Miriam is a very passionate and, in my opinion, very brave woman.
the images that she portrays in her art are heavy and emotional and sometimes difficult to look at for an extended period of time.
in the film she said that she paints and expresses "the horror that people meet with in their lives and in their existences."
she really feels the pain of the world and uses canvases to try to relieve it or maybe to relieve the pressure it puts on herself.
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| entrance to Auschwitz-Birkenau, 1945. |
much of her work has to do with pain and survival; she is heavily influenced by the Holocaust.
when speaking of painting she said that "you have to keep at it because you need it for your existence."
she says that "painting is a safe place where you can exercise [your] demons."
we're lucky enough to have some of Miriam's work in our gallery at Lawrence and i went to see it the day after watching the film.
her work is even more striking in person than it is in a movie with dramatic music and lighting.
i was in the gallery by myself and it was perfectly silent.
one of the paintings said on the top vous vivez which is French for you (collectively or formally) live.
i paused, wondering if Miriam was telling us to live or if she was making a comment, almost saying that she paints so that we can live.
it's really difficult to describe and express feelings about her work if the person you're talking to hasn't seen them, so i encourage you to find her work and to spend time with it, even if it makes you feel uneasy.
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| images from Auschwitz-Birkenau, 2015. |
some of her collages have sequins and sparkles so at first glance they look almost friendly and inviting, but once you orient yourself, you see gruesome and grotesque, writhing figures covering and covered by the glitz.
i had a physical response to Miriam's work; i felt a little light headed as i got to the last few works in the exhibit and was happy to sit to look at the last one.
i know that i wouldn't have appreciated Miriam's work as much if i hadn't seen the film, first.
everyone can take something from Miriam's paintings and collages, and i really think that everyone should.
this woman is special.
she expresses things that some people won't even think about.
one of her collages says "for beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror" and her work could easily be described as nothing less than terrifying, an equal indication of how lovely it is, too.
i think we can all learn from Miriam.
i think we can learn not to be afraid and especially not to be afraid to feel; not to be afraid to feel even if the people around and close to us don't know how to react to our feelings.
so think of Miriam.
think of Miriam and don't be afraid.
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I really still enjoy the way that you format your blog. The post almost expresses the chaos of thought, how you want to get everything out there all at once but you must decide what is the right thing to say. I am also very impressed by the amount of quotes that you found that all describe what I found to be the main thoughts or ideas throughout the film. Beermans work is very powerful and I think able to break people down especially if you are alone with it.
ReplyDeleteI also really like the way you've written this reflection. I think it captures some of the "experience" of Miriam's work: raw thoughts and emotions, chaos and feeling, and the struggle of translating that into a visual format. I also like your encouragement to not be afraid of these feelings and what Miriam's presenting us with. I think we owe it to her talent as an artist to be brave and try to acknowledge some of that raw emotion she puts into her work.
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