on to the coming generations, something akin to additional “illustrations’ of documents contained in a history book on the Jewish people, conveyed from an artistic perspective. We cannot allow anyone to make people forget it ever happened or to deny it, as there are still those who deny that the Holocaust actually happened, and those who threaten to clear the way for a repeat performance.
Avya Mamon – curator amamon@netvision.net.il

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Michal Ashkenasi


Fences

Twilight


Dogs

Michal Ashkenasi.  As a five year old girl, my parents hid me through the Dutch underground in the homes of various Christian families. I never saw my parents again.  They were murdered along with my 6 brothers and sisters, grandmothers, grandfathers, and the rest of my family. When the war was over, I was transferred to an orphanage where I met my older sister who had also survived. These paintings are an expression of my feelings toward fences that raise associations of feeling closed in, choking, and helplessness.  These paintings deal with these feeling

Esther Beer Percal


Untitled

Untitled

Untitled

Untitled

Esther Beer Percal.  Born in Trieste, Italy at the end of the Second World War.  This was a horrible war that revealed the ugly side of human nature.  This was a war that took Europe by storm and inflicted damage both on the victors and the victims alike.  She has no precise memory of the period as she was a little girl, but the memories have remained etched in her sub-consciousness and surfaced at difficult times in her life, and were also manifest in the sketches that are displayed in this exhibit.  They express feelings of terror and helplessness.  The paintings are in gouache paint on paper, in order to detach the painting from anything decorative or artistic.  The black – aims to detach the picture from any sign of beauty or hope

Yehudit Brickman

                                                                             

Three pieces of potato


Divided world

Food


Bread

No person


Yehudit Brickman.  Second generation child of Holocaust survivors.  The artist imbibed the trauma of a shattered reality from her parents , the recognition that nothing can be taken for granted, that everything can come crashing down at any moment.   This is a story of persecution and hunger, thirst, cold, and diseases. Food becomes more precious than gold, in the barter exchange with the villagers , gold jewelry was bartered in exchange for a piece of bread, or a bit of water.  Potato peels served as a source of food that enabled people to survive.  Just as Joseph Beuys’ work Felt , Fat and Honey symbolized the vitality of life, because these basic organic materials, helped him to survive in captivity, Yehudit Brikman’s work Bread and Potatoes symbolizes life, optimism, family warmth, and a connection to the familiar world.

Pinhas Golan

Artist's book
Artist's book


Blocked gate no. 32a

 
Blocked gate no. 27

Blocked gate

Blocked gate no. 41


Pinhas Golan.  First Generation Holocaust survivor.  He displays a selection of his works in the series “the blocked gate” that was created after he had experienced the events of the war and lost many of his family members, and which deals with the pain of loss.  The experience was too hard to bear and in a recurring dream he arrives at the gate of his home in Hungary, but can’t go inside, the gate is “blocked” and the people are not there, they aren’t at home.  Over the years Pinchas created several series on this theme, most of them sculptures made of wooden beams and metal casting, while in the backdrop beneath the cracks, Mishna writings  pop out, in keeping with the Jewish custom of reading Mishna Tractates during the mourning period.   Pinhas mourns the loss of his human environment and creates his art out of a moral obligation to his loved ones.

Israela Hargil


Hidden-place - Installation





Stool with toys



Black crate with feelers for shipping
Crate with sears for shipping


Israela Hargil.  First Generation Holocaust survivor.  When I was a young Jewess during the Second World War, I was transferred in Christian homes from one hiding place to another, and from one city to another.   As a young girl, I experienced first- hand all the difficulties, alienation, fear, absence of love…all these sentiments are manifested in my artistic work in recent years.  In the installation “dark corner” as well as in my sculptures, I describe my experiences and moments of fear during the Holocaust and the strong impact these had on me as a young girl.  These works recall and depict the mood that prevailed in Eastern Europe towards the end of the Second World War.

Orit Meshulam



Strips gown    

Untitled


Untitled


Orit Meshulam is an Israeli born artist, whose works feature elements of pain and suffering stemming from the national, cultural and historical past of the Jewish people, wrought with suffering, even though she herself, nor her family, ever experienced the atrocities of the Holocaust.  Additionally – the artist has her own past wrought with suffering that has left an indelible imprint on all her works. She identifies with the group of artists participating in this exhibit and joins their ranks, as we live in solidarity with our people.  The impact of the Holocaust, the many ceremonies, present neighbors in distress and Holocaust refugees – permeates into one’s conscience and creates traumas.

Dina Smadar


 The Passover Seder

Wedding ceremony


Wedding ceremony


Wedding ceremony

Wedding ceremony

Dina Smadar.  These works encompass old family portraits that were enlarged and printed on canvas, and underwent some sort of processing.  These pictures depict chapters, periods in the family’s life, while in the backdrop there are difficult events of persecution against Jews, impaired right of freedom, racist humiliation, wanderings, loss, temporary dwellings, people without a roof over their heads.  The works tell a bit about surviving  in impossible situations.   Attempts to take advantage of any opportunity or ray of light, at any expense.  The figures are a bit blurry, monochrome, depicting the past.  The artist mixes the colors of present with the past that she didn’t experience, and it is then and only then that all the attention may be given to other emphases, new ones, which create a new and surprising connection between the new and the old.    These are pictures that pre-date her past, whereby a shadow of the past becomes her protective shadow, serving as a source of support and comfort

Gila Schnell



Broken glass


Padlocks

 

Doors

Padlocks



Pillow


Gila Schnnell.  Traumatic experiences such as the memory of the Holocaust, leave indelible marks on a person’s soul, penetrate the subconscious and affect a person in unexpected ways.  The past that was destroyed and a pile of ruins that refuses to disappear completely.   The remnants of the past scream from among the ruins on behalf of a magnificent yet severed past.  The metal doors locked with a steel lock won’t be able to hide the past either, the remnants of this past are reflected on the façade of these doors.   At moments of benevolence, the artist finds what’s beautiful among the ruins that remain, and brings them back to life in a new and different perspective.  At this very moment, memories flood one’s eyes and one’s soul and become a creative force that depicts the distress, giving it artistic expression. The past that external forces sought to eliminate receives renewed esthetic vitality  thanks to the art.