The Museum is a giant sculpture in itself, designed by the world famous architect, Daniel Libeskind. The Berlin Jewish Museum architect as well as the architect selected for the Freedom Tower at Ground Zero. The construction, partly covered with wood is made out of concrete buildings.

The Museum is composed of three buildings that point in different directions, forming a zigzag pattern, with windows that are void of right angles.

The galleries inside the Museum form a dark labyrinth where one could easily find themselves lost. This audacious architecture really disturbs the visitor’s sense of orientation, and there is no easy way out as the exit inside the Museum is blocked by a large train stop sign. So in order to exit the building one must go back and find his way towards the entrance!

The Museum usually shows the works of one of the most moving and talented German artists of the first half of the 20th century : Osnabrueck born artist Felix Nussbaum. For the 10 year’ anniversary of the Felix Nussbaum Haus, Inge Jaehner, the Museum’s Director, with support from the city of Osnabrueck, have put on an outstanding show with more than 100 works by artists from all over the world, representing “positive globalization” of Jewish art over the last 150 years.

All schools are represented : German artists (Max Liebermann, Hans Richter, etc.)

Ecole de Paris Paris (Soutine, Modigliani, Zadkine, etc..),

The London School (Lucian Freud, Kossoff, David Bomberg, Kitaj, etc…),

New York artists (Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, Larry Rivers, MorrisLouis, Philip Guston) along side contemporary artists such as William Kentridge, Rebecca Horn, Boltanski, Michael Druks, Uriel Orlow, Serge Strosberg, etc.

The works are exhibited and compared, side by side, with Felix Nussbaum’s paintings. They illustrate different themes that are recurrent in Nussbaum’s work: exile, transit, dialogue, memory, shtetl, town, territories, diaspora and mostly, identity.

Tragically, Nussbaum perished in Auschwitz at age 39, however his art and Jewish culture survive despite the horrors of the Holocaust. Today, similar themes are inspiring artists belonging to other victimized groups, : Armenians, Gypsies, Palestinians, Chechens, Tibetans, Rwandans, African Americans, etc.

Image by Felix Nussbaum : “A group of three”, Felix Nussbaum, 1944

Image by Chagall, “The yellow crucifixion”, Marc Chagall, 1942

Image of Rebecca Horn, “Mirror of the night”, Rebecca Horn, 1985

On the way to the museum, on the cold morning of December 6 , there seemed to be only one taxi available at the airport. In the distance, I saw a short man with white hair shouting in English that he wants to go to Osnabruck. The taxi driver only spoke German. I tried to help with the few German words that I know.

The man asked me with a strong Israeli accent : “Where are you from?”.

For a moment and wondered what an Israeli and a dark haired Jew like were doing in Osnabruck Germany, on a freezing December morning, instead of enjoying the warm weather and the beach in Miami or Israel?

In fact,we were there for the same reason: the show at Felix Nussbaum Haus. The Israeli’s name was Michael Druks. We decided to take a walk in Osnabrueck after the taxi has dropped us. The name of our hotel was the Walhalla hotel (“Walhalla” is the heaven where warriors go after they perish in Viking mythology). That’s how I feel in this place, like a “warrior”! Even 60 years after, for a Jew to go to Germany still brings back memories.

But this time, it is for a very good reason. Not only is “The Hidden Trace” a great show, since I have been invited to participate in the exhibition, the piece that I am showing is GENEALOGY.

My installation displays seven self portraits dressed up as my ancestors, and it includes my family tree. The 500 years old Dutch Portuguese Jewish family tree is recorded in the Amsterdam archives. It is my grandmother’s ancestry: Julia Lopes Cardozo.

Our visit of the city of Osnabrueck begins. We are surrounded by thousands of tall blond people enjoying sausage and German beer(s). The atmosphere is polite. People are a little surprised when I order food with a loud NY accent. The Israeli artist teases me and asks if I eat Kosher. He then orders a huge pork sausage and I do the same. Michael, my new Israeli friend is a fellow artist. He has three pieces in “The Hidden trace” and decides to share his views with me about his art and Jewish art in general. He started off as a conceptual artist in the 1970′s. Lately though, he’s been coming back to two-dimensional art. For him, two,dimensional art is more of a challenge. He believes in mental art as opposed to an art that appeals to the senses.

As we ordered our food and drink, Michael began to tell me his opinion of things. “Energy can be very concentrated in a tiny laser beam!” said my new friend, as he started into his sausage, with a solid eye on the beer that the waiter just sent down.

He continues; “Jewish artists have a tendency to aim at deeper things. The 2nd commandment in the Bible states that : “You shall not reproduce images of God” (in other words, you are not allowed to represent people. But for the past 200 years, major Jewish artists [except or abstract expressionists such as Rothko, Barnett Newman) have not obeyed this commandment and have been extensively representing the human figure (Felix Nussbaum,Soutine, Chagall, Modigliani, Pascin, Freud, Pissarro, Balthus, Alex katz,etc.

