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The „Forbidden Art” exhibit and debate about genocide at the UN
On the occasion of the approaching 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp, the "Forbidden Art" exhibition was launched in the UN Headquarters in New York. Before its opening a special debate devoted to the issue of counteracting genocides was held.
The discussion was organized by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Poland to the UN and its participants included among others: Jan Eliasson – Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, Bogusław Winid – Ambassador of Poland to the UN, Samantha Power – Ambassador of USA to the UN, Ron Prosor – Ambassador of Israel to the UN as well as Dr. Piotr M.A. Cywiński, director of the Auschwitz Memorial. More than 150 people participated in the three hour meeting, mostly representatives to the UN of different countries.
Director Cywiński emphasized that great expectations were linked to the United Nations after the war. "People trusted that the 'world gendarme' will prevent the revival of genocidal conflicts," he said. "History proved that it did not happen. Therefore the reflection over global responsibility in the face of genocide seems to be linked inseparably with the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz," added Piotr Cywiński.
The exhibition prepared by the Auschwitz Memorial presents stories behind 20 artworks made illegally by prisoners of Nazi German concentration camps who risked their lives to complete them. It shows high quality photographs of the artworks.
The presentation is divided in two parts. The first one shows various scenes depicting the reality of the camp as well as portraits of prisoners. The second one offers a look at various forms of escape from that reality: caricatures, albums with greetings as well as fairy tales written by prisoners for their children.
Marcin Chumiecki, the director of The Polish Mission of the Orchard Lake which organizes the presentation of the "Forbidden Art" exhibition in the United States, emphasized that it has brought the message of Auschwitz, in a tangible way, to the United States.
The exhibition presents works by Zofia Stępień, Halina Ołomucka, Józef Szajna, Franciszek Jaźwiecki, Włodzimierz Siwierski, Mieczysław Kościelniak, Peter Edel, Josef Sapcaru and other artists whose names are not always known. Enlarged and backlit photographic reproductions are placed in specially designed wooden exhibition panes making reference to the architecture of barracks. Each work is accompanied by a historical commentary and related archival fragments.
In the folder accompanying the exhibition we can read: “How to capture and express the unimaginable? How to represent the entire hell of Auschwitz with the help of minimal representational means in an atmosphere of unending terror? How to portray fear, helplessness and despair, but also the longing for freedom? How to avoid forfeiting humanity and the remnants of dignity in the inhuman world of Auschwitz? The works in this exhibition, the artists’ attempt to cope with the camp experience, hint to a degree at the answers to these questions.”
The presentation of the "Forbidden Art" exhibition in New York was possible thanks to the cooperation of the Auschwitz Memorial and The Polish Mission of the Orchard Lake as well as the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Poland to the UN, and the Consulate General of Poland in New York.
