“Traces of Memory: A Contemporary Look at the Jewish Past in Poland”” is at the Bronfman Gallery through May 21. (Luis Gomez Photos)
From Alden Leonard. Contact him at alden[AT]borderstan.com and follow him @aldenleonard on Twitter.
A multi-year collaboration between photographer Chris Schwarz and scholar Jonathan Weber, the exhibition “Traces of Memory: A Contemporary Look at the Jewish Past in Poland” offers a new way of understanding a vibrant and extensive history left in ruins. The exhibition runs through May 21 at the D.C. Jewish Community Center’s Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery, 16th and Q NW.
In the decades following the Holocaust, images of its atrocities in Poland, most notably Auschwitz, overshadowed the rich Jewish history that began more than 800 years before the Nazis invaded Poland.
“Traces” provides a photographic response to the most infamous images to come out of Poland: those of death, destruction, and supreme evil. Schwarz and Weber make the case that, in order to fully understand what was lost in the past, we must confront it and compare it with what is left today.
As such, the exhibition feels less like art and more like history. Schwarz’s style of photography is journalistic and, because the subjects are all modern-day, the visuals provide little chronology or direction. It is Weber’s narration that gives the exhibit a sense of movement and a clear emotional arc. Weber provides context to a photograph of a ruined temple or anti-Semitic graffiti that mars a memorial — his narration gives us a fuller picture of the Jewish legacy in Poland than one image ever could.
That isn’t to say Schwarz’s photographs fall short — actually, they are stunning in both senses of the word. The contemporary nature of the images gives the exhibition gravity. While black-and-white historical photographs of atrocities might allow us to remove ourselves from the violence, images of the modern-day sites where these acts took place are somehow harder to ignore.
One memorable photograph shows Auschwitz’s barracks stretching to the horizon, where a very modern skyline awaits. Another image shows an idyllic pastoral landscape — perfect for a summer picnic — yet marred with a sign in the foreground bearing the bloody sword that denotes the site of a mass murder. I bet it didn’t look all that different back then, on that day, one thinks.
“Traces” fully transports the viewer away from Borderstan, making it an unusual exhibition to feature in this hyper-local blog. But the collaboration succeeds because it forces us to acknowledge the nearness of the Holocaust to our modern lives: how it happened in unassuming places, and how it caught most by surprise.
“Traces of Memory: A Contemporary Look at the Jewish Past in Poland” is showing at the Jewish Community Center’s Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery at 1525 16th (at Q Street) Street until May 21.
Related Posts
Like Borderstan’s Arts & Entertainment stories? Get an RSS Feed for the A&E Section, or an RSS Feed for all Borderstan stories.
Borderstan.com thanks this weeks advertisers for their support.
Central Properties: “Look to us for all of your residential and commercial real estate needs in Washington, DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia. Our services include residential brokerage, development properties and property management.”
DC Jewish Community Center: “The Washington DCJCC is the Jewish community’s address in our Nation’s Capital, providing uniquely urban educational, social, cultural and fitness programs to the DC community inside and outside the beltway.”
EatWell DC: EatWell DC is the parent company of Commissary, Logan Tavern, Grillfish, The Heights and The Pig (opening Spring 2012 on 14th Street NW). On Monday, December 19, they are donating 10% of all dinner sales to So Others Might Eat, as part of their GiveWell Dine Out program.
Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe: Please look for their ad in the right nav bar. Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe is DC’s only full-service restaurant and complete bar combined with an independent bookstore. They are located just north of Dupont Circle at 1517 Connecticut Avenue NW.
VIDA Fitness: “A FREE 3-Day Membership to DC’s hottest fitness clubs! Start a new fitness plan or continue in your fitness journey with VIDA Fitness at any of our 4 downtown urban chic fitness clubs.” Check VIDA out on U and 16 Street.
Get information about advertising on Borderstan.com.
Borderstan.com thanks this weeks advertisers for their support. We welcomed two new advertisers: VIDA Fitness and Central Properties.
VIDA Fitness: Find the VIDA Fitness ad in the skycraper slot in the right nav bar: “A FREE 3-Day Membership to DC’s hottest fitness clubs! Start a new fitness plan or continue in your fitness journey with VIDA Fitness at any of our 4 downtown urban chic fitness clubs.”
Central Properties: Find their ad at top center of the site. “Look to us for all of your residential and commercial real estate needs in Washington, DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia. Our services include residential brokerage, development properties and property management.”
EatWell DC: EatWell DC is the parent company of Commissary, Logan Tavern, Grillfish, The Heights and The Pig (opening Spring 2012 on 14th Street NW). Please look for their ad beneath the News Briefs section. On Friday, November 11, they are offering 11 items for $11 at all four restaurants until 11 pm.
