Arts and political awareness correponds

[Wherewolf]

If you wanna change how people think its the best way to do a comic. Cause except film and music there is no better way. What do you think?

[Stoimen]

Asterix and Obelisk, Donald Duck, Kuifje, Suske and Wiske, those are the comics I know. Not the kind of stories I took serious. I have read them to relax. Also comics like "Batman" are purely entertainment.

However, "Porajmos" Comic "The story (a)bout Maria & Joshi" is not comical at all. One sees at first glance that this is reality, very close to the photos we know from the concentration camps. This is a shocking confrontation. Often our reality is so cruel that it goes beyond our imagination. And what we cannot imagine, we cannot believe. Maybe this phenomenon "helps" people to forget and even deny the Holocaust.

What will happen if the artists' imagination serves the cruel reality as a comic? I don't know. I need to see and read with the eyes of a Holocaust denier or right extremist. They did not believe the photos as a proof of the past and perhaps they won't believe a comic either. Yet it is worth trying.

It may cause some short-circuit in their brain. A photo can be manipulated, but a drawing, a series of drawings? They may wake up at last!

[Kristina Burbank]

Dear Wherewolf,

Thank you for starting the provocative conversation, starting us in the process of flushing out the assumptions so we can then get to the data of how liberal arts saves minds, one at a time.

One person at a time, isn't this is how minds are changed? 

I believe.

Your words challenge me (I want to learn culture/language) and your artful skills blow my mind.

Personally, I like comics. MAD Magazine, Snoopy, and Asterix and Obelisk were my favorites. Even as an adult, I find some entertaining and informative, easier to digest than newspaper. From my days as a teacher, I can say that political cartoons are so relevant that they were written into the social studies standards. That's just a little personal and professional data to support you.

I appreciate you sharing, you are teaching me to evolve as an artist and human. Nais Tuke.

BAXT,

Tina B

[Michael F Brien]

Hello Wherewolf

It is not my type of art, but my friend Rose thinks it is very good contemporary work because of its complete concept and shows what drawing can become conceptually with the upper and lower being complete realization of the flow of becoming she says whatever that is! She also has liked satire as a release.

Being in two wars, I have done paintings that touch on my nightmares - other imaginary battles, floods, fires...but not the nightmares themselves which I cannot paint. But the good thing is my regular nightmares have gone. This could be because of painting, or Rose thinks maybe because of public recognition of our service personnel more lately.

So she says either way it must to express publicly such cartoons or have the reminder and recognition for these reasons.

When I recently had an accident I painted the fire, but with blood, coming out of the DRAGON's mouth. I did more of these.

Mikalis

[Wherewolf]

It's just the pictures in my head...and believe they hurt so much....and I just wanted 2 show the complete evilness of the darkest timez in german history...so that this times will never be forgotten nor the people who suffered and get murdered just because they were Romani People.

Michael F Brien said:

Hello Wherewolf

It is not my type of art, but my friend Rose thinks it is very good contemporary work because of its complete concept and shows what drawing can become conceptually with the upper and lower being complete realization of the flow of becoming she says whatever that is! She also has liked satire as a release.

Being in two wars, I have done paintings that touch on my nightmares - other imaginary battles, floods, fires...but not the nightmares themselves which I cannot paint. But the good thing is my regular nightmares have gone. This could be because of painting, or Rose thinks maybe because of public recognition of our service personnel more lately.

So she says either way it must to express publicly such cartoons or have the reminder and recognition for these reasons.

When I recently had an accident I painted the fire, but with blood, coming out of the DRAGON's mouth. I did more of these.

Mikalis

[Wherewolf]

We just share the same opinion and i know that comics is a good teaching media, cauze it combines written text with visuals...and like movie its a media its a media that leaves a certain emotional impression that can change your mind and point of view.

Thanx

Tina B said:

Dear Wherewolf,

Thank you for starting the provocative conversation, starting us in the process of flushing out the assumptions so we can then get to the data of how liberal arts saves minds, one at a time.

One person at a time, isn't this is how minds are changed? 

I believe.

Your words challenge me (I want to learn culture/language) and your artful skills blow my mind.

