Diaspora
Diaspora - Entire Installation
Great News! Diaspora was selected for exhibition in the online exhibition, Genesis, through Dab Art, a gallery in Los Angeles, CA.
Diaspora was also selected for exhibition at the Smithsonian S. Dillon Ripley Center in 2017.
Diaspora is an installation piece that I made to explore an aspect of Jewish history that is near and dear to my heart—immigration to the United States. As with "Treatise," my Holocaust memorial piece, there are symbolic aspects to all the items used in the artwork.
The books used within the trunk are Yiddish and are stories by the author Sholom Aleichem. Sholom Aleichem was a prominent writer who wrote the stories that inspired “Fiddler on the Roof.” “Fiddler” depicts just what many of the people portrayed in the artwork endured to come to this country. Many (not all) Jewish immigrants from eastern Europe spoke, read and wrote in Yiddish. The use of books also speaks to the importance of education in the Jewish tradition.
Aspen trees were painted on the spines of the books. Aspens are the largest organism on our planet, and are connected by their root systems, just as we are all connected. Tree symbolism is important in Judaism as well. The tree of life is another name for the Torah (Jewish written law).
The trunk lid includes photographs of immigrants, including my family members, that had the courage to leave all that they knew behind to come to an unknown country. The branches and yellow leaves symbolize hope for a better life, and the connections that we have to one another. The tree limbs are also a nod to the connections that occur when we move from one place to another as if branching out.
The trunk and suitcases symbolize the travel to what was hoped would be a better life for themselves and their families upon arriving in the United States.
If you want to know even more about "Diaspora," check out info here.
Click on the image/s below to see larger photographs and a short description of each. To purchase Diaspora contact me here.
All artwork images© Lynn Goldstein 2021
Diaspora was also selected for exhibition at the Smithsonian S. Dillon Ripley Center in 2017.
Diaspora is an installation piece that I made to explore an aspect of Jewish history that is near and dear to my heart—immigration to the United States. As with "Treatise," my Holocaust memorial piece, there are symbolic aspects to all the items used in the artwork.
The books used within the trunk are Yiddish and are stories by the author Sholom Aleichem. Sholom Aleichem was a prominent writer who wrote the stories that inspired “Fiddler on the Roof.” “Fiddler” depicts just what many of the people portrayed in the artwork endured to come to this country. Many (not all) Jewish immigrants from eastern Europe spoke, read and wrote in Yiddish. The use of books also speaks to the importance of education in the Jewish tradition.
Aspen trees were painted on the spines of the books. Aspens are the largest organism on our planet, and are connected by their root systems, just as we are all connected. Tree symbolism is important in Judaism as well. The tree of life is another name for the Torah (Jewish written law).
The trunk lid includes photographs of immigrants, including my family members, that had the courage to leave all that they knew behind to come to an unknown country. The branches and yellow leaves symbolize hope for a better life, and the connections that we have to one another. The tree limbs are also a nod to the connections that occur when we move from one place to another as if branching out.
The trunk and suitcases symbolize the travel to what was hoped would be a better life for themselves and their families upon arriving in the United States.
If you want to know even more about "Diaspora," check out info here.
Click on the image/s below to see larger photographs and a short description of each. To purchase Diaspora contact me here.
All artwork images© Lynn Goldstein 2021
