Human Rights & Holocaust Art

Website Testimonial Letters Missouri

Background note by A.K. Segan, written Feb. 3, 2023:

In Sept. 1978 I began graduate studies at the Art School, Univ. of Missouri at Columbia, as a transfer student from the graduate MFA program at Washington University, St. Louis. At Washington University, the head of printmaking was not a fan of my work.
I did had a supporter among the faculty there, the late artist Arthur Osver (see cards he sent me in the 1980’s).  
~
Newly arrived at MU-C, my advisor was Professor John Weller, who taught printmaking, among other classes. The classes I took with him were independent study, same as what I had done at SIU – Carbondale with studio art professor, dept. chair and printmaker Herbert Fink. (see Professor Fink’s letter in the Testimonials – Illinois).
~
Professor Weller wrote the following letter on my behalf in 1979. A tobacco smoker, he was dealing with cancer. Sadly, he died young in 1981; he was born in 1928. Residing in Seattle from late August 1980, I learned of his passing from friends in Columbia. In his memory, I presented one of my large 2x3 foot etching and aquatint prints to the Museum of Art & Archaeology, University of Missouri, for their collection. 

~
Professor's letter was typed by "HP." This would have been Harri Palmer. She was the School of Art secretary and office manager.
During my first return visit to Columbia (following my Aug. 1980  graduation) in spring 1996, I saw Harri at the Art school office during my teaching trip to campus and at local schools in Columbia. See attached photo of Harri and me outside the Art School building; photo by Robert Friedman, an MU-C Art School alumnus. Sadly, she lost her life the following year in a small plane accident. 

~
I haven't yet located a photo of Professor Weller.
~
Professor Weller’s letter:

"University of Missouri – Columbia
College of Arts & Science
Department of Art
A126 Fine Arts Center
Columbia, Missouri 65211
Telephone (314) 882-3555

December 27, 1979
To Whom It May Concern:
~
Mr. Ken Segan a graduate student in the Department of Art at the University of Missouri – Columbia, has worked under my supervision in the area of printmaking.
~
Mr. Segan displays a high level of creative imagination, along with the development of technical expertise in his area of interest, which is intagio printmaking.
~
His deep involvement in the media is quite apparent and I believe he has begun to exhibit his work with some success. I am not sure about his talents in teaching since this dimension of his abilities has not been put to any observable use in his present program at the University of Missouri.
~
Sincerely,
(signature)
John S. Weller
Professor
Department of Art

Rina Krasney

Ms. Krasney is a retired elementary school librarian in the Ferguson, Missouri area. We are acquaintances via a mutual acquaintance, a recently retired Holocaust museum director in St Louis who I chatted with at an international conference on the Holocaust and Education at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem; and who gave me a tour of the museum during one of my Missouri teaching trips.
~

Excerpts from emails from Ms. Krasney, July 2021:

"I was a high school librarian in the Ferguson, MO. area.  My legacy was that I encouraged students to read and created legions of readers  over the years. I also engaged about 70 students each year in volunteer work with youngsters in district elementary and middle schools.

Your incredible talent should be a real legacy for the world.

Your work is so fantastic that I can't imagine why museums all over the world aren't fighting tooth and nail to acquire them. Your talent is amazing and the stories told simultaneously heart rending and inspiring.

You are fortunate to have an ongoing talent and vision that has produced such a wonderful body of work. I'm intrigued by your birds.  How did you come to choose birds as your favored pets? I started out as a cat person and am now have come to enjoy the company of dogs. We are now on our second labrador retriever in 10 years, and, although I can't necessarily say that I like dogs in general, I do really love labs as they are smart and loving and sensitive."

Arthur Osver (1912-2005, American painter, art professor)

Letter from Mrs. Alicia Henderson, Fifth Grade Classroom Teacher, and Mrs. Joanne Berneche, Art Teacher, Blue Ridge Elementary School

Columbia, Missouri, May 30, 1997

“My class and I wanted to thank you for your recent visit to our school to share your artwork and talk to us. I was so impressed with their insight into the artwork and I really feel this made a lasting impression on them. Thank you for taking the time and having the flexibility to meet our schedule.” 

Excerpt from letter by Brooke Cameron, Professor of Art, University of Missouri

Columbia, July 16, 1996

“…Out here in the Bible Belt, almost at the millennium, the subject of the Holocaust seems distant and unreal. Your drawings personalized it, one victim at a time. From my point of view the high technical quality of the drawings is a special bonus. They are very graphic and gripping, appropriate to the seriousness of the creative process.

