i went to the jewish museum yesterday and i saw the most amazing exhibit. a man named mayer kirshenblatt painted his memories of growing up in opatow , poland. his daughter had encouraged him to paint his memories starting in 1967. eventually he realized he needed to depict jewish pre-world war II poland so that people will remember how jewish people lived, not just how they so tragically died. thus he began painting.
the paintings vividly and accurately depict orthodox jewish life in the shtetl. they also have a gentleness to them. mr. kirshenblatt had fond memories of his childhood hometown which are absorbed in the aura of his paintings. the paintings fill several rooms in this exhibit.
there is a video featuring mr. kirshenblatt and his daughter where they discuss the making of the exhibit. it shows them go to opatow where he points out the locations depicted in his paintings . he meets up with elderly poles who remember his family. there was an exhibition of his paintings in poland as well as an opening where many poles attend. its fascinating.
at the end of the exhibit there are blank cards where everyone is encouraged to write a jewish memory from one's own life in the spirit of mayer kirshenblatt's paintings in which he paints his memories. there is a wall where some of these postcards are displayed. i read a few of them and included my own memory with a very inartistic drawing of my own.
