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February 24, 1995 - Image 93

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 1995-02-24

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

PHOTO BY GLENN TRIEST

man. He had employed nu-
merous Arabs, all of whom
were dissuaded from attend-
ing his funeral. The protest
came from Jews and Arabs.
They are victims of all ages,
from diverse backgrounds, SIX ATTACKS -- 59 DEATHS
sharing one tragic feature: they • Afulah: April 6, 1.994
all were unsuspecting targets
Bomb next, to bus, 8 killed
of terrorists.
The boundary between a po- • liaderah.: Apri113, 1994
Bo. ah on bus, 5 killed
litical statement and an artis-
tic rendering, for Mrs. Sperka,
is hardly clear.
"I set out to do this (artwork)
because of the people," she
said. "We cannot make people
numbers; they must remain in-
dividuals."
ecember 12, 1.994
For years, Mrs. Sperka had
us
bombing, no
AMrttp
only to present her individual
fatalities
vision.
It lead her from painting to • Beit Lid: January 22, 1995
sculpture to photography. But
regardless of medium, a com-
mon theme runs through her
work.
"My work deals
photo field trip to
with batliers — reli-
northern Michigan.
gious and social," she
Mrs. Sperka's
said.
lens captured the
"We choose our
grotesque similari-
limitations depending
ties among the
on how we relate to
northern Michigan
people and communi-
mining industry,
ties."
railroads and the
It's a theme Mrs.
Holocaust. The
Sperka has addressed
statement of the ex-
in several of her most
hibit asked a simple
recent works, espe- Deanna Spe rka
question: "Must con-
ciallyi,osing Ground,
flict lead to genocide?"
which dealt with the spiritual dis-
Fifty years after the liberation
placement of Catholics when the of Auschwitz, perhaps only an
Detroit Archdiocese closed 30 artist could see the tragic paral-
churches; The Great Universal lel between the recent tide of ter-
Don'ts, where she challenged the rorism and the ghoulish past.
insidious forms of societal op-
Politics and art are insepara-
pression; and, Shouting, a work ble.
created during a residency in
During the next several
Jerusalem, in which she explored months, Mrs. Sperka will find
the many-sided political contro- herself in the same realm as
versies in Israel.
those politicians and diplomats
Approaching a topic like the ef- who have failed, who have tried
fects of terrorism is, in a way, a to find humanity amid inhu-
continuation of her 1993 exhibit, manity, and meaning in a world
"Parallel Lines," created from a of madness. ❑

Who Is Affected?

One year before she traveled to
Israel, Deanna Sperka had her
application for a creative-artist
grant turned down by the
Michigan Council of the Arts.
Persuaded by colleagues to
resubmit a more detailed pro-
posal, Mrs. Sperka included
photos and slides along with a
rather direct mission state-
ment: "To show the effect of ter-
rorism on individuals so the
people here could see that a ter-
rorism attack anywhere in the
world affects people everywhere
in the world."
She was awarded the grant.
Unfortunately, the funds cov-
er only part of the cost to create
the art, she said. Mrs. Sperka
personally financed her trip.

Because 'the project inClUdes
video, audio and photography,
it requires extensive editing and
is "equipment intensive," Mrs.
Sperka said.
During the next several
months, Mrs. Sperka will divide
her time between her home of-
fice and her downtown Detroit
studio. Along the way, she said,
she'll find that her creativity
will be put to the test through
bartering with colleagues in ex-
change for materials and time
in video/audio editing suites.
Since arriving back home
from Israel, she continues to re-
ceive photos and materials from
discussions with the families of
the victims of terrorism. ❑
— F.P.

Gladys Nilsson/Painting and Claudia DeMonte/Scuipture

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Fine Art Photographs Of Children
217 Pierce Street • Birmingham, MI
313 • 646-6950

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