The Holocaust Remembrance Day Coalition's Art and Poetry exhibit opened up Thursday night at the Red Gym.
The exhibit features works of art and poetry submitted by students for the coalition's second annual art and poetry contest. The theme of this year's exhibit is ""Do Not Stand Idly By,"" inspired by the Bible verse Leviticus 19:16, ""do not stand idly by while your neighbor's blood is shed.""
""[The verse] is a sentiment echoed by Holocaust survivors such as Elie Wiesel, and can be applied from the Holocaust of the 1940s to the genocide in Darfur happening today,"" said UW junior and Holocaust Remembrance Day committee member Emily Pomeranz.
Though the students' submissions need to reflect this theme, their work does not have to be directly related to the Holocaust.
""While it comes from the Torah, this is a theme that transcends religion and speaks to how we treat one another as human beings,"" Pomeranz said. ""We believe that ‘do not stand idly by' can be applied as broadly or as narrowly as the artist can imagine, which is why the subject matter is not limited to World War II.""
One poem, sophomore David Rubins' ""A Tired Titan,"" reflects idleness by eluding to Greek mythological figures and establishes a nice rhythmic pattern.
Freshman Eric Salitsky's ""Train Tracks"" is a painting more closely tied to the Holocaust. A bold, red train track disappears into oblivion and is painted over torn remnants of Yiddish media from before and during the war. The media scraps are scattered beneath brown paint, the surface very textured and earthy. The prominent Nazi propoganda, including a photo of a swastika tattooed on someone's hand, clash among the Yiddish media.
Tim Speaker's ""Hope is One"" is a digital process of a young boy named Israel Lichtenstein. The boy's eyes are moving and project a sense of innocence—an innocence that was affected by the war.
Holocaust Remembrance Day took place Sunday and the art and poetry exhibit will be running through the Holocaust Remembrance coalition's ""Week of Remembrance."" The exhibit is free to the public, open now until April 19 in the Red Gym.
