Mogen David: How Do You Remember What You Never Forget? 2006
26"H x 28"W x 6" D
Aged weathered wood, copper band with patina and pale yellow German New Antique (GNA) glass,
(The pale yellow glass is a reference to the yellow Stars of David that Jews were forced to wear.)
|
|
|
Artists notes:
|
A dear friend had recently told me about her husband's family who was from Eastern Europe. During WW2, in their hometown, over 900 Jews were executed by the Nazis and were placed in a mass grave. I asked her to send me her research notes with the listed names. After quietly reading each name, I felt the weight of and her words and started to construct the Star of David out of pieces of wood. The wood is aged, battered and rough. It is weathered yet forms the Star. Wood alone was not enough so I added the pale yellow glass. The phrase that came to me when working on this piece was: I immediately got copper band and cut strips to fit the edge of the Star. I wanted to write this phrase on it in Hebrew. I called my friend and she suggested Yiddish. I wanted it absolutely authentic. She said she had an elderly friend who was knowledgeable about Yiddish. She met with him and showed him he phrase that I would like translated. He read the phrase, paused and told her that he would be honored to translate it into Yiddish. (He had a typewriter that had Yiddish fonts!) She called to tell me that he was honored to do the translation. He is a survivor of Auschwitz. Final Thought: Copyright Information: Note:
All images are original artworks created by artist Pat Benincasa. The images
are copyrighted and are protected by Digimarc.
|