Personally, I like comics. MAD Magazine, Snoopy, and Asterix and Obelisk were my favorites. Even as an adult, I find some entertaining and informative, easier to digest than newspaper. From my days as a teacher, I can say that political cartoons are so relevant that they were written into the social studies standards. That's just a little personal and professional data to support you.

I appreciate you sharing, you are teaching me to evolve as an artist and human. Nais Tuke.

BAXT,

Tina B

[Arisztid]

For what its worth, my opinion is that Wolf's work is VERY important.

Not only is it recording history, but it is producing this recording in a way that has a solid chance of being read by a large audience.  If his comic manages to get any degree of mainstream publication, or even just solid non mainstream publication, this will, most likely, be the ONLY time anyone has heard about the Rroma and Sinti Porrajmos.

I like comics, especially very well drawn ones, and have known a lot of comic devotees.  This is the kind of art that is going to jump up and down and scream "read me!!"  Then, the comic readers are going to get a solid dose of hard history.

Maybe, just maybe, the people who read his work will then want to learn more.

[Stoimen]

Your opinion is precious, Ari! The opinion of all Roma and Sinti is important. This is one more reason for which Wherewolf's comic deserves publication and wide distribution! It is a piece of art made by someone whose family was victim of the Porrajmos and who, therefore, was/is avictim himself. We must know the history from ALL sides. It also makes the comic painful and controversial, but never mind. The subject, the historical event, was much, much more painful.

Els

[Wherewolf]

Its great Pit

PIT BECKER paintmyblues said:

Hands, 1993, MonotypePainting on paper, 100x70 cms

We have all the same origin. We are all one family... This MonotypePainting I created in 1993, as part of a project for a meditation wall. My work is dedicated to all the victims of massacres, genocide, torture, wars, intolerance, racism and violence.
(This work does not contain all the places of crimes against humanity.)

[Wherewolf]

Thanx Tina!

Tina B said:

Dear Wherewolf,

Thank you for starting the provocative conversation, starting us in the process of flushing out the assumptions so we can then get to the data of how liberal arts saves minds, one at a time.

One person at a time, isn't this is how minds are changed? 

I believe.

Your words challenge me (I want to learn culture/language) and your artful skills blow my mind.

Personally, I like comics. MAD Magazine, Snoopy, and Asterix and Obelisk were my favorites. Even as an adult, I find some entertaining and informative, easier to digest than newspaper. From my days as a teacher, I can say that political cartoons are so relevant that they were written into the social studies standards. That's just a little personal and professional data to support you.

I appreciate you sharing, you are teaching me to evolve as an artist and human. Nais Tuke.

BAXT,

Tina B

[Wherewolf]

I did not want to get you wrong Pit....Not at all...but it seems that i misinterpreted what you said wrong....cauze i maybe very emotional when anybody else censors my artwork....I never thought ...even if you take all of the artworks as a single one, that it could be misinterpreted...but i think the whole book is just a "documentary" or sort of it...So everybody can take it as they want. That`s what I've learned...and the second thing is...Ari can express my feelings better than i can do.

PIT BECKER paintmyblues said:

First of all, I do not want to judge nor to censor. Here I speak out what I feel and think and talk about my experience with art and the Holocaust.

When I needed and need to express in my artwork about the crimes of the Holocaust (in a poster, painting etc. - e.g. also in a work of contract!) I "used" or "use" (widerwillig - reluctantly) the sign of the fascists - BUT only BROKEN, DESTROYED (the crooked cross broken in pieces) - to express absolutely clear that fascism and fascists inhumanity is not tolerated and should never be tolerated again!

Never I did and never I will draw nor paint this megalomaniac and worst enemy of human life - or other nazis.


"I do not like" (I do not know how to say it absolutely clear in English, in german: ich kann es nicht ausstehen) to see nazi signs reproduced, even when artists use them. Also I do not like to view again and again photographs of them or to view them in artworks, in their ns-uniform, with ns-signs, with their inhuman racist slogans, their hate-propaganda etc.