As a professor of long tenure at this institution, I am particularly pleased to see a former MFA graduate working as an artist engaged in such a meaningful dialogue with the past, present and future. Thank you for providing a powerful example.“ 

Letter excerpt from (MU-C Art Dept) Professor Brooke Cameron,

March 7, 2006

“On behalf of the faculty, the audience at Pickard Hall and the University of Missouri students you spoke to,  our special thanks. You can never fault yourself for activity – fourteen presentations in four days – it may be a record!...

…..It is really rewarding to see our M.F.A. students working in the field. It should be a real source of satisfaction to you that you helped start a long line of art professionals.”

Letter from Robert Friedman, Art Department faculty, Stephens College

Columbia, 1996

 “I would like to thank you once again for your lecture and informal talk with our students and the public. Through the viewings of your series of drawings on the Holocaust and Israel Bernbaum’s paintings, our students not only understood the inhumanity of an event in our history but also what the role of an artist is as a communicator and educator.

Making imagery from ones point of reaction can be more poignant than any written historical account. The effect of your presentation was evident with class discussion and through work that the students created afterwards.

With regard to the education of this generation to the kind of race hatred that existed and still exists, I applaud you.  Many of our students are sheltered from this reality as more and more of us live inside our homes. You have helped immeasurably to teach them in ways previously unknown to them in their limited experiences.”

Letter from Kerry Hollander, Director of Student Activities,* B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation

Columbia, Missouri, August 12, 1996

[*Now retired]

“Your excellent program, including the slide show and lecture, reached many different audiences here in Columbia. From elementary students to Museum of Art & Archeology patrons, from Jewish students to the non-Jewish world, the extra energy involved in preparing for such diverse groups was well worth it.

People approach the study of the Holocaust from differences in age, education, ethnicity and empathy. Your visual form of communication makes it possible to touch human beings in their souls without the use of limiting words.

Thank you for valuable lessons taught us. I am certain that many other groups will benefit from your presentations.”

The Dream Team Teachers:
Donna Moessner, English; Brenda Blankenship, Social Studies; John Jacobs, Science
West Junior High School, Columbia, June 1, 1997

We want to extend our thanks and appreciation for your presentation to our Dream Team students. We only regret we didn’t have more than 50 minutes for your program and will definitely arrange a longer time period next time, if we can book you again next year.

Our students were impressed and interested in the art, yours and Israel Bernbaum’s. Their responses in class the next day showed they had been thinking about the presentation. They asked some good questions and had sensitive comments in our discussions.

A week or two after your program am I was looking in my audiovisual support materials for our anthology Elements of Literature: Second Course, published by Holt, Rinehart, Winston, and came across a transparency of another of Bernbaum’s paintings titled “The Jewish Children in the  Ghettos and Death Camps.”  I showed it to my classes, had my students respond to it in their journals, and then they shared what they had written  about the painting.  It was wonderful to hear them connect some of their observations with your commentary on Bernbaum’s paintings.

Your presentation gave the students another way to think about and respond to the Holocaust. It was a very meaningful experience.
Thank you.
The Dream Team Teachers

Jami Thornsberry, History Department, David H. Hickman High School, Columbia,  October 18, 2006

(Ms. Thornsberry’s letter was written to Rev. Terrence Dempsey, Curator, St Louis University Museum of  Contemporary Religious Art.
She mailed a photocopy of the letter to Segan.

Dear Reverend Dempsey, St Louis University Museum of Contemporary Religious Art, 
I am writing this letter in support of Akiva Segan. Akiva was invited to show slides of his “Under the  Wings of G-D” drawings and speak to members of two United States history classes at David H. Hickman High School, in Columbia, Missouri. Akiva’s approach to teaching the Holocaust through the lens of his artwork was a brilliant way to augment that which we had already discussed in class.
The students were captivated by his artwork and it provided a wonderful catalyst for inquiry and discussion.

Unfortunately, Akiva was only able to present for fifty minutes due to the time constraints of the class and it was barely enough time to get into the discussion portion of the presentation. I had asked Akiva if his works were on display anywhere in the state of Missouri as I thought it would be worthwhile to take students to see it in person.

I would like to recommend that you consider showing the artwork of Akiva Segan at the St Louis University Museum of Contemporary Religious Art. As an educator and advocate of fighting anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance, I believe his artwork is incredibly relevant to the discussion.
The drawings have been created to appeal to people of all ages, especially children and youth, and of all national, racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds, through the use of the universally accepted media of art.