University News
Holocaust Drawings Included in WIU Art Gallery Exhibitions
March 10, 2004
MACOMB, IL - - Two diverse exhibitions will be displayed at the Western Illinois University Art Gallery Tuesday, March 16 through Thursday, April 8.
One exhibit by Maggy Rozycki Hiltner, titled Subversive Stitches, will showcase nontraditional imagery in stitched media. The second exhibit by Akiva Kenneth Segan, titled Under the Wings of G-d, will feature portrait drawings documenting and honoring individuals who died during the Holocaust.
An opening reception, free to the public, will be held from 6-8 p.m. March 16 at the Art Gallery.
Hiltners exhibit includes hand-stitched images of children, which, the artist said,
are used as a bridge to the viewer, as we all have the experience of childhood in common, and emotions felt in childhood span socioeconomic class, race and gender differences.
With these images I am trying to evoke a recognition of oneself in others and the amazing oddness and commonalities of our individual and connected lives, added the Wichita, KS artist.
Segan created his series of drawings based on photographs and research of the Holocaust. Each drawing is a unique contemporary artistic interpretation of a person who died during the Holocaust, with each victim portrayed with wings as a metaphor for freedom, symbolic of shelter, hope and redemption, according to the Seattle, WA artist. The wings are drawn from actual bird wings in the ornithology collections of the University of Washingtons Burke Museum.
Segan will lead a gallery tour and answer questions about his work beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 6. In conjunction with Westerns continuing social justice theme, Segan will show a 30-minute slide presentation and lead discussion on Holocaust Education Through Art beginning at noon Wednesday, April 7 at the Gallery. More information about Segans work is available on his website at www.connectexpress.com/%7Eholocaustart/.
Sponsors for Segans exhibition include Westerns College of Fine Arts and Communication; the art department; Hillel, Westerns Jewish student organization; the Visiting Lecturer Committee; and the Council on Student Activities Funds.
The Western Illinois University Art Gallery, located just north of Sherman Hall, is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and from 6-8 p.m. Tuesdays during exhibitions. For more information, contact the Art Gallery at 309-298-1587 or visit www.wiu.edu/artgallery on the web.
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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