Denver Artist Creates Scenic Projections from his Holocaust Portfolio for Elie Wiesel's American Premiere Play
This month, on December 10 th, the 7th day of Chanukah, the Tsai Performance Center at Boston University presented the American premiere of a previously untranslated play "Once Upon A Time," by Elie Wiesel, illustrious author and winner of the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize. French director Guila Clara Kessous worked with Martin Mendelsberg using his "Holocaust Portfolio" and asked him to design the scenic projections based on his series.Mendelsberg, a Denver resident and graphic artist, who created the scenic projections for the play, spoke of his Holocaust Portfolio as "a project of the heart dedicated to the myriad of souls whose physical existence was desecrated by the Nazi terror".
http://www.HolocaustPortfolio.org
Professor Mendelsberg earned his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Denver and Bachelor of Fine Arts from Minneapolis College of Art and Design. His works have been exhibited in Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand and the United States. His permanent collections are represented at The New Zealand Gallery, the Victoria University School of Architecture and at Yale University. His work was recently selected for participation in the Moscow International Biennial of Graphic Design. Mendelsberg's creation of the "Torah" font was commissioned by Israel's Masterfont Ltd in Tel Aviv. His Mystical Spheres designs were created to express his faith and inspiration.
Martin Mendelsberg, a graphic designer and typography and design educator at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design (RMCAD), has a long-time bond with this campus that goes back three generations. Although this campus sits quietly behind the noisy traffic and busy stores of West Colfax Avenue, it holds many memories from a bygone era. Over 100 years ago, the former Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society (JCRS) was formed to help people suffering with tuberculosis who came to Denver from all over the country to find a cure for the "white plague." Among the tens of thousands of tuberculosis patients happened to be Martin's paternal grandmother, Reva Mendelsberg. He was only about 8 years old when he visited her with his father, Nathan, mother, Evelyn, sister, Wendy and little brother, Daryl. They drove to the JCRS from the East side of Denver in the family's 1950 Chevy. His grandmother had been admitted to the Texas Pavilion where the female patients resided. The JCRS was a self-contained, self-sufficient farm containing a variety of buildings that still exist on the RMCAD campus. One of those structures made a special impression on young Martin, a place that holds cherished memories, hopes and dreams - the JCRS Isaac Solomon Synagogue. He recalls his grandfather, Josef Mendelsberg bringing him to the synagogue on several occasions for the daily Minchah and Maariv services- he even remembers exactly where they sat in the synagogue.
Mendelsberg has touched the world with his creative talent, his dedication to teaching and his ongoing involvement in the restoration of the JCRS Isaac Solomon Historic Synagogue. As a RMCAD professor, Martin continues to be involved in the JCRS Isaac Solomon Historic Synagogue. He includes his students in synagogue-related projects. Mendelsberg volunteers his time and efforts to help restore the synagogue to its original state and shares the dream to create a history museum and life cycle events center to enlighten future generations of the meaningful story of the JCRS, its former patients, their families, and the caring physicians and staff.
The JCRS Isaac Solomon Historic Synagogue Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and donations to help in the restoration of the synagogue are greatly appreciated. Please visit
www.jcrs-synagogue.org or call (303) 987-1316. Chanukah is a time of remembrance and the miracle of long-lasting light. The future JCRS Isaac Solomon Historic Synagogue Living History Museum, once restored, will bring this remembrance and light to fruition.