This is demonstrated in the show at the Felix Nussbaum Haus. So why are religious leaders concernd about two dimensional paintings representing the human figure?”

With that, I could tell that Michael was finished. We finished off our sausages and beer, and seemed quite content.

So, perhaps the artist’s act of creating something out of nothing is perceived by religious leaders as a direct competition with God.

Images have incredible power.

6 :00 pm, I arrive at Felix Nussbaum Haus where I am being greeted by the Assistant Director, Mechthild Kunert, then by the Director of the Museum, Inge Jaehner. She kindly answers the questions that I had in mind for an article for Scallywag and Vagabond.

Serge Strosberg (for SCV) : “What is the primary intent of the show?”

Inge Jaehner : “To pinpoint the innumerable stimuli that Modernart owes to the Jewish tradition of life, ideas and creativity, and so they help trace a path through the rich facets and ideas extending from the 19th

century until the present day. This positive influence is also part of globalization. During and after the war, this challenged national socialism.”

Serge strosberg (for SCV) : “Why is the show called: “The Hidden Trace”? What is the relationship between Daniel Libeskind’s architecture and the painter Felix Nussbaum?”

Inge Jaehner : “The Felix Nussbaum Haus corresponds variously to the works of Art on display, for it is in itself dedicated to a “Hidden Trace”, the life and work of Felix Nussbaum, and the paths of his destiny.” He was born in Osnabrueck, but went to Berlin and Rome for his art, and was later forced to hide in Belgium from the Nazis who deported and murdered him in 1944, because he was a Jew.

Apparently, Libeskind was inspired by an illustrated map from a 1780 book, “Jobsiade” which shows a system of zigzag lines referring to a particular route to Palestine, via Europe. These zigzag lines are present everywhere in the Museum. They symbolize Felix Nussbaum’s flight and exile. The separate buildings which form the Museum all point towards different directions, including Osnabrueck’s Synagogue, but also of the old Gestapo office.”

Serge Strosberg (for SCV) : "How does Felix Nussbaum's style compare to the style of two other major German painters: Otto Dix or Christian Schade?"

Inge Jaehner : “Felix Nussbaum has his own personal style. He deals primarily with human emotions. Many of his paintings express fear of
death, but with a lot of humanity.”

“The Hidden Trace” also shows a series of remarkable paintings by Larry Rivers, especially a giant triptych entitled “History of the Jews”, a giant tapestry (9 x 12 ft)”

Porter series –Noah tapestry” by South African artist, William Kentridge, videos by Uriel Orlov, portraits by Modigliani, Soutine, a famous Lucian Freud painting: “Reflection with two children” on loan from the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection. There are also works by Hans Richter, Eva hesse, Philip Guston, Richard Serra, Morris Louis, Rothko and many many others.

The Museum also shows sculptures by Ossip Zadkine, Lipchitz, Dani Karavan and installations by Rebecca Horn.” The exhibition lasts until April 19th, 2009, so the public still has amble time to see it.

SCV; In all your work there is the ever present feeling that the subject is trying to negotiate their outside world and the one inside their head. Why is that a consistent theme of your work?

Serge Strosberg; Because people are complex, they never seem to be so often who they appear to be to us on the outside. I think what often goes on is in order to define who people think they are, they so often take on the role that they think other people expect them to be. So for me a tall, statuesque beauty may present that image, but once I start painting them, I so often find the antithesis.

SCV; Why is that?

Serge Strosberg; On a certain level people are paralyzed by the culture at large. They feel obliged to perform to expectations, to copy role models we come across in the movies, the magazines, the tabloids. So what happens a lot of people end up acting, behaving in a way that’s organically counter intuitive to their constitution. But because they are told they look like some sort of icon they feel obliged to take on these roles.

SCV; In some of the press you have received in Europe you go for the concept of the socialite. Why is that?

Serge Strosberg; It’s very interesting you mention that. I only just moved to New York this past March, and I truly have to say that until I came here I had never heard of the word socialite or rather quite understood it’s veracity in affecting human behavior. It was very interesting for me, my first publicist here in NYC would always claim how proud they were to be a socialite, and this intrigued me as so far it alluded to the concept of ‘role model.’

As I have spent more time here in NYC I have come to understand that in so many ways it is vital if one is to survive here that one is obliged to give off a particular brand of posturing. Everyone here is hyper cool, on the go, just about to become a huge hit, parties with the right people, is seen at the right places, is seen holding the right pose.

SCV; Is it true this has affected the way you portray yourself to society?

