The Jewish Transcript, Seattle
Vol. 73, No.21 November 21, 1997 | 21 Heshvan, 5758
Wings in Prison
by Jonathan Freedman, Special to the Transcript
Inmates at the Washington State Men's Prison were deeply moved by a series of paintings and drawing that portrayed the Holocaust.
Kenneth Akiva Segan, a Seattle artist, showed slides of his Holocaust drawing begun in 1991, a series titled "Under the Wings of G-D: A Holocaust Education Through Art" that will include about 50 drawings when completed. He also showed slides by Holocaust survivor Israel Bernbaum.
Segan's drawings are based on the actual photographs of the men, women and children who died during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in Poland between 1939 and 1943.
About 50 inmates attended the Oct. 29 presentation, seven of whom were Jewish. Jewish Prison Service Director Gary Friedman, who serves as chaplain for Jewish prisoners in Washington, and Reverend Brooke Rolston of the Covenant House/ Campus Christian Ministry at the University of Washington also were on hand. The presentation was sponsored by the International Jewish Prisoner's Service and Washington State Prisons.
Segan, a member of Congregation Eitz Or, wants the images to promote learning and dicussion about the Holocaust and to fight anti-Semitism and racism. The artist has used an interactive format during previous presentations. He might ask, "Why is that in this representation, the Nazis have no faces?"
In the prison, he also used the images to initiate a discussion. One of the slides, a painting by Bernbaum titled "Gedenk (remember)," showed two sets of an adult's hands and one set of a child's hands in front of the Warsaw ghetto wall.
With this obvious metaphor of incarceration on display he askedm, "What do you think these sets of hands are reaching for?" Prisoners suggested "light" or "God," as well as the more expected response of "Freedom."
Friedman said the presentation was perhaps as enriching and educational for Segan as it was for the audience. "Inmates are very intense, perceptive and intelligent," he said. "They quickly grasp what someone is trying to achieve, and also learn very quickly when someone is confident or knowledgeable." After the presentation, several prisoners thanked Segan and asked him for his mailing address.
Friedman said such efforts as Segan's are desperately needed at a time when prison sentences are longer and budget cuts present limited vocational training opportunities for inmates.
He envisions a wider application for Segan's work and others who may volunteer their time in the state's prisons. "Knowledge heals a lot."
Segan's presentation included paintings from Bernbaum's "My Brother's Keeper,' a 1985 children's book. Like Segan, Bernbaum's work focuses on the Holocaust. He was born and raised in Warsaw's Jewish ghetto, which was destroyed by the Nazis during the 1943 uprising. Bernbaum survived the war as a soldier in the Soviet Army. His paintings, completed between the early 1970s and 1982, depicted the death of Jews in Warsaw and Europe during the Holocaust.
"They are remarkable," Segan said, "for their rich use of color and detail." Segan initiated correspondence with Bernbaum in 1992, a year before the artist's death. "My paintings are done not only with paint, but with the blood of my heart," Bernbaum once said of his work.
The images succeeded in eliciting a strong response from the inmates attending the presentation. Segan recalled being put on the spot. "One listener asked about the validity of Judaism in the present day, wondering why Jews don't accept Jesus." Segan carefully worded his reply.
He explained that Jews don't believe their faith is outdated. On the contrary, they believe the religion still holds great relevance and power. Segan said the uncanny parallels between his own work and Bernbaum's is "a kind of synchronicity."
Segan had already begun working his Holocaust series when he discovered that Bernbaum had been pursuing a similar course for many years. He found that Bernbaum had become possessed with drawing the Holocaust later in life after a career as a businessman. Segan draws much inspiration from Bernbaum's almost feverish drive.
This vision clearly reached the inmates, Friedman said. "Inmates show an inordinate interest in the Holocaust. Maybe they saw parallels to their own situations," the chaplain said. Because of the presentation's success, Segan, Friedman and Eitz Or Rabbi David Wolfe-Blank will lead a Chanukah service in late December for the prison's Jewish inmates.