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.