via Hebrew Union College:
SUSAN SILAS: HELMBRECHTS WALK, 1998-2003
A visual retracing of a Nazi forced death march
September 8, 2009 – June 30, 2010
Artist’s Reception: Thursday, October 22, 2009, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m
Susan Silas’ work Helmbrechts walk, 1998-2003, is a memorial testament to the forced march of 580 female Jewish prisoners at the end of the Second World War. The march began on April 13th, 1945 in order to evacuate Helmbrechts, a small satellite unit of the Flossenbürg concentration camp before American troops arrived. Silas’ work acts as a visual representation of the 225 miles that the prisoners were forced to walk from the camp in Germany into occupied Czechoslovakia.
With determination and sensitivity, Silas retraced the path of these women for 22 days in Germany and the Czech Republic on the 53rd anniversary of the march. Silas, the daughter of two Holocaust survivors, documented her journey in a collection of 48 archival color prints. Her work deals with the dialectics between visibility and invisibility, uncovering the past by showcasing the journey of those who are unable to tell their story. The images, contextualized by Silas’ commentary of her own experience, are paired with evocative news clips from the same day in 1998 thus drawing a connection between the violent events of the past and those being witnessed in the present. This series of work is compiled in a limited edition unbound artist’s book.
more info
Museum Hours: Mondays-Thursdays, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.; Fridays, 9 a.m. -3 p.m.
Selected Sundays, 10am-2pm; September 13, October 11, November 8, 22, December 13, January 10, 24, February 7, March 7, April 18, May 9
Admission: Free. Photo ID required.
Tours/Information: Katie Moscowitz, 212-824-2293: kmoscowitz@huc.edu;
www.huc.edu/museum/ny
