Analysis Of Drawing Against Oblivion

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Drawing Against Oblivion: Exhibition Reflection and Application to American Foster Care On September 26, our class had the opportunity to visit the Stockton Art Gallery to observe Manfred Bockelmann’s exhibit, Drawing Against Oblivion. This exhibit is composed of charcoal drawings depicting some of the youngest Jewish and non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust. These unsettling black and white portraits, ultimately serve a goal of remembering the lives that were lost and acknowledging the lack of basic humanity and dignity these children were denied of. This paper strives to analyze Bockelmann’s stylistic choices and how they affect viewers, and connect Holocaust victim, Sidonia Adlersburg (a foster child), to current foster care issues in America. …show more content…

Bocklemann chooses to present both Jewish and non-Jewish victims. This choice ultimately exposes viewers to how widespread the murders during the Holocaust were. Incorporating victims from various backgrounds demonstrates how the genocide of that time truly affected almost everyone. Consequently, the pain of those victims and their families becomes universal and graspable to viewers. Bockelmann expanded his approach of variation with the sources his drawings originated from. Bockelmann uses two different types of photographs to base his illustrations off of: those taken during intakes at the concentration camps and those recovered from family homes of the victims. While some of these victims are shown staring blankly in striped prison uniforms, others are portrayed in family photos unaware of their impending doom. This contrast emphasizes the differences in the demeanors of the children and the emotional, physical, and psychological journey they have been forced to …show more content…

Drawing Against Oblivion, serves as insight to the various people and issues the Holocaust affected. The manner in which Bockelmann presents these young victims ultimately serves his purpose of portraying the Holocaust as a universal issue and demonstrating the hardships these children endured. The various types of people Bockelmann included served as a way to make the victims more tangible to spectators of different backgrounds. This is what allowed the clear connection between foster care in Austria and foster care in America to be

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