Jew in Germany
November 7 – 30, 1991
“….people will argue about whether or not ‘art’ can or should touch upon the Shoah. The fact is that no one can touch anything but its shadow….”
R.B. Kitaj, First Diasporist Manifesto, 1989
I have been investigating my relationship as a Jew to the Holocaust in photographs portraying memories and echoes of the Holocaust within contemporary society. This series of photographs began with my third visit to family in Frankfurt in the summer of 1987. The visual and emotional relationships between the past and present Germany disturbed me.
Although I had not received much formal religious training as a child, as an adult I became acutely aware of my own Jewish heritage. In Germany I was confronted with signs of the past that I could not avoid. As a visual note-taker, I began collecting impressions with my camera. After sorting through my contact sheets, the relationship of the past and present Germany began to crystalize. I was motivated to seek out past photographic and literary sources related to the Holocaust from libraries and archives.
Although the basis and foundation of my work was initiated by photographic observation, appropriating certain historical documentation has provided me with a link to the past.
Text and drawing enables me to overlay information, while graphite and paint are used to diffuse and soften the collaged edges and act as visual unifiers. In some cases my negatives are etched, scratched and pierced. This marking presents a symbolic harshness and violence inherent in the historical and contextual syntax of the subject matter. It is only at this point that I am able to infuse the final image with the subjective complexity that exists.
Jonathan Sharlin has approached photography from many angles over his 50 year career. He has incorporated the medium in a variety of ways, from photo-drawings to photographic installations. Each series a process of discovery, distillation, and commentary on issues of personal importance.
Over 30 years a Rhode Island native, Jon has been the recipient of over 10 grants from the Rhode Island Council for the Arts, in addition to grants from the Rhode Island Foundation and NEFA. (New England Foundation for the Arts). His books include ‘Cast a Cold Eye’ (an end of life transcript of his mother) Cyan Press 2008. His 2016 Blue Sky publication, ‘Ancient Stones of Scotland’ has a forward by Jo-Ann Conklin Director of Brown University’s David Winton Bell Gallery. He is currently working on two series that explore he contradictions between beauty and the harsh realities of climate change: “Broken Earth” and “Erratics”.
Jon received his BA from Goddard College and his MFA from Visual Studies Workshop. He has taught at numerous colleges, including Tufts, Rhode Island College, Roger Williams University and RISD. His work is included in a number of public and private collections, including the Fogg Museum, the MFA of Houston, RISD Museum, the Polaroid Collection, Fidelity Collection, Rose Art Museum, and Brown University.