Comments
Comments from Bittersweet Legacy exhibit at Sarah Shenson Gallery, Triton Museum, Jan-Feb. 2000
"I am so grateful for so much talent and spirituality. Thank you for the intensity of feelings I have experienced today." - MB
"Powerful beyond words...as it must be...and which is why even the poetry transforms itself into pure feeling.
"I am so moved - I can't even say. I am so proud that this art is here. It endures through the ages and is our culture. Thank you." - AHB, child of survivors
"Heartfelt and profound." - DB
"Wonderfully transcending." - PK
"Wonderful, sad and solid." - MA
"Thank you. A multi-sensory experience. Very provocative and so so touching!" - NM
"Very moving and respectful" - KET
"Thank you for bringing the lessons alive for our students. What a moving experience." - DM
"Thanks for the powerful remembrance of the darkest days." - DK
"Beautiful! Even though that is a strange word for such wonder in the art in the midst of such horror." -BW
Excerpts from Essays
In response to the Triton Museum exhibit by middle school children:
"Seeing all this art made me think of all the people who died and suffered during the Holocaust. It also made me think of smaller events that still happen today, and that I can't do anything about it. The human hates for power, revenge and for other things, but he doesn't realize what hatred can lead to. - 8th Grade
"The emotions of the stories of the Holocaust cannot be easily explained. That is why some survivors and their children show their reactions through art such as poems or a painting. The symbolic key is not a simple key, but quite a complicated one. We must not take advantage, but be grateful for those who share their experiences. We must learn from wrong and do right. Keys are not just for the bad, but we all have keys inside of us that let us into our souls." - 8th Grade
"This exhibit affected me in a most peculiar way. Of course, it was based on material with which I was already familiar. However, its impact was much greater than that of anything I had ever seen before....
Even though the tears I shed were mostly because I felt really small and helpless, there was of course some sorrow and pity for the ones who did live during those times. I have begun to think that leading an easy life does have its disadvantages. Children brought up in a well-off family have lesser chance of understanding what hate can really bring. Seeing and reading is not enough, we have to experience the consequences of prejudice to really understand. We who have never known real hunger and cold are the ones most liable to impose it on others. Without doubt I have aged in the past few weeks." - 8th Grade
Santa Clara University
Student responses to slides of art from Bittersweet Legacy :
"Thanks again for a wonderful and personal presentation. The responses in both classes were generally thoughtful and some students were very deeply moved and continue to reflect on the experience." -Cynthia Baker, instructor, Representing the Holocaust, Santa Clara University
"As I looked at the art I could not help but feel connected to the victims. They look so ordinary in the pictures that I could see myself being one of them. These images allow me to see the victims as people who once lived and suffered. They could have been anybody, my neighbor, family, friends, and even myself...The feelings viewers get from the art helps people see and understand why another Holocaust must not occur."
"I would say that this was one of the most effective lectures that we have had throughout this class. Although I went into this lecture with a negative attitude, I came out of it with a better understanding of the Holocaust and a new perspective into the way some people use the creative arts to convey their emotions or thoughts on such a complicated subject as the Holocaust."
"In all honesty the presentation has been fascinating for me. I'm always interested in seeing how people choose to express themselves in ways other than written language. Art can display emotions that cannot always be put into words. The visual experience is much more out in the open than reading, all that is being said is in the one panel, but the interaction between object and audience is equally personal and the content can be equally deep."
"Perhaps it is not picturesque...but it made me uncomfortable, it made me stop and think about genocide and other examples of suffering in our world. And those bony hands reaching out amid the mustard and olive colors will drive me forward today. That is the power of art. Perhaps it did not portray something personal, but it touched me personally. Kudos to the artist".