APRIL 1 - JUNE 30, 2009
ARTIST: LEORA WISE
On April 1, 2009 the Holocaust
Memorial Resource and Education
Center of Florida will premiere the
exhibit Wedding Tales by Leora
Wise. An Israeli artist and writer,
Wise has created a series of exceptional
personal histories around the
theme of marriage and family. It
features a series of etchings that
reflect family photographs, letters,
diaries and other documents,
accompanied by text that tells
personal stories of the family elders
who found, loved, and sometimes
lost a beloved partner.
The exhibit is the culmination of a
three-year project that began with
interviews with family members,
some of whom were reluctant to
share the intimate details of the lives
of parents and
grandparents. Not
unexpectedly, there
were contradictions,
secrets and surprises.
Based on the family
recollections, these
tales – some completely
biographical
and some enriched
with the writer’s
imagination –
provide an absorbing
glimpse into the
history of a family.
Together, they are a stunning
reminder of the humanity of families
torn by war and conflict.
Among the tales featured in the
exhibit is the story of the parents of
Leora Wise’s mother-in-law, Tess
Wise, founder of the Holocaust Center. In an
etching filled with the people and
buildings of a Polish community, it
evokes a memory of a time and
place long gone; in the accompanying
monograph, rich in symbols and
memories, it reminds us of how we
are never quite detached from our
family’s past.
This collection will be on exhibit
until June 30, 2009.
