Memorial Art Gallery

When a friend visits you in Rochester for the fourth time, it’s a challenge to come up with something new for her to do. Luckily, even though I’ve taken Nanette to the Memorial Art Gallery (MAG) several times, it isn’t a static museum – there’s always something new to see. Plus, they like to rearrange the regular collection, so it’s fun to wander around trying to find our favorite works of art…

This time, my goal was the Josaphine Tota exhibit, which unfortunately closes this coming Clothesline Festival weekend. Tota was a Rochester resident who started painting very late in life. She took classes at the MAG, and evolved from traditional still life and landscapes to her own surrealist expression in egg tempera. Her works are primarily untitled, since she painted for her own enjoyment and therapy. 

a dress form made from
Rota's own body

I loved the irregular shapes of many of her paintings

According to one of the wall panels, “Josaphine Tota rarely discussed her work and left no letters or papers. Nonetheless, this lack of direct knowledge of her artistic intentions does not diminish the formal or psychic potency of her work. Viewers of Tota’s paintings are made privy to the private communications between the artist and herself; no answers are forthcoming.” Nevertheless, the exhibit, curated by Jessica Marten, does provide helpful clues along the way into Tota’s medical ailments and state of mind, which help the viewer understand much of the symbolism.

"Prelude to the Final Solution"

The exhibit that wasn’t my primary goal had a much greater impact on me. “Fabric of Survival – The Story of Esther Nisenthal Krinitz,” curated by Marlene Hamann-Whitmore, is the powerful illustration of the artist’s experience of Nazi occupation of Poland and her survival of the Holocaust through needlework and fabric collages. Each panel is incredibly detailed in its depiction and description of a particular memory, and is intensely moving. Nanette and I watched bits of the 30-minute video with interviews of the artist that accompanies the exhibit, but I really want to go back and use one of the museum’s portable chairs so I can sit and truly appreciate it. This exhibit runs through December 2, so I have time. There will also be a talk on Sunday, September, 16, by her two daughters. 

This is an exhibit not to be missed.

"Coming to America" - I found the last line of the text particularly moving in light of current events: "My dear child, this will be your America!"