Lesson Two

Debbie Teicholz
Prayer by the Wall Series
Photographs, 1991
35 x 64

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About the Artist

Teicholz utilizes photography, manipulating her prints through tinting and other methods of alteration. Her main series, A Prayer by the Wall, contains strong points of reference to the Holocaust, but not in a literal manner. The evocation of images of train tracks, plowed earth, cut trees, targets and a sensitive reflection on decaying landscapes was inspired by the memory of the Holocaust on one hand and experiences in Israel. The train tracks, particularly, are a tragic reminder of the deportation of the Jews. In Teicholz's photographic triptychs, images of the landscape of Israel and the Western Wall, the most holy site in Judaism, creates a sense of redemption, transforming the dead landscape of tracks and barren land. Teicholz's identity is strongly influenced by the memory of displacement and being of the second generation. Her works are visual metaphors, with relatively harmless subjects being arranged to suggest the horrors of the Holocaust. The sepiatoned tinting of her images causes them to look like antique photographs, and suggests issues relating to memory.

Born to Eastern European Jewish survivors of the Holocaust, Teicholz grew up in the atmosphere of the Holocaust, living amid a plethora of personal accounts. She states, "I chose not to use archival images as symbols because I feel these images, which belong to our collective consciousness, often have a distancing effect on the viewer, because they are so recognizable and therefore emotionally dismissable. These images were photographed in Israel and Budapest in 1991 and 1992. As I smelled the freshly turnedover, rich, amber rows of Israeli earth, I thought about the rows of train tracks, and I still hear the silent screams."

About the Work

The image featured in this teacher's guide is one of a series of four large triptychs that create the Prayer by the Wall series. These works are called triptychs because they actually consist of three large photographs -- two images which flank a central image. In this case, two images of railroad tracks and train cars, which remind the viewer of the displacement and deportation of the Jews to ghettos and concentration camps, flank a central image of cattle in stalls, recalling the "cattle cars," or crude animal-transport train cars, used to transport millions of Jews to work or death camps. It is also a reminder of the Nazi attitude towards the Jews -- Hitler had remarked that the Jews were definitely a race, but simply not a human one. To the Nazis, the Jews were literally sub-human animals.

Note the yellowed or sepia tone of these images, which along with the marked blurring of the images gives the impression of a memory hazily remembered, or the vague recollection of a nightmare.

Interprative Questions

  1. The artist has titled this series of triptychs "Prayer by the Wall." To what might this title refer? How might prayer relate to this image?
  2. How is this image metaphorical? What, specifically, does it suggest in terms of the history of the Holocaust? Why did the artist choose to evoke this history metaphorically instead of utilizing archival photographs of actual Holocaust victims in "cattle cars"?
  3. How does the yellow tinting of these images affect their mood and meaning?
  4. (In the Museum) Which of these images has negative connotations relating to the Holocaust, and which might be viewed in a more positive vein? Why or why not? Do you see specific images of prayer in any of these works

Art Project Objective

Based on Teichholz's beliefs about how overused symbols are ineffective, you will create a metaphorical image in a triptych form which refers to a common emotion or event. Obvious symbols for your subject will be avoided. Instead, line, shape and color will be used to emphasize your theme.

Vocabulary

Triptych -- An artwork in three parts, typically a central image and two flanking images or panels. During past centuries, the triptych displaying religious imagery was typically used as an altarpiece.

Metaphor -- A figure of speech in which one thing is spoken as if it were another; visually, an image or object which suggests or makes reference to another image, object, or idea.

Oil pastel -- A colored stick similar to a chalk or crayon, comprised of pigment (color) and an oil binder. Oil pastels produce a heavier line than traditional (chalky) pastels, and may be blended by rubbing on the surface

Materials

Procedure

  1. Review the terms triptych and metaphor. If possible, try to find several examples of each.
  2. View the slides of Teicholz's work. Refer to the "About the Artist" section in order  to get an idea of the premises behind her work.
  3. Brainstorm and list emotions or events that often have symbols associated with them. Good examples are love, fear, or birthdays. Choose one and draw various symbols that represent it on a scrap sheet of paper (for example, love is usually represented by a heart, a set of lips, or cupid).
  4. Think about how you can metaphorically represent that particular emotion or event without using any of the symbols you have just drawn. Instead, come up with images that are visually associated with the subject, but don't directly represent them. Also, use specific colors, lines and shapes that evoke the feeling or mood you desire.
  5. Being that the final result will be a triptych containing three panels, choose one of the following techniques to arrive at a final result: create three separate images that pertain to one main theme OR take one longer image and break it into three sections. Teicholz uses both of these methods in her work. If using three images, make sure they flow together well by incorporating several of the same lines, colors, and shapes throughout all of the panels.
  6. Upon completion, your work should be presented in a specific order

Examining Your Work

  1. Describe the event or emotion that you have represented in your work. Explain how the imagery chosen relates to this theme. How do the colors, lines and shapes reinforce your ideas?
  2. Do you believe that your work would have been stronger if you had used the "obvious" symbols related in the design? Why or why not? Which images require more thought to interpret? Why

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