4 June to 17 October 2010
Jonathan Safran Foer, Bernice Eisenstein, and Ernst
van Alphen, three well-known figures from the literary world, each
chose their favorite gouaches from the work Life? or
Theatre? by the artist Charlotte Salomon (1917-1943). Their
selection is on view at the Jewish Historical Museum from 4 June
2010 onwards, in each case accompanied by a personal explanation of
the choice. These contributions take a fresh look at Salomon's now
famous work, the images in which she told the dramatic story of her
life.
The writer Jonathan Safran Foer, who is
known for novels including Everything is Illuminated and
the recently published book Eating Animals, found himself
charmed and 'infected' by Salomon's work on an unplanned visit to
the JHM. Since then, it has been a source of inspiration in his own
creative work. For this exhibition, he chose the images to which he
returns most frequently when he finds himself feeling that nothing
is worth the trouble of writing down. There is no thematic or
stylistic link between them, but Safran Foer calls them his
antidote against indifference.
The Canadian artist and writer Bernice Eisenstein
based her choices on an 'interior dialogue' with Charlotte Salomon.
What impressed her most was the way in which Salomon found an
artistic mode of expression to deal with her memories. It inspired
Eisenstein in her own quest for the past, resulting in her book
I was a Child of Holocaust Survivors.
Ernst van Alphen, professor of literary studies at
the University of Leiden, chose works that display the complexity
of Life? or Theatre? At first sight, the painted
autobiography may appear to be interesting chiefly from an
historical and art historical perspective. But Van Alphen shows
that Salomon's work contains the recurring theme of masculine
creative energy and her own struggle to be creative as a
woman.
Charlotte Salomon grew up in Berlin, where she attended the academy
of art. At twenty years of age she fled from Germany, immediately
after Kristallnacht ('the Night of Broken Glass') on 9
November 1938. She went to stay with her grandparents, who had fled
from Nazi Germany earlier and were living in the south of France.
In 1940, after the outbreak of the Second World War, her
grandmother committed suicide. It was only then that Salomon found
out that her mother too had killed herself, in 1926. Salomon took
up painting as a way of dealing with these dramatic events. That is
the origin of her life's work Life? or Theatre?
Salomon's work has belonged to the collection of the Jewish
Historical Museum since 1971. This multi-faceted and moving work of
art has served as a source of inspiration for many people working
in the fields of literature, film, opera, and drama.
For information and/or images, please contact:
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