NEW YORK – From 1892 to its official close in 1954, more than 12 million immigrants passed through the gates of New York’s Ellis Island, yearning for freedom and a new life on American shores. The residue of their experiences, as well as the lives they left behind, lives on in the work of Italian American artist B. Amore and Jewish American artist Pauline Jakobsberg.
“Memory & History,” an exhibition at Queens College’s Godwin-Ternbach Museum, will feature the work of these artists. The exhibition opened Feb. 18 and runs through June 4.
Through their uniquely individual yet universal artwork, Amore and Jakobsberg explore the themes of immigration, family, and history, and in the process confront the highly charged subjects of personal and group cultural memory. In these artworks, family photographs, letters, keepsakes, and personal items mingle with family stories, nostalgia, and history.
“B. Amore’s work is colorful and sculptural, while Jakobsberg’s is quiet, with the specter of the Holocaust present in its dark, graphic tones,” said Amy Winter, curator of the exhibition and director of the Godwin-Ternbach Museum.
“The exhibition touches on sociology, history, and cultural identity,” Winter said. One topic this exhibition will begin to explore is the nature of the early wave of immigration at the turn of the 20th century and that of the “new immigration‚ currently occurring in Queens and all over the United States.”
On Wed., Feb. 25 at 12 noon, Dr. Winter will lead a tour of the exhibition. This free event is open to the public. No reservations are needed.
Located in Klapper Hall on the Flushing campus (65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, Queens, Exit 24, LIE), the museum is open Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., and for this exhibition, on Saturdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. For more information, call (718) 997-4724 or (718) 997-4736.
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