Serge Strosberg; I would be lying if I said other wise. But I think working through my work serves to act as a kind of catharsis. By revealing my subjects vulnerability I’m also reckoning with my own.

SCV; What inspired you to set up shop here in NYC?

Serge Strosberg; I like to regard myself as a very cosmopolitan person. And I think as much as I adore Paris, where I have been based amongst other European cities, Brussels, London, I think that Europe lacks the stimulation that ultimately I am looking for, the unnerving that I want to reflect in my subjects. Europe for me has become a very pretty museum, where one still lives in past glories and prized artifacts. I think one is free to be who they choose to be here in NYC, or at least more free in other staid cultures. You want to walk around in pajamas, scream at the top of your lungs. That’s okay, nobody seems to mind here, if anything it’s encouraged.

I also like the density here. I can look out my window here on Broadway and see a whole world passing underneath my fire escape.

SCV; One of your favorite themes is the ‘Dorian Gray syndrome.’Please explain.

Serge Strosberg; In Oscar Wilde’s novel of the same name, the protagonist is consumed with his apparent beauty, and the way he looks to other people, but as time goes on, the reader begins to realize that the protagonist is anything but beautiful, if anything he has become very ugly, especially to himself. This duplicity of being interests me very much, the double life we so often play for ourselves and the outside world and how over time that tears at one’s soul.

‘Fashion District.’ Oil and tempera, 2008.

SCV; How does this translate in your work?

Serge Strosberg; Initially when I set up my subject to pose I am very much drawn to their physique, their apparent beauty, but as time and sessions go on I find the subject beginning to reveal over time gives way to his insecurities, or his feminine tendencies, despite his very masculine physical tendencies.

It really amazes me, because you would think people who look like this don’t ever get to feel this way, but in a way they probably feel more so than other people. It is this apparent contradiction that very much interests me.

SCV; On what level does this feed on the artist’s own self perception?

Serge Strosberg; I think when people meet me they think I am just this very nice looking boy who is very well behaved, but nothing could be further from the truth.

SCV; Could you be so kind to disclose to our readers how so?

Serge Strosberg; I think one has to play close attention to the work.

SCV; Chic….. Who are some of your influences?

Serge Strosberg; All the great soul searchers. Soutine, Lucien Freud, Balthaus, Rembrandt.I also like the Austrian expressionist Egon Schiele, the distorted faces, I love them very much, and Rembrandt going for the kill, exposing the psychology of being.

SCV; Would you then regard yourself as an expressionist?

Serge Strosberg; A realistic expressionist. Ultimately I am very much interested in the subject, not the surrounding decor, but their soul, not what they necessarily appear to be to us.

Serge sitting infront of ‘Warrior of Love.’ 2008. Photo by Geneva Z.

SCV; Tell me about your outfit. It looks like a butcher’s.

Serge Strosberg; It’s funny, it’s an old shirt worn by surgeons way back. But yes, you are correct, I am a kind of butcher, a surgeon, tearing away, looking for the heart.

SCV; Can one repair the heart?

Serge Strosberg; I am often surprised by the way my subjects react to my painting of them. It’s kind of a relief for them, to be exposed in some way, and I think this has a lot to say how people who see my work relate to it as well.

SCV; Can you tell us about some of your upcoming shows?

Serge Strosberg; In December I’m participating in a very important group show, it’s a ten year retrospective showing at the‘Felix Nussbaum ‘ built by Daniel Liebeskindt (the architect slated to design the new world trade center) in Osnabruck, Germany.

They will be presenting the work of Lucien Freud, Mark Rothko, Rebecca Horn, Richard Serra, and Larry Rivers. I will be exhibiting a piece called ‘Genealogy,’ seven self-portraits of my family tree, which is five hundred years old, a mixture of Dutch, Portuguese, Marrano Jewish heritage.

SCV; How has your heritage affected your work?

Serge Strosberg; Of course as a Jew, our faith forces us to question ones identity. Also as a Jew, I am interested in other minority groups, who might have experienced discrimination; gays, blacks, drag queens, foreigners.

SCV: Where else?

Serge Strosberg; Also in ‘Palm Beach 3 contemporary,’ Florida, as well at the ‘Ann Norton Sculpture Garden’ in Palm beach next March.

SCV; How has the public received your work?

Serge Strosberg; I’ve been quite humbled. This year I’ve had three museum shows, and over the last three years I have been able to sell a lot of my work.

SCV; How do you think now that you have just arrived here in NYC your work will be received?

Serge Strosberg; I think I am doing my best work here, and the inspiration is following, so I think it will be a very good transition.

SCV; Finally, what makes you a scallywag?

Serge Strosberg; Because I discreetly push the boundaries, reveal the subject to himself, his society, and by doing that, revealing your secrets I am a scallywag.