Selected Responses Letters of visitors to the Solo Exhibition- Installation Art:
“MOTHER-SURVIVOR in Memory of my Mother and Many Others”
The Kanner- Kurzon Museum, Beth El Synagogue Center, New Rochelle, NY
March 29- May 4, 2014
Dear Lea
Like you I am the product of Holocaust survivors. Through my life I was searching & following closely on material & Eyewitness accounts of that era. In my searches I have seen many Testimonies through vision & exhibits of those dark days however I must stress that I found your exhibits very unique & touching. The way you have captured your mother’s memories and the emotions that I felt are really touching & moving. This work is like no other. Expressive, strong that goes very deep into human soul. It needs to be seen by all & never forgotten.
Leon Zelozny (Opening Reception: March, 30, 2014)
Dear Lea
Congratulations, this installation is outstanding this is extremely moving and I honor not only your artistic talent but also your mental strength to create such an extremely memorial masterpiece on this very difficult subject. I felt personally honored to have been invited and able to view and participate
All the best, your friend Paul Yarden a Holocaust Survivor
Dearest Lea
…Even though your mother lived through such horrors she was a beautiful, loving person who created other beautiful and loving human beings. You can’t Exterminate Goodness!
Rebecca Plaskar -the granddaughter of my dearest grandmother, Helen Gelb Davidowitz Your grandfather’s sister
Lea
Working here at Beth El Synagogue Center in New Rochelle, NY, across the hall from the Museum, I watched as you constructed your meaningful exhibit… I could feel the emotions, the pain and the sorrow, but also was able to be uplifted at the conclusion of the exhibit. This is an incredible tale, so well told, and your images and the words that describe them will stay with me for a very, very, very long time. Thank you so much for sharing this important exhibition with my synagogue. There are truly no words to describe all that I am feeling right now- it’s so deep.
With much appreciation,
Shery Rosenstein (May, 2014)
High School Students’ Selected Responses Letters to:
MOTHER-SURVIVOR Exhibition Presentations
Solomon Schechter School of Westchester, Hartsdale New York / April 2014
… The artwork was absolutely astonishing and captivating. I have never seen the holocaust depicted through an art exhibition, so seeing it in this context was a new experience for me. I was very affected by the common symbol in the presentation of wires and red color to resemble how the Jews were trapped and in pain. I also was moved when someone asked her why the red color but not only said, it resembled pain but she also said it-resembled birth. She was able to combine the horror and the powerful impact on her mom; how she was optimistic after this, in a way I have never seen before. After experiencing this exhibit I can truly say that the way I look at the holocaust and its impact and importance has changed.
Diana
(I thought that) the art exhibit was very meaningful.
It was a creative, expressive, new way to see the holocaust.
The exhibits made it easier to paint a picture in my head and understanding the story (+message the author was trying to tell.)
I liked how the artist focused on a message of optimism and will power. One thing I found interesting how the artist used objects+ lighting to display a symbolic image with the shadows. One example was when she made names of her family members out of wire to look like smoke coming out of the chimney. I liked how she used certain materials such as wire+ metal it made me cringe a bit. I also liked it how the artist referred to the other groups of people that were affected by the holocaust. I was amazed by the exhibit.
Alon
Westchester Hebrew High School, Mamaroneck, New York / May, 2014
Dear Lea,
Thank you so much for inviting my classmates and me to view your exhibition Mother-Survivor. I loved the abstract nature of many of the pieces as I could relate them to my feelings about the holocaust, as my grandmother who survived it, never speaks of her experiences. The sharp edges of many of your pieces and the hard mediums made the horror of the holocaust tangible, as if I could reach out, touch it, experience it. I really enjoyed your impeccable attention to detail as well as the variety of mediums you presented, in particular the piece created with the dismembered dolls- an image supposedly of childhood so grimly disfigured, an image so perverse, it cannot help but elicit emotions of pity for the young, innocent children who were a part of this great tragedy. The insertion of family names as well as photos helps lend the pieces a personal touch, and through your beautiful figures I could feel your love for your mother and the desire to keep her memory alive. Viewing your art was a wonderful experience that I shall not forget.
Much admiration and thanks, Celia