The Tri-City Herald - Mid Columbia, Richland, Washington
SARA SCHILLING | HERALD STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2007
Photo by Richard Dickin (at top of page) Caption: Seattle artist Akiva Kenneth Segan stands next to a projected image of one of his pieces called The Birth and Death of the World. Segan was at Hanford High School on Monday talking about his artwork to students in Victoria Russell's International Problems class. He's in town to show his work concerning the Holocaust and genocide in an exhibit at Washington State University Tri-Cities called Wings of Memory.
Exhibit a lesson on Holocaust, genocide 'Wings of Memory' at WSU-Tri-Cities features Seattle artist
The first drawing in Akiva Kenneth Segan's series on the Holocaust was inspired by a photo of a trolley car in the Warsaw Ghetto.
The Seattle artist added bird wings to the car in his sketch. Similar drawings of men, women and children who were victims of the Nazis followed. "All these people lived and died. All these people had named because they were born to a mother and father," Segan told a group of high school students Monday in Richland. He's in town to show his work in an exhibition at Washington State University Tri-Cities. His show is called Wings of Memory. It includes pieces from his Holocaust series and a companion piece on genocide.
The images are startling. Many are black and white, though some are in color or have touches of color. They're based on photographs and the wings are based on birds wings.
There's a man with a tattered coat sitting in the ghetto with large wings stretching over his head. There's another of three children playing on the street there, with smaller wings.
Segan showed slides of his drawings at Hanford High School, and students asked about the symbolism. People can draw their own conclusions, Segan told them. Later he said the wings were a way to represent the freedom that many of those depicted were denied. Segan uses his artwork to teach people about the Holocaust and genocide, and frequently makes presentations at schools. "I figure if one kid learns about tolerance, then it'll be a success," Segan said. He has a graduate degree in art from the University of Missouri at Columbia and has worked as an artist around the world. Hanford students who saw Segan's presentation said the art made them think. "It makes you see it from a different side," said Amanda Lopez, 17, a junior. Segan's exhibit at WSU Tri-Cities campus continues through Oct. 31. - On the net: www.tricity.wsu.edu/finearts/Gallery.htm