Layers of Meaning

The Esther Project

The Esther Project by Esther Nisenthal Krinitz is a travelling embroidery show at the American Visionary Museum. The project consists of 36 large scale embroideries depicting the holocaust experiences of Esther. Esther Project Website describes the works, "In October 1942, after living under Nazi occupation for 3 years, the Jews of the village of Mniszek were ordered to report to the nearby train station. The 15-year old Esther decided she would not go but would instead take her 13-year old sister Mania and look for work among Polish farmers. Turned away by Polish friends and neighbors, the sisters assumed new names and evaded the Gestapo, pretending to be Catholic farm girls. They never saw their family again."

At the Visionary Art Museum, these works are all hung in close quarters within a single room. My initial impression was "ho hum." Esther began these works in 1977, at the age of 50. To be frank, the art suffers from the style of that time. There is way too much cloying calico print, cutesy 3 dimensional pigtails and shag roofing - that was at first glance. After a superficial look, I began to read the narrative stitched at the bottom of each piece. It was then that the art superseded the stylistic limitations. The coziness of the images belie the harsh, heart rending story that is told. The image to the right, No. 24 We Find No Refuge, carries the following lines: "October 30, 1942. After dark, we went to the house of our former neighbor, Zebina. As her daughters, our friends, watched, she told us we had to leave because the Gestapo were looking for Jews. In the darkest night, we headed for the woods but stumbled into a pile of debris where we spent the night."

The Esther Project website gallery has the full set of images on line with accompanying captions. Take a few minutes to look at the images and read the captions. It will be time well spent.

image: No. 24 We Find No Refuge by Esther Nisenthal Krinitz. © Art and Remembrance Inc. 2004