'Impossible To Forget'

By Jeff Renfro

After the horrific events of the Holocaust, many artists have attempted to document and conceptualize this tragedy, in order to preclude a similar event.

"Impossible to Forget: The Nazi Camps Fifty Years After," is a series of photographs shot by Michael Kenna that showcase the current state of concentration camps. Kenna has visited the sites repeatedly over the last 10 years and has documented the physical changes to the camps.

"Multiply by Six Million: A Personal Perspective on the Holocaust" is a series of personal portraits created by Evvy Eisen.

Eisen makes a concerted effort to remove herself from her work, which creates a sense of intimacy between the subject of the photograph and the viewer.

Kenna is a British-born artist, who now resides in Portland, Ore. He was born after World War II, but still feels the emotional resonance of the events and a responsibility to educate the world. While in art school, Kenna felt unable to make a real connection to the Holocaust until he saw a photograph taken by a fellow student.

The photograph was a close-up of a pile of shaving brushes, used to shave the heads of the people sentenced to life in the camps. Kenna was so struck by this image that he recreated it in his own work.

Kenna is a commercial artist who uses his own money to fund his trips to the concentration camps. "Impossible to Forget" is a labor of love. The showcase presents themes of decay and the intersection of humanity and nature.

The showcase has been criticized for the undeniable beauty of the photographs. The buildings, tracks, and even incinerators of the camps are presented in a visually pleasing way. Kenna uses the beauty of the photographs to draw the viewer in.

Eisen's photographs could not be more different, but are just as emotionally relevant. The portraits are taken only after Eisen has established a trusting relationship with her subjects.

She meets most of her sitters through word of mouth. Before even talking about the portrait itself, Eisen helps the survivor recount his or her story.

She then edits these accounts and donates them to the Museum of Tolerance, the Holocaust Museum in Washington, among other places. Once a relationship has been established, Eisen allows the sitters to choose their own backgrounds and poses. In some cases, the survivors choose to role up their sleeves and show their tattoos. The only constant in the photographs is the intimate gaze of the subject. Karen Kienzle, the curator of de Saisset, says, "While their individual artistic approaches are very different, both featured photographers-share a similar important goal: to educate people about the Holocaust and to ultimately prevent it from happening again."

In addition to the exhibits, the de Saisset is sponsoring a series of lectures:

* Oct. 26: professor Andrea Pappas will deliver a lecture entitled 'The Impact of the Holocaust on the Visual Arts.'

* Nov. 2: Holocaust survivors from Eisen's work will tell their stories to students.

* Nov. 9: Michael Kenna is scheduled to lecture on his own work.

In addition, professor Boo Riley will lead an Osher Lifelong Learning Class devoted to the themes of the exhibit.

Exhibit runs from Oct. 1 to Nov. 20 at the de Saisset Museum.

Contact Jeff Renfro at (408) 551-1918 or jrenfro@scu.edu.