The DC Jewish Community Center: Look for their ad at top center of the site for the JCC’s health and fitness center: Join the DCJCC for $99 a month. Mention “Borderstan” and get two free personal training sessions. “The Washington DCJCC is the Jewish community’s address in our Nation’s Capital, providing uniquely urban educational, social, cultural and fitness programs to the DC community inside and outside the beltway.”
Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe: Please look for their ad in the right nav bar. Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe is DC’s only full-service restaurant and complete bar combined with an independent bookstore. They are located just north of Dupont Circle at 1517 Connecticut Avenue NW.
Get information about advertising on Borderstan.com.
Borderstan.com thanks this weeks advertisers for their support.
EatWell DC: Borderstan.com welcomed a new advertiser this week. EatWell DC is the parent company of Commissary, Logan Tavern, Grillfish, The Heights and The Pig (opening Spring 2012 on 14th Street NW). Please look for their ad beneath the News Briefs section.
The DC Jewish Community Center: Please look for their ad in the landing page banner space for the Broadway’s Melba Moore in Concert on Tuesday, November 8. “The Washington DCJCC is the Jewish community’s address in our Nation’s Capital, providing uniquely urban educational, social, cultural and fitness programs to the DC community inside and outside the beltway.”
Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe: Please look for their ad in the right nav bar. Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe is DC’s only full-service restaurant and complete bar combined with an independent bookstore. They are located just north of Dupont Circle at 1517 Connecticut Avenue NW.
Get information about advertising on Borderstan.com.
Wednesday night’s closing session is with Lucette Lagnado, author of “The Arrogant Years.” (Image courtesy DCJCC)
The 13th Annual Hyman S. & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival closes Wednesday, November 2. The festival has been at the D.C. Jewish Community Center‘s Morris Cafritz Center for the Arts, 16th and Q Streets NW.
The works selected for this year’s Festival included an array of emerging and established authors with roots as near as DC and New York City, and as far as Germany and Egypt. Themes covered during the Festival are equally diverse, and include books on politics, sports, history, fiction and much more.
Missed some the earlier events? Book trailers, podcasts and videos are available online as are Festival images.
You can purchase tickets online or by calling 202-777-3251. Same-day tickets, based on availability may be purchased 30 minutes before the event.
Wednesday, November 2, 7:30 pm
Closing Night with Reception: Lucette Lagnado, The Arrogant Years (tickets $20, discounted $15): “The author of the award-winning The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit–hailed by the New York Times book review as a “crushing, brilliant book”–returns with an extraordinary follow-up memoir that focuses on her mother Edith’s experiences in Cairo and America and the author’s relationship with her mother. Adding new layers to her Egyptian-Jewish family’s story, Lagnado offers an inverted look at the “American Dream.” Reception to follow.
Borderstan.com thanks this weeks advertisers for their support.
The DC Jewish Community Center: Please look for their ad in the landing page banner space for the Hyman S. & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival. It opened October 23 and runs through Wednesday November 2 at the DCJCC, 16th and Q Streets NW.
Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe: Please look for their ad in the right nav bar. Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe is DC’s only full-service restaurant and complete bar combined with an independent bookstore. They are located just north of Dupont Circle at 1517 Connecticut Avenue NW.
Get information about advertising on Borderstan.com.
Borderstan.com thanks last weeks advertisers for their support.
The DC Jewish Community Center. Please look for their ad in the landing page banner space for the Hyman S. & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival. It opened October 23 and runs through Wednesday November 2 at the DCJCC, 16th and Q Streets NW.
Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe. Please look for their ad in the right nav bar. Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe is DC’s only full-service restaurant and complete bar combined with an independent bookstore. They are located just north of Dupont Circle at 1517 Connecticut Avenue NW.
If you are interested in advertising on Borderstan.com, click here.
Borderstan.com is proud to welcome an important community organization in the neighborhood as its second advertiser: the DC Jewish Community Center. Please look for their ad in the landing page banner space for the Hyman S. & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival. It opens October 23 and runs through November 2 at the DCJCC, 16th and Q Streets NW.
DCJCC joins Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe. Please look for their ad in the right nav bar. Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe is DC’s only full-service restaurant and complete bar combined with an independent bookstore. They are located just north of Dupont Circle at 1517 Connecticut Avenue NW. On Tuesday at 6 pm, they will host a DC Wine Week event: “Does Terroir Really Make a Difference?”
If you are interested in advertising on Borderstan.com, click here.
