Witness & Legacy - Contemporary Art about the Holocaust

     Until recently, the Holocaust has been a subject largely neglected, even in the visual arts. But during the last three decades, a growing number of American artists have begun a quest to preserve the memory of the Holocaust in a variety of art forms. Witness & Legacy, a major exhibition of recent Holocaust art by 23 American artists, explores the linkages between the Holocaust and artistic creativity. Some of the artists in the exhibition are survivors – the witnesses – and some the second generation; those who will become keepers at the legacy and bear witness to the effects of the Holocaust. Their compelling statements take a variety of forms, from paintings, needlepoint, and photographs, to full-room installations, and address a variety of Holocaust-related issues.
     While some artists deal with specific Holocaust experiences, others deal with genocide (known as "ethnic cleansing"), as well as themes of intolerance, racism, and oppression – problems which sparked the Holocaust and which today pose serious threats to every culture on every continent. Artist Pearl Hirshfield creates full-room installations that express her views on forms of intolerance such as police brutality, McCarthyism, oppression, and discrimination, both racial and gender-based. In her work, Shadows of Auschwitz, viewers walk inside and put themselves in the place of victims, as Auschwitz camp numbers reflect on their own images. Photographs by artist Jeffrey Wolin show Holocaust survivors in the satety of their homes or work environments. But written on the photographs are stories about their traumatic experiences expressed in powerful visual terms. Internationally renowned artist Larry Rivers' series of drawings, entitled Erasing the Past, also raises questions about the burden of memory on survivors.
     The 63 works featured in the exhibition touch on many issues that remain critical to contemporary society, and demonstrate that art can be a powerful vehicle not only for personal expression, but for increasing global awareness and remembrance.

Copies of the exhibition catalog for Witness & Legacy can be ordered by calling the Knoxville Museum of Art's Museum Shop, (423) 525-6101, ext. 238.

Foreword
Acknowledgements
Schedule of Venues
Creating the Website
Credits

VIDEOS

Overview of the Exhibition (1)
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Overview of the Exhibition (2)
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Purpose of the Exhibition
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Installation of the Exhibition
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PICTURES FROM THE EXHIBITION

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