Claire O'Neill comments on Dennis Darling's portrait of Alice Herz-Sommer, 108, the oldest Holocaust survivor in the world:
Herz-Sommer was already an accomplished pianist by the time she was deported to Terezin, the concentration camp, in her early 20s. Terezin (or Theresienstadt), in what is now northern Czech Republic, was a unique place. It served as a transit camp for western Jews en route to other camps like Auschwitz — but was also the temporary "home" to some of the most notable artists and cultural leaders from Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe.
Conditions were harsh, and only a small percentage survived. For many people like Herz-Sommer, art was the ticket to life. She would practice for hours and perform recitals for inmates. But those performances were also effectively used as propaganda when visitors like the Red Cross came through the camp: Especially at Terezin, Nazis exploited artists to give a false impression of civility to the outside world.
The picture is part of Darling's ongoing project to document Terezin survivors. You can see more of Darling's portraits at the Texas Performing Arts center this fall.
(Image courtesy of the artist.)
The Dish 