"Ben was a forceful, powerful man,
and he was always for social justice
and compassion — except for his
own family," Greenfeld says. It cer-
tainly makes no sense, but that's the
way it was.
"In the days I knew him and his
wife, Bernarda, she was in the back-
ground and didn't dare open her mouth
very much. He wasn't particularly inter-
ested in having other people talk, par-
ticularly women. I never met his chil-
dren then, but after working on the
book, I got to know them very well.
"Ben was not the ideal father by a
long shot and didn't provide the ideal
home for children to grow up in, but
they turned our splendidly and are
v ery
ry close to each other. Two of them
said to me that he was a terrible father,
but when he was needed, he was fine."
All four of his living _children were
at the Shahn exhibit in New York.
Judith and Ezra, from the first mar-
riage, have taken different career
directions; she did drawings for The
New Yorker for 30 years, and he is a
professor of engineering and comput-
ers at Hunter College. Both children
from his second family are artists;
Jonathan is a sculptor, and Abigail is
a painter (a third child, Susanna, died
as a young adult).
"I think Ben would not have
liked being called a Jewish painter,"
says Greenfeld. "He never went to
Israel, and he was invited several
times. He never went back to the
ritual [of his childhood], but all his
works have a decidedly Jewish feel-
ing. He was very drawn to religious
symbols and certainly did more
Jewish work late in his life."
"My father was not a particularly
religious person," adds Jonathan
Shahn, who remembers his dad
secluding himself ro work in a studio
behind their New Jersey home. "He
was Jewish in subject but not Jewish
in faith. His interest was in ethical
aspects of Jewish subjects, and he
took a cultural and nostalgic view of
them. He connected storytelling as a
feature of the Jewish religion such as
can be found in parables."
Greenfeld describes Shahn's politics
as non-communist left and recalls
how he did etchings and lithographs
for sales to benefit organizations he
supported. For instance, Shahn was
very concerned about the civil rights
movement and completed projects to
raise money to advance that cause.
Rebecca Hart, assistant curator of
modern and contemporary art at the
DIA, thinks that Shahn's political
themes remain timely.

affected by the inflamma-
tory commentary of the
right-wing priest Father
Charles Coughlin, whose
anti-Semitic radio remarks
broadcast from this area
were heard across the
country. In a caricature,
Shahn shows Coughlin
with an open mouth
brandishing menacing
teeth and holding his own
fist to his twisted head.
"It's as if Shahn is
showing someone who
needs to 'get his head on
straight,'" says Dora
Apel, of the Wayne State
University art history
department. She will lec-
ture on the subject "Ben
Shahn and the Problem
of Jewish Identity in
Postwar American Art"
"Father Coughlin," 1939. Ink and wash on paper.
as part of a series of dis-
cussions running in con-
"Even though Shahn worked
junction with the exhibit.
between the '30s and the '60s, the
Apel will discuss the ways in which
ideas of social justice, freedom of
Shahn lamented the fate of Europe
speech and the uniqueness of the
instead of focusing on the Holocaust.
individual are as fresh today as when
She suggests that the artist thought
he was working," says Hart. He also
that universalizing the issues would
was very important in keeping the
be a way of gaining support.
narrative style alive in the American
Diana Linden, a University of
art scene during that time. Artists of
Michigan visiting assistant professor,
the '70s, '80s and '90s have come
will be part of a conference exploring
back to that style.
"Ben Shahn: Art and Politics."
"I think it's important to
re-examine an artist like
Shahn, now that we've
moved away from abstraction
being the primary style, to
look at art that re-examines
history, hidden stories of dif-
ferent peoples and different
cultures. Shahn was very
good at raking a particular
instance of something politi-
cal and social and exploring
it in his paintings in a way
that was more universal."
Hart explains that the two
DIA-owned Shahn paintings
have universal messages.

Composition for Clarinets and
Tin Horn have instruments

Common Man, Mythic Vision:.
The Paintings of Ben Shahn will

be exhibited July 25-Oct. 31 at
the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Wednesdays-Fridays and 11
a.m.-5 p.m. weekends: On the
first Friday of every month, the
museum is open until 9 p.m.
The exhibition is free with a
donation, with a recommenda-
tion of $4 for adults and $1 for
children. (313) 833-7900.

arranged like bars in a jail
cell to express the belief that
artists are sometimes prison-
ers of their own art.

Bookshop: Hebrew Books, Holy
Day Books was done when

Shahn returned to an explo-
ration of his Jewish identity.
Shahn seems to have made
a special connection with
Michigan Jews who were

"Shahn's themes addressed the
sociopolitical concerns of a work-
ing-class American Jewish commu-
nity that was redefining itself eco-
nomically, culturally and political-
ly," she says.
Nancy Locke, Wayne State
University assistant professor of art
history, wants to stress the impor-
tance of positive relationships
between government and artists
when she discusses "Realism in
America: Art, Politics and the
Works Progress Administration."
Recently, she points out, controver-
sial images (such as those of pho-
tographer Robert Mapplethorpe),
have made some people uncomfort-
able about governmental financing
of art programs.
"I think a lot of people who don't
deal with art have a distorted view of
the role of government in supporting
art," says Locke, who believes an
exploration of Shahn's history can
provide a different outlook.
Hugh and Carolyn Greenberg,
both active in Federation and other
community organizations, are
among the local collectors display-
ing works that will enhance the
understanding of Shahn. They were
introduced to the art by brother-in-
law Lawrence Fleischman, who had
been director of New York's
Kennedy Galleries and dealer of the
Shahn estate during the 1970s.
The Greenbergs have a study for
the Social Security Building mural
and a piece from the Dreyfus series.
"I love the work, style and con-
tent," Carolyn Greenberg says. "I
like representational and figurative
art. There also is a sympathetic
appeal. My husband and I have
lived our lives championing causes.
"I'm very happy to see this show
come about. Shahn was highly
regarded durinc, his lifetime, and it's
wonderful to see renewed interest." El

Ben Shahn in his studio, Roosevelt, N J.
(formerly Homestead), c. 1966

•

7/23
1999

Detroit Jewish News

79