WINTER 2015 9
EXHIB I TS
Allison Pappas, assistant curator for
photography at the Museum of Fine Arts,
Houston, offered her own perspectives on
Vishniac’s work.
“Photographs by Roman Vishniac: A Selection from the
Permanent Collection of Holocaust Museum Houston”
“Soul Survivors”
The exhibit “Soul Survivors” aimed to give Houston-area survivors
something more tangible to remember lost relatives by than just
a memory – the faces of their loved ones as they remember them.
Drawn by internationally known forensic artist Lois Gibson, the
exhibit included seven images of relatives of five Houston-area
survivors, drawn only from the survivors’ memories. The exhibit
closed in September.
Commissioned around 1935 by the European office of
the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, famed
photographer Roman Vishniac began touring the cities and
villages of Eastern Europe, recording life in Jewish communities.
Through his photography, he documented poverty and the
effects of antisemitic boycotts.
His work is the focus of the new exhibit “Photographs by Roman
Vishniac: A Selection from the Permanent Collection of Holocaust
Museum Houston,” which opened with a members-only preview on
Sept. 24. The pieces were recently donated to the Museum by his
daughter, Mara Vishniac Kohn, with the support of the International
Center of Photography (ICP). It remains on view through Jan. 24, 2016.
Joan and Stanford Alexander with Survivor
Naomi Warren, seated, were among those
in the crowd.
Steven and Denise Estrin also were on
hand for the opening.
Survivor Helen Colin posed with artist Lois Gibson in front of the
drawings of Colin’s loved ones at the opening reception in July.
Holocaust Survivor Riki Roussos, in front of the
art of her lost family member, was among those
on hand.
Christina Spritzer and Mrs. Sam Spritzer
examine the drawing of the late Sam
Spritzer’s father.
Shirley and Bill Morgan were all smiles in front
of the portraits of his father and mother.