IMAGES from page 71 IS ONE OF THE BEST CARRY OUT ONLY RESTAURANTS IN AMERICA! (248) 352-7377 that allows me to do that." Ruben credits French photography curator Jean-Claude Lemagny with discovering her work in the 1980s and opening her photos to a flood of inter- national shows and publications. She credits an Israeli friend for accompa- nying her to a site that would lead to religious experience. Ruben, who had been an art teacher in the Detroit Public Schools after earning a master's degree at Wayne State University, began conducting photography workshops in the 1980s, many in Israel. Her work has become part of museum collections in Israel and she has established a scholarship program there for emerging artists. "I had always been curious about what a Jew is and my Jewishness," says Ruben, whose early connection with religion came in bits through her attorney father, Harry Winston, and programs she attended at the Jewish Community Center in Detroit. "In the mid-1980s, I was traveling with my friend through Eastern Europe, and we stopped at the Prague cemetery. Something amazing happened to me, and I spent day after day sitting there. "It was in the summer, and it was cloudy. The trees were covering the cemetery, and their shadows were darting around from one tombstone to another, creating what I always created as a child — faces. When I was young, I saw faces in the clouds and treetops, and then I was seeing faces on the tombstones. "I photographed the shadows in . Prague, and when I looked at the neg- atives and the prints, I saw the same faces. I called my friend from Israel, and she said I was making photographs of the people I imagined. "It was a spiritual experience for me, revealing certain centers of energy I never knew I had. It refers to the forgotten and destroyed, so it brings all that back to life . mod has given me the opportunity to rise up to a con- sciousness of my Jewishness that I never knew I had. "I don't believe in art as thera- py, but this certainly was a con- structive addition to my life." The part of the exhibit devot- ed to the cemetery is an interac- tive installation, which only has been seen at Rutgers and Lehigh uni- versities. Visitors can leaf through images and hear sounds in a quiet room for recollection and meditation. Seeing her entire retrospective at her alma mater has opened the award-win- ning Ruben to much nostalgia. She now lives and works in Princeton, N.J., surrounded by beautiful gardens — the retirement projects of her husband, Herbert, who worked at Merrill Lynch. "It's almost as if 50 years have disap- peared," says Ruben, who also is show- ing black and white photos of Rodin sculptures and landscapes from south- ern France June 2-July 31 at the Halsted Gallery in Birmingham. She will be there to sign copies of her book, In Human Touch, on June 23. "Michigan always will be home for me, and I will always be a Midwestern girl," says the artist, also the daughter of Lydia (Kahn) Winston. "I was surround- ed by music and art in a very happy way as a child. Art in our family is about as important as sleeping every evening. "Family experiences included rear- ranging the walls of my parents' collec- tions on Saturday mornings, talking - with some of the visiting dignitaries who came to our home and listening to the Saturday afternoon [radio] operas with my grandfather, Albert Kahn. "I attended many Detroit Symphony Orchestra concerts with my grandparents and sat in their box. I also remember how my father's Hungarian, poker-playing friends from the Detroit Symphony played their fiddles in our home." ❑ TRY OUR DELICIOUS HOMEMADE POTATO SALAD & COLE SLAW! EVERYBODY KNOWS WE HAVE THE BEST HOMEMADE TUNA IN TOWN! OUR HOMEMADE FAT-FREE TUNA ALSO CAN'T BE BEAT! OPEN 7 DAYS M-SAT. 7 AM TO 10 PM SUN. 7AMTO1OPM OUR TRAYS CAN'T BE BEAT FOR QUALITY & PRICE! $5°° OF WITH THIS COUPON • Expires 12-31-01 • One Per Customer • Not Good Holidays • 10 Person Minimum DELIVERY LET US CATER YOUR NEXT AFFAIR 24555 W. 12 WE, Just West of Telegraph, Southfield (248) 352-7377 Take It From MIKE and RAY ABRAMS GREAT FOOD Doesn't Come Any Better Than This! _ - Lunch or Dinner • Kitchen Open Mon.-Sat. 11-Mid. • Excellent Lamb Chops! • Terrific Steaks! • Home-Made Chopped Sirloin! • Wonderful Trout! • Delicious Broiled Salmon! • Home-Made Meat Loaf! • Home-Made Soups! • Juicy Surf & Turf! ( Fri. & Sat. Only) Appearing Sat., June 2 Appearing Sat., June 9 WYZE GYZE I ROAD RAGE cliee's We Ide Ihgh Pride k Our /ac ► ed Restaurant and lounge 23380 TELEGRAPH, BETWEEN 9 AND 10 MILE • Southfield (248) 352-8243 1 11 The Best of Italian Cuisine 70 r W.OFF LUNCH ENTREES FREE SOUP OR SALAD W/LUNCH 4::11 Sit 4 1 .4( w/purchase of 0/ OFF 2 Fut.". /0 DINNER ENTREES FREE APPETIZER W/PURCHASE OF 2 FULL DINNER ENTREES I (Mon. - Thurs. only) L Enjoy Our New Chef From Tuscany Faces and spirits can be imagined in the images of weather-worn tombstones in Prague's Jewish cemetery. Catering, Weddings, Parties, Birthday Parties and Carry Out Available Open Sun 4:30-9:00 Fri-Sat 4:30-11:00 Mon-Thurs 4:30-10:00 RISTORANTE SUGAR TREE PLAZA 6263 ORCHARD LAKE RD., N. OF 15 • WEST BLOOMFIELD • (248)855-3993 RTN 6/1 2001 73