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Morris Brose
The
Gates Of
DAVID SACHS
Staff Writer
T
he entrances to two major
Detroit Jewish institutions
bear the imprint and impact
of sculptor Morris Brose.
Mr. Brose's artwork spans the wide
range of Jewish emotions, welcoming
the visitor to each location with an
immediate sense of what awaits inside.
Sculptor Brose died April 24 in Santa
Cruz, Calif., at age 88.
His large outdoor sculpture
"Zedek," meaning righteousness,
graces the main entrance to
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
Southfield. The work has been
described as open, alive and freewheel-
ing, symbolizing the uplifting spirit of
righteousness and charity that the syn-
agogue seeks to embrace. The sculp-
ture also depicts the beauty and glory
of the Hebrew letter tsadi, the first let-
ter of the word Zedek.
"The great creative genius, Morris
CELIA BIGELMAN, 86, died May 4.
She is survived by her children,
Rhoda and Sheldon Goldman of Troy,
Donald and Leslie Bigelman, Jerrold
and Marianne Bigelman of
Farmington Hills; grandchildren,
Cindy and Marshall Clayton, Steven
Prenzlauer and Mark Jacobson, Randy
and Louise Bigelman, Greg Bigelman,
Jeffrey Bigelman, Jill Bigelman, Joey
Bigelman, Jessica Bigelman; great-
grandchildren, Rachel Clayton, Amy
Clayton, Stacy Clayton, Cassidy
Bigelman. She was the beloved wife of
the late Leo Bigelman.
Services in Tamarac, Fla.
MARY BORKIN, 89, of Southfield,
died May 10.
She is survived by her son and
daughter-in-law, Harold Borkin and
Adrienne Kaplan of Ann Arbor;
daughter, Joyce Borkin of Cincinnati,
not possible to do this.
"It's a very powerful
piece."
Choreographer
Harriet Berg and her
sculptor husband Irving
Berg were longtime
friends of Mr. Brose.
"Morris' works are
monumental," she said.
"They were cast in
bronze and were always
symbolic to me of pro-
foundly felt emotions.
"His sculptures had a kinetic feeling
— you felt they were very alive and
moving," she added. "I think he trans-
lated his love of dance and his innate
dance ability into his sculptures —
and that gave them life, even in their
abstract form."
Mr. Brose fled the antisemitism of
his native Poland for the United States
in 1930. He was active in Democratic
Party and labor politics in Detroit as
well as in the Labor Zionist move-
ment. He originally worked as a
watchmaker and radio repairman,
graduating into sales. He opened a fur-
niture store in Ferndale in the 1940s.
In his late 30s, Mr. Brose discov-
ered his love of sculpture. He took
classes at the Society of Arts and Crafts
and Wayne University in Detroit and
at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in
Broomfield Hills. With his intense
energy and ability, he was soon teach-
ing the classes.
Sally Raimi Brose recognized her
Expresszon
Brose, created this design out of the
actual letter," said Shaarey Zedek
Rabbi Irwin Groner. "Mr. Brose
thought up the theme. He was asked
to do something that depicted and
defined the synagogue."
In contrast, a few miles northwest,
Mr. Brose created the imposing doors
and windows of the entranceway to
the Holocaust Memorial Center in
West Bloomfield. The heavy, criss-
crossed metal structure depicts the bars
of the railroad boxcars that took
Jewish deportees to the death camps.
It is the first image each visitor to the
Holocaust center experiences.
"People always comment on the
power of the doors," said Rabbi
Charles Rosenzweig, the HMC's exec-
utive director and founder.
"The doors are extremely heavy," he
said. "The reason for the massiveness
is to show the inability of the people
who were incarcerated in those boxcars
to get out. People always ask, 'Why
didn't you just run away?' It was just
Ohio; sisters, Irene Rodman of
Southfield, Gertrude Pearl of Detroit;
sisters-in-law, Yetta Sherman, Alice
Sklar; brother-in-law, David Borkin;
grandchild, Marta Borkin. Mrs.
Borkin was the beloved wife of the late
Irwin Borkin.
Contributions may be made to a
charity of one's choice. Services and
interment at Adat Shalom Memorial
Park. Arrangements by Hebrew
Memorial Chapel.
JOSEPH B. COLTEN, 86, of West
Bloomfield, died May 9. Mr. Colten
was a certified public accountant. He
was a past chair of several Allied Jewish
Campaign committees, served on
the Federation campaign cabinet
and was a past board member of the
United Jewish Charities. In 1984, he
received the Bernard Isaacs Award
from Midrasha College of Jewish
Studies that is given to individuals
committed to Jewish life and learn-
ing. He also was a past board mem-
ber of B'nai B'rith Hillel
Foundation.
Mr. Colten is survived by his sons
and daughters: in-law, Stewart
Colten and Carolyn Vincent of
Virignia, Ze'ev Chafets and Lisa
Beyer of Israel, Joseph and Linda
Chafets of Massachusetts; daughters
and sons-in-law, MaryEllen Colten
and Barry Bluestone of Mass., Julie
and Alan Grass of Calif.; grandchil-
dren, Michal Ahafets and fiance
Charley Roden, Julia Chafets, Ben
Grass, Shmuel Chafets, Jonathon
Grass, Noah Chafets, Joshua
Bluestone, Coby Beyer-Chafets,
Annie Beyer-Chafets and brothers
and sisters-in-law, Oscar and
Gertrude Colten of Houston and
Robert and Shirley Colten of
husband's talent. Although she was
dying of cancer and they had three
young children to raise, she encour-
aged Mr. Brose to abandon his furni-
ture business and devote himself full-
time to art. Mrs. Brose died in 1955.
In 1966, Mr. Brose married sculptor
Susanna Lindburg; they were
divorced in 1998.
He created a number of other local
public sculptures. Among them is the
metal stand housing a desecrated Torah
from Czechoslovakia that rests in a cor-
ner of the sanctuary at Adat Shalom
Synagogue in Farmington Hills. Two
works called "Sentinel" are located in
Capitol Park in downtown Detroit and
on the Wayne State University campus.
His sculptures also can be found at the
Eastland, Southland and Livonia shop-
ping malls.
In 1990, Mr. Brose moved to Santa
Cruz. An exuberant, fun-loving per-
sonality, he continued as a sculptor
until three years ago.
Mr. Brose is survived by his son and
daughter-in-law, David and Barbara
Brose of Gastonia, N.C.; daughters
and son-in-law Margaret Brose and
Hayden White of Santa Cruz, Lydia
Brose of Berkeley, Calif, Jillian Brose
of Cambridge, Mass.; grandchildren
Robert Brose, Thomas Brose, Juliana
Sarah Brose White, Batya Sally Brose;
and many nieces and nephews.
Contributions may be made to the
Morris Brose Jewish Art Endowment,
University Library, University of
California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064. ❑
Bloomfield Hills. He was the
beloved husband of the late Carol
Chafets Colten.
Interment at Clover Hill Park
Cemetery. Contributions may be
directed to Jewish Association for
Residential Care or the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman
Chapel.
HARRY COHEN, 83, of Detroit,
died May 13.
He is survived by his brother
Louis Cohen of Southfield; sisters,
Freeda Olinick of Oak Park, Eva
Gross of Oak Park; nieces and
nephews.
Contributions may be made to a
charity one one's choice. Services and
interment at Hebrew Memorial Park.
Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial
Chapel.
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2000
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