 Why? There are many reasons for me. There are so often nazi signs showed by press, media (which is in many cases not necessary for the report) and this creates more advertisement for the nazi-parties than the opposite, in my opinion. Also signs are published by the nazis themselves and by their press, showed by demos. This is absolutely inacceptable for me!
So I do not want additional to see nazi signs in artist's works. Except those signs were shown broken, damaged, or the words used in a work are absolutely necessary for a very clear expression - not misunderstanding, but absolutely clear expression of the whole image, a work speaking out against these enemies of human life. I personal do not see this in a comic which preoccupies with the Holocaust.

In my opinion not every technique of artwork is good for to express everything.

I can not separate and do not separate my art from daily life. Lots of my artwork are inspired by human beings that I had met in my life. So I remember when I had a meeting (about 1980) in the ex-concentration camp Bergen-Belsen, where a Roma told me about the Holocaust, about his family was murdered and he was the only survivor, and this had an impact on some works of mine as well as my visits of the former ex-concentration camps Natzviller-Strutthoff and Buchenwald (several times) had - my feelings and thoughts there, experiences with other visitors ... a personal meeting for several days sharing time in an abbey with three polish survivors of ex-concentration camp Auschwitz and there was one morning listening to one of them until he could not continue to speak and broke out in tears ...

I can not, really, I can not imagine and I can not and I want not express about the Holocaust in a comic.

For myself it is hard enough to deal with the Holocaust, and it is a hardest work to express about the Holocaust in art - and also when I need to express about other crimes against humanity in art - it is absolutely difficult and it requires all of me. And very important for me is HOW I express.

There is the comic "Maus. A Survivor's Tale" by Art Spiegelman, about the Holocaust. I read it when it was published, viewed the drawings, I recognized very mixed feelings inside me, and at last I did not felt good by seeing those drawings showing crimes, the horror, the fear etc etc expressed with the technique of comic-drawing, although they are professionell, well-done.

There are so many techniques I can use to express about the Holocaust: woodcut, indian ink, acrylic paint, oil, charcoal drawing, pastel drawing, installation, sculpture ...

I'm sure, that it is very difficult for every artist, to express about such crimes, about fear, about torture, about violence, about unbelievable crimes ...
but everyone of us must decide by her / by his own, HOW to express.

Artworks, done by imprisoned professionell artists and done by other prisoners, created between 1933-1945 in concentration camps, done with charcoal, water colours, pencil, earth and / or carbon black, ink ... still can be seen in different exhibitions in museums, also publications of those artworks can be found in libraries or viewed in internet

they are very impressive - they speak - and I - I am touched by heart by them!

Thank you Els, for speaking out. To your words "a drawing, a series of drawings? They may wake up at last!" I like to add:

YES, those in concentration camps under unbelievable inhuman conditions created drawings they speak out, lots of them cry out loud ... and

they have the power to wake up someone!

YES, drawings and paintings can have the power
to touch a human in her / his soul, heart - and
to wake up someone!

Thank you for listening, Najis tuke!

[Wherewolf]

Indeed it was even worse as I'm able to deal with all that hurt...as you said you have to see the story from all sides ...this is what i do...but my family was not "obviously" victims....I'm gratefull that most survived the time without being sent to a concentration camp....but my father`s first family was close to being sent to there...if the war would have gone as long as their record made it to the top....cause my father`s first wife, a german, could not stop insulting hitler in the public.....and there are some more moments in life that make me think, that I'm have to be thankful for being here ...knowing that other's did not survive...and that's the reason I'm doing it... no victim should ever be forgotten ...NONE!

Els said:

Your opinion is precious, Ari! The opinion of all Roma and Sinti is important. This is one more reason for which Wherewolf's comic deserves publication and wide distribution! It is a piece of art made by someone whose family was victim of the Porrajmos and who, therefore, was/is avictim himself. We must know the history from ALL sides. It also makes the comic painful and controversial, but never mind. The subject, the historical event, was much, much more painful.

Els

[Courtney Cannon]

In my opinion, Wherewolf is the best voice that we have.  His work is relevant and marketable (and also extremely good) and has the ability to reach and to educate a wide audience. 

Anyone who takes the time to actually look at his work will realize that it is about the Holocaust told from the Romani point of view, not an advertisement for the Nazis.

