A Holocaust Survivor’s Testimony/An Artist’s Reflections

In the exhibit, viewers see paintings being made, interwoven with a survivor’s testimony about Kalman. The artist’s mother, Kalman’s sister, tells of their attempt to escape from the Warsaw ghetto. The artist speaks of her lifelong desire to find this lost uncle, and what goes through her mind as she paints him.

Two stories are told simultaneously. One is a narrative of loss and memory, the tale of Kalman. The other is a visual story of how a painting goes through a series of destructions before it is synthesized into a work of art, showing the fragmentation and integration of memory and the creative process.

Artistic Vision

What is the trajectory from a photograph of a boy taken around 1930, to nine paintings of that boy made in the 21st century, to nine dynamic screens showing the paintings being made?  What sense does the mind make of the visual patterns and stories? Can the life of a lost child reverberate through time?

I hope that by incorporating the collective theme of loss into the interplay of painting with video art, the viewer will reflect upon our era and our past through the artistic tools of both.

MEMORY PROJECT

Using the power of art, story and media to help people connect and understand our common humanity.