“What There Was To Be Seen” is at the Bronfman Gallery, DC Jewish Community Center. (Courtesy Bronfman Gallery)
There is one new exhibition opening this week at galleries in the neighborhood. On Wednesday, January 26, there is an opening reception from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the DC Jewish Community Center, 16th and Q Streets NW:
The Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery presents “What Was There To Be Seen,” an exhibition featuring Chicago-based artist Carolyn Bernstein’s “Yew Tree Project” and Portland-based artist Kindra Crick’s “Paradigm Shift: Bonds and Binds.”
“What Was There To Be Seen” is an exhibition that focuses on the complexity of science and human biology as seen through the eyes of artists Carolyn Bernstein and Kindra Crick. Each featured artist uses different techniques while employing scientific and medical imagery to convey emotions, experiences, fantasies and fears. The exhibition at the Bronfman Gallery runs through April 24.
Find out what’s showing at 11 galleries in the Logan-Shaw-U Street area below the fold.
If you’re already missing HR-57 in Logan Circle, here’s a shot of one of the last performances on 14th Street NW; the final session was December 18. HR-57 will reopen this month at 816 H Street NE. (Luis Gomez Photos)
Welcome Back and Look Back (Briefly)
Welcome back and happy New Year. Surely you’re back in your office-cube by now. Based on yesterday’s heavy site traffic, it appears you are (sorry, couldn’t resist). In case you missed them, please take a quick look back and check out the profiles of some of our top contributors in 2010: 2010: The Borderstan Year in Photos; Business 2010: Tom Hay For the Record; Cecile Oreste: Sharing Artists’ Stories in 2010; Music 2010: The Passion of Danny Shapiro; Food & Drink 2010: Alejandra’s Restaurant Profiles. While you’re at it, check out Tom Hay’s post from yesterday, Local Business: What’s in Store for 2011? Links to Borderstan’s 14 business profiles are the bottom of the post.
(Courtesy Jewish Literary Festival)
From Berrak Sarikaya
The Washington DC Jewish Community Center’s (DCJCC) Morris Cafritz Center for the Arts will be presenting the 12th Annual Hyman S. & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival to celebrate the year’s best in Jewish writing. Works selected for the Literary Festival, which runs Oct. 17-27, features authors who have received national recognition for their works. The DCJCC is located at 16th and Q St. NW.
“We are very excited about the authors we’re bringing to the Hyman S. & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival this year,” says Lili Kalish Gersch, festival director. “I’m looking forward to fascinating discussions about Jewish comedy, Iraqi Jewish communities, the interplay of faith and reason, truth in memoir and Jewish cowboys. These authors have really astounded me; this is going to be a great Festival.”
Galactica has performances at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. this Thursday, March 11, at ACKC Cocoa Bar. (ganymedearts.org)
Looking for theater and live performances in the area this week? Here are three right in Dupont – Logan – U Street area… walkable from home in the neighborhood.
Already running at 14th and S NW. Check out the Washington Improv Theater at 1835 14th Street NW (performances at the Source Theatre). Washington Improv is currently running “FIST: The Tournament of the Fighting Improv Smackdown Tournament.” From Improv: “In FIST… 132 improvisers on 44 teams fight for your laughs and votes in the quest to be crowned champion of this single-elimination battle. Starting on March 4th, groups such as itsokaytotouch_75, Menorah Sailboat and Sophie’s Random Selection will have 12 minutes each to take your suggestion and crack you up harder than the competition with their fully improvised show. If you’ve seen improv before, prepare to be impressed, if you haven’t, this is the place to start.” FIST opened Thursday night and runs through April 11. Tickets are $10 with show times online.
Starting Wednesday at 16th and Q NW. At Theater J at the DC Jewish Community Center (1529 16th Street NW), see “ANDY WARHOL: GOOD FOR THE JEWS?” It opens Wednesday night the 10th. About the shows, from Theatre J: “DC favorite Josh Kornbluth considers the pop-art enigma who was commissioned to paint ten Jewish notables like Einstein, Gershwin, and Golda. In wrestling with Warhol’s motives and style, Kornbluth uncovers his religious identity and the spiritual dimensions of Warhol’s art. The production is running in conjunction with Andy Warhol’s ‘Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century: In Retrospect’ at the Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery at the Washington DCJCC.” Tickets are half-priced if you are 35 or under.
Thursday at 14th and Q NW. Agent Galactica performs again at ACKC Cocoa Bar, this Thursday, March 11 in “Galactica and the Chocolate Factory.” There are two shows, at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.
Engaged to be married? Thinking about getting married? Check out a pre-marriage counseling program at the D.C. Jewish Community Center located right here in Borderstan at 16th and Q Streets NW. It’s called “Tying the Knot: A Pre-Marriage Workshop for Couples” and it begins in Feburary.
