pushmepullyou: A Jewish/German Dialogue Disclosed
A new exhibit at the Mathers Museum of World cultures explores how two Germans talk to each in a post-Holocaust world if they come from a Jewish and non-Jewish background. pushmepullyou: A Jewish/German Dialogue Disclosed is an interactive installation of sculptures and artists books by Karen Baldner and Björn Krondorfer, two artists whose collaborative works emerged after intimate sharing of family histories. The exhibit will be on display at the Mathers Museum through Friday, December 19.
Baldner, an Associate Instructor in Book Arts and Foundations at the Herron School of Art and Design, IUPUI, and Krondorfer, a Professor of Religious Studies, at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, note in the exhibit their dialogue was not limited solely verbal conversations, but included the language of visual arts. “Our book-objects are not only catalysts for the deepening of our dialogue, but they also witness our intensely personal and artistic process. As objects, our art also invites the audience to participate in our personal conversations: In the face of the post-Shoah chasm between our communities, can we imagine spaces where genuine dialogue can take place?” ask the artists in their exhibit statement.
“Wit(h)ness: Art, Memory and the Holocaust,” a symposium presented in conjunction with the exhibit, will be held Sunday, October 5, 1 to 6 p.m. at the Mathers Museum. The symposium’s keynote speaker will be Dr. Lisa Saltzman, Associate Professor of History of Art and Director of the Center for Visual Culture at Bryn Mawr College. Dr. Saltzman will speak on “After Auschwitz, After Adorno, After Abstraction: On Art and the Subject of History.” Additional participants in the symposium include Baldner and Krondorfer; Dr. Susan Gubar, Distinguished Professor of English and Women's Studies; Dr. Edward Linenthal, Professor of History; Alvin Rosenfeld, Director of the Institute of Jewish Culture and the Arts, Professor of Jewish Studies and English; and Dr. David Thelen, Distinguished Professor (Emeritus) of History. Following the symposium a reception will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. The symposium and reception will be free and open to the public. Details about the works in the exhibit are available at the web site web.me.com/j.g.dialogueproject.
The work in this exhibit was made possible in part by grants from the Indiana Arts Commission and the Arts Council of Indianapolis. “Wit(h)ness: Art, Memory and the Holocaust” is funded by The Robert A. and Sandra S. Borns Jewish Studies Program, the Institute for Jewish Culture and the Arts, and The Dorit and Gerald Paul Program in Jewish Culture and the Arts; the Department of History; the Commission on Multi-Cultural Understanding; and the Mathers Museum of World Cultures.
The Mathers Museum is located at 416 North Indiana Avenue in Bloomington, and is open Tuesdays through Fridays, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Saturdays and Sundays, from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Admission to the Museum is free. Free visitor parking is available by the entrance on Indiana Avenue, and on surrounding streets (during weekends). Metered and IU Permit parking spaces are available at the McCalla School parking lot on the corner of Ninth Street and Indiana Avenue.
An access ramp is located at the corner of Ninth Street and Fess Avenue, at the entrance to the Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology adjoining the Mathers Museum. Reserved parking spaces are available on Ninth Street, between Fess Avenue and Indiana Avenue. If you have a disability and need assistance, special arrangements can be made to accommodate most needs. Please call 812-855-1696 for assistance.
For more information, or to schedule a guided group tour, please call 812-855-6873 or e-mail mathers@indiana.edu.
