The Art Of Courage
Barbara Steinman, a Jewish multi-
media artist living in Montreal, thinks
of the mirror as an artifact of truth
and denial, an image she thought
reflected the ideas behind the exhibit
"Survivors, In Search of a. Voice: The
Art of Courage."
Steinman was one of 24 Canadian
increase awareness, spur fund raising
artists asked to complete a work for
for research and treatment and honor
the traveling display-that conveys the
the women and families confronted
thoughts of patients living with breast
with the devastating illness.
cancer.
In Michigan, where more than
Sponsored by the Woodlawn Arts
6,000
new cases of breast cancer were
Foundation, Canada's largest arts phil-
reported
in 1997, there will be an
anthropy, the exhibit will be at the
opening night gala to intro-
Somerset Collection from July
duce the exhibit hosted by
20-26, when the written sto-
Barbara Cole:
Neiman
Marcus.
ries of 13 women whose lives
"Constant
The
event
will benefit the
were transformed by malig-
Reminder/Public
Barbara Ann Karmanos
nant tumors also will be
Scrutiny/Body
Cancer Institute's Breast
shown.
Betrayal," photo-
Cancer Program, Ginopolis-
graph, 1994.
None of the artists had
breast cancer, but they were
connected with women who
had triumphed over the dis-
ease, if only for a limited
time.
The new-found friends
corresponded and talked for
as long as a year. The results,
expressed through a mix of
media from photography to
painting to textiles, come
together in the exhibit.
"Each woman finds within
herself what she has the
strength and courage to resist
and what she must somehow
Karmanos Pediatric Cancer Research
accept," said Steinman, who titled her
Endowment at Children's Hospital of
work Mirrors. "These are not fixed
Michigan, Maisel Women's Center at
choices.
Sinai Hospital and the Maria E.
"The images [in my work] are re-
Brasza Endowed Chair in Gynecologi-
photographed studies for the conserva-
cal Oncology at Hutzel Hospital.
tion of a marble Madonna. Her
demeanor, as damage to her neck is
— Suzanne Chessler
scrutinized through an enormous X.
ray lens, looked the way I feel when I
"Survivors, In Search of a Voice:
submit to any invasive medical treat-
The Art of Courage" will be on
ment."
display Monday-Sunday, July 20-
Another Jewish artist, photographer
26, at the North Grand Court of
Barbara Cole, wanted to document
the Somerset Collection. (248)
the life and death struggle of a woman
643-6360. For information on the
who had just been diagnosed with
July 19 gala; call (313) 577-1495
breast cancer but was unable to find a
or (800) KARMANOS,
subject who was willing to expose her-
self to that degree.
Hank-_E-ing For A Hero
"So, using a timer on my camera,
Former Detroiter Aviva Kempner
makeup and a bald cap, I became my
often speaks out about her commit-
own model," says the Toronto-based
ment to a strong Jewish identity,
artist. "My mother is still in shock."
respect for the lessons of history and
The idea for the project came from
enthusiasm
for the fun of baseball.
Woodlawn co-founders Barbra Ames-
These
might
seem like unrelated
bury and Joan Chalmers, who lost five
subjects unless you've seen clips from
friends to breast cancer and wanted to
her almost finished documentary, The
News Reviews
7/17
1998
92 •
Lift and Times of Hank Greenberg.
The idea for the movie came quick-
ly on the heels of her previous award-
winning film, Partisans of Vilna, which
documented Jewish resistance in a Pol-
ish city during World War II.
The Greenberg project was planned
to document a different kind of resis-
tance. Instead of lashing out, the
sports hero combatted anti-Semitism
in the 1930s and `40s by batting in
homers for the Detroit Tigers, a feat
that enhanced the image of Jewish
ability.
Twelve years have passed since
Kempner began working on her latest
film. In between doing free-lance writ-
ing and lecturing around Washington,
D.C., she raised $950,000 and is
working toward a tentative release date
this fall.
•
The filmmaker needs to raise an
additional $50,000 to pay for the
archival footage that shows the sports
legend at play and being interviewed.
She is optimistic about having every-
thing in place so she can show the
movie at an autumn benefit for the
Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
"I think Greenberg counters nega-
tive stereotypes of Jews," said Kempn-
er, 51, who came to Detroit from Ger-
many when she was 4 and stayed until
she was 18.
"He lived in a time of housing
restrictions, college quotas and anti-
Semitic taunts from people in the
stands, but he didn't [back down] or
cry. He just used it all as a spur to
make him hit better."
Kempner, who has been working
on the film as funds became available,
traces her deep Jewish commitment to
her family, including her mother,
abstract artist Helen Covensky, a Pol-
ish survivor. The artist's family name,
Ciesla, is the name given to Kempner's
nonprofit film foundation.
The filmmaker's religious devotion
was reinforced by her late father,
Harold Kempner,,who also imparted
his love of baseball. The producer-
writer's late stepfather, Wayne State
University Professor Milton Covensky,
cemented her interest in history.
"I think it's important for us to
know about our past so we can cope
better today," said Kempner, who
holds degrees in urban planning and
law, served in VISTA (Volunteers in
Service to America) and later discov-
ered writing and filmmaking were
more to her liking.
The filmmaker conducted 70 inter-
views — from Greenberg's
close friend Walter Matthau
to Detroit sportscaster Ernie
Harwell — to capture the
essence of the baseball giant,
and she deferred her own
salary for five years to accel-
erate completion.
Funding has come from
individuals as well known as
Carl Reiner and Mel
Brooks, from many Detroit-
area individuals and founda-
tions, and from a grant from
the National Foundation for
Jewish Culture's Fund for
Jewish Documentary Filmmaking, cre-
ated with a lead grant from the Right-
eous Persons Foundation established
by director Steven Spielberg.
"Hank actually is the narrator of
the 103-minute documentary,"
revealed Kempner, who got the
audio tapes from a Greenberg biog-
rapher and edited them to suit her
project. "Films help keep Jewish
Aviva Kempner: Labor of love.