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Though
accessibility.
Weisberg deals with big,
classical themes, she
manages to make them in-
telligible and recognizable.
Part of this is due to her
technical strengths which
show her deep immersion in
the old masters, learned first
hand through her training at
the Academia di Belle Arti in
Perugia, Italy.
"She has a wonderful sense
of figure, of volume:' says
Alice Simsar, who has been
watching Weisberg's artistic
development for two decades
now. Weisberg's drawings and
paintings also gain depth
because of her narrative
abilities which take the
specific and transform it into
the universal.
Take, for example, the in-
teresting 1975 lithograph,
"Disparity Among the
Children," which alludes very
strongly to Velazquez's "La
Mininas." Ruth, like Velaz-
quez himself, paints herself
into the scene: once as the ar-
tist, and again as an obseriTer.
But in addition to the original
Infanta Magarita, who stands
so stilted and controlled, we
have a young girl-child (who
happens to be Weisberg's
daughter) who runs freely
across the picture's canvas.
The image becomes trans-
formed; the disparity evident;
the meanings multiple.
Many of Weisberg's works
have specific Judaic themes
that are beautifully realized
as contemporary scenes. In a
work entitled "Creation," the
angel Gabriel (again, model-
ed by Weisberg's daughter)
lightly touches an unborn
baby on its upper lip. This is
the moment, according to
Jewish folk lore, that the baby
begins its passage into the
world. This is the moment
too, that the baby goes from
its state of perfect knowledge
to innocence. It's a beautiful-
ly conceived and executed im-
age. And the story it tells is
universal. "These primal
stories accompany us:' says
Weisberg.
Children are very much in
evidence in Weisberg's works.
They allow her to explore dif-
ferent themes. In her oil,
"The Dunes: Persistence of
Memory," for example, 'she
recalls her idyllic childhood
summers by the Indiana sand
dunes. But this is not a mere
sentimental excursion into
the past: It's more a voyage
into memory, and the passing
of time.
Some of her most moving
pieces, again using children,
are from works Weisberg pro-
duced about the lost world of
European Jewry. About the
murdered Jews and her
response to them she has

said, "I might have been
among them, but I was born
in Chicago in 1942. I am a
branch, a resting place for
their souls. I have come to feel
that all of my art is my life's
journey in place of theirs?'

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Nazi Fighter
Slated To Speak

Bernard Mednicki, a
resistance fighter in World
War II, will discuss his life in
four Ann Arbor area
appearances.
They include Eastern
Michigan's MCKenny Union,
Alumni Room, Wednesday at
7 p.m.
Hebrew Day School, 2937
Birch Hollow Drive, Ann Ar-
bor (in the J.C.C. Building),
Thursday at 10 a.m. He will
speak to grades 3-6.
University of Michigan's
Hillel Foundation, 339 East
Liberty, Thursday at 4 p.m.
Jewish Community Center,
2935 Birch Hollow Drive,
Thursday at 7 p.m. This is an
event for families with
children, third grade and
older.
The community is invited
at no charge.

Celebration
Is Planned

The Hillel Foundation and
the JCA/UJA of Washtenaw
County will cosponsor Israel
Independence Day events at
the University of Michigan on
April 20.
To commemorate Israel's
fallen soldiers, Yom
Hazikaron services will begin
at 5:30 p.m. in the Anderson
Room of the Michigan Union.
Featured in the In-
dependence Day celebration
will be Habreira Hativit (The
Natural Gathering), combin-
ing Jewish songs with jazz,
blues, baroque, Indian raga
and Oriental melodies. The
program will take place at 8
p.m. at the Michigan Theater.
There is a charge. For
tickets, contact the Michigan
Theatre box office, 668-8397.

Bio-ethicist
Is Lecturer

Rabbi David Feldman, a
Conservative halachic expert
on bio-ethics, will serve as
Zwerdling lecturer Sunday at
Beth Israel Congregation.
A symposium, "The End of
Life: Ethical and Medical
Dilemmas;' will be held at

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51