With the current situation(s) in Europe, we need this now more than ever.

Arisztid, however, put it better than I did.  Listen to him.

PIT BECKER paintmyblues said:

First of all, I do not want to judge nor to censor. Here I speak out what I feel and think and talk about my experience with art and the Holocaust.

When I needed and need to express in my artwork about the crimes of the Holocaust (in a poster, painting etc. - e.g. also in a work of contract!) I "used" or "use" (widerwillig - reluctantly) the sign of the fascists - BUT only BROKEN, DESTROYED (the crooked cross broken in pieces) - to express absolutely clear that fascism and fascists inhumanity is not tolerated and should never be tolerated again!

Never I did and never I will draw nor paint this megalomaniac and worst enemy of human life - or other nazis.


"I do not like" (I do not know how to say it absolutely clear in English, in german: ich kann es nicht ausstehen) to see nazi signs reproduced, even when artists use them. Also I do not like to view again and again photographs of them or to view them in artworks, in their ns-uniform, with ns-signs, with their inhuman racist slogans, their hate-propaganda etc.

 Why? There are many reasons for me. There are so often nazi signs showed by press, media (which is in many cases not necessary for the report) and this creates more advertisement for the nazi-parties than the opposite, in my opinion. Also signs are published by the nazis themselves and by their press, showed by demos. This is absolutely inacceptable for me!
So I do not want additional to see nazi signs in artist's works. Except those signs were shown broken, damaged, or the words used in a work are absolutely necessary for a very clear expression - not misunderstanding, but absolutely clear expression of the whole image, a work speaking out against these enemies of human life. I personal do not see this in a comic which preoccupies with the Holocaust.

In my opinion not every technique of artwork is good for to express everything.

I can not separate and do not separate my art from daily life. Lots of my artwork are inspired by human beings that I had met in my life. So I remember when I had a meeting (about 1980) in the ex-concentration camp Bergen-Belsen, where a Roma told me about the Holocaust, about his family was murdered and he was the only survivor, and this had an impact on some works of mine as well as my visits of the former ex-concentration camps Natzviller-Strutthoff and Buchenwald (several times) had - my feelings and thoughts there, experiences with other visitors ... a personal meeting for several days sharing time in an abbey with three polish survivors of ex-concentration camp Auschwitz and there was one morning listening to one of them until he could not continue to speak and broke out in tears ...

I can not, really, I can not imagine and I can not and I want not express about the Holocaust in a comic.

For myself it is hard enough to deal with the Holocaust, and it is a hardest work to express about the Holocaust in art - and also when I need to express about other crimes against humanity in art - it is absolutely difficult and it requires all of me. And very important for me is HOW I express.

There is the comic "Maus. A Survivor's Tale" by Art Spiegelman, about the Holocaust. I read it when it was published, viewed the drawings, I recognized very mixed feelings inside me, and at last I did not felt good by seeing those drawings showing crimes, the horror, the fear etc etc expressed with the technique of comic-drawing, although they are professionell, well-done.

There are so many techniques I can use to express about the Holocaust: woodcut, indian ink, acrylic paint, oil, charcoal drawing, pastel drawing, installation, sculpture ...

I'm sure, that it is very difficult for every artist, to express about such crimes, about fear, about torture, about violence, about unbelievable crimes ...
but everyone of us must decide by her / by his own, HOW to express.

Artworks, done by imprisoned professionell artists and done by other prisoners, created between 1933-1945 in concentration camps, done with charcoal, water colours, pencil, earth and / or carbon black, ink ... still can be seen in different exhibitions in museums, also publications of those artworks can be found in libraries or viewed in internet

they are very impressive - they speak - and I - I am touched by heart by them!

Thank you Els, for speaking out. To your words "a drawing, a series of drawings? They may wake up at last!" I like to add:

YES, those in concentration camps under unbelievable inhuman conditions created drawings they speak out, lots of them cry out loud ... and

they have the power to wake up someone!

YES, drawings and paintings can have the power
to touch a human in her / his soul, heart - and
to wake up someone!

Thank you for listening, Najis tuke!