Fritz Ascher
Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire
and the Role of the Clown
in the Arts
1014 - space for ideas
1014 5th Avenue, New York, New York, NY, United States
Pierrot, the famous character from the Italian commedia dell’arte, is set by the composer A. Schoenberg as the moonstruck and fantastical clown, who is a symbol for putting on a mask to hide one’s true feelings or opinions. Forever lovelorn and wistfully contemplating the dying moon, he lurches through the night, hiding his face underneath a thick layer of white paint. The extravagance of emotions, the aesthetic of exaggeration, and the distortion of communication through the mask turn Pierrot into an incredibly fascinating and universal figure. Pre-concert talk Rachel Stern, Director and CEO, The Fritz Ascher Society for Persecuted, Ostracized and Banned Art Stephen Decatur Smith, Stony Brook University, Department of Music Concert [...]
Flucht ins Überleben [Escape to Survival]. Four Berlin Biographies from the Time of National Socialism
Märkisches Museum, Berlin (Germany)
Märkisches Museum
Am Köllnischen Park 5, Berlin, Germany
Four selected life stories tell of survival strategies in war, flight and persecution - and of the consequences of the traumatic experiences for those affected. EVENT RECORDING FORTHCOMING Today we believe that flight, expulsion, oppression and murder which dominated Europe 70 years ago have been overcome. Recent events in Ukraine show us that this is not the case. And again there are countless individuals whose lives are uprooted and who have to reorient themselves. But what does that do to those affected, what does it do to artists and how do they reflect on this experience? With four selected biographies of Berliners, we recall the survival strategies they had to develop during the National Socialist [...]
IN-PERSON CONFERENCE: Welcoming the Stranger.
Abrahamic Hospitality and Contemporary Implications
Fordham University, New York
Fordham University School of Law
150 West 62nd Street, New York, NY, United States
One of the signal moments in the narrative of Abraham is his insistent and enthusiastic reception of three strangers. That moment is a beginning point of inspiration for all three Abrahamic traditions as they evolve and develop the details of their respective teachings. On the one hand, welcoming the stranger by remembering “that you were strangers in the land of Egypt” is enjoined upon the ancient Israelites, and on the other, oppressing the stranger is condemned by their prophets. These sentiments will be repeated in the New Testament and the Qur’an and elaborated in the interpretive literatures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Such notions have been seriously challenged on many occasions throughout history—at no time more profoundly than in [...]
BOOK LAUNCH: Welcoming the Stranger.
Abrahamic Hospitality and Its Contemporary Implications
Fordham University, New York
Fordham University School of Law
150 West 62nd Street, New York, NY, United States
Join us for an evening of stimulating conversation, and refreshments, as we celebrate the publication of Welcoming the Stranger. Abrahamic Traditions and Its Contemporary Implications. Advance copies of the book are available for purchase. This book is a collection of thought-provoking essays exploring the theme of hospitality as a means of building bridges between different cultures and communities. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in interfaith dialogue, social justice, and creating a more inclusive society. Its contents could hardly be more relevant today. Beginning with the story of Abraham’s hospitality to the three strangers described in Genesis18, the narrative explores both the theological evolution in and beyond the Abrahamic traditions of the principle of “welcoming the stranger,” [...]
BOOK TALK: Welcoming the Stranger.
Abrahamic Hospitality and Its Contemporary Implications
Georgetown University, Washington (DC)
Mortara Center for International Studies at Georgetown University
36th Street Northwest, Washington, DC
Welcoming the Stranger, a collection of essays, explores hospitality and inclusion in Abrahamic traditions from historical, theoretical, theological, and practical perspectives. It offers an enlightening and compelling discussion of what the Abrahamic traditions teach us regarding welcoming people we don't know. Join the Center for Jewish Civilization and Mortara Center for International Studies for a conversation with editors Ori Soltes and Rachel Stern, refreshments, and a book signing. Image above: David Stern, Snow Crash (Lost Agency), 2018-19. Acrylics and pigments on paper, 27 x 35 inches. © David Stern / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York This timely book offers theoretical and practical reflections on 'welcoming the stranger.' From the theological analysis of Abraham to the [...]
Fritz Ascher in Berlin – eine Spurensuche
Kurzvortrag und Führung von Rachel Stern, New York
Augustinermuseum, Haus der Graphischen Sammlung, Freiburg
Augustinermuseum
Augustinerplatz, Freiburg im Breisgau
Der spätexpressionistische Künstler Fritz Ascher (1893-1970) überlebte zwei Weltkriege und die Verfolgung durch das nationalsozialistische Regime. Als aufmerksamer Beobachter der Schrecken des Ersten Weltkriegs und der revolutionären Unruhen wandte er sich christlich-spirituellen Themen zu, die er radikal neu interpretierte. In intimen Zeichnungen beschäftigte er sich ab 1916 mit dem Thema Liebe und Verrat, sowohl in seiner Auseinandersetzung mit dem Kreuzigungsthema als auch mit der Figur des Bajazzo in der tragikomischen Oper „I Pagliacci“. Kurzvortrag und Führung von Rachel Stern zeigen den Künstler in seinem sozialen und politischen Umfeld. Image above: Fritz Ascher, Im Wald, um 1919. Weisse Gouache und schwarze Tusche über Aquarell und Bleistift auf Papier, 34 x 32,2 cm © Bianca Stock The late expressionist [...]
Liebe und Verrat: Fritz Ascher
Kurator Erik Riedel im Gespräch mit Rachel Stern
Jüdisches Museum Frankfurt (Germany)
Jewish Museum Frankfurt
Bertha-Pappenheim-Platz 1, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Der Maler, Grafiker und Dichter Fritz Ascher (1893-1970) wurde bereits als 16-Jähriger von Max Liebermann an die Akademie in Königsberg empfohlen. Ab 1913 gehörte er zu den gefragten Malern in Berlin. Er war ein genauer Beobachter seiner Zeit; die Urkatastrophe des Ersten Weltkriegs und die revolutionären Unruhen in Berlin führten ihn zu christlichen und mystischen Themen, die er radikal neu interpretierte. Nach 1933 erhielt Ascher als Jude Berufsverbot. Während der Pogrome am 9./10. November 1938 wurde er verhaftet und im Konzentrationslager Sachsenhausen und im Potsdamer Gestapo-Gefängnis interniert. Die Schoa überlebte er ab 1942 versteckt in einem Keller in Berlin-Grunewald. Während dieser einsamen Jahre verfasste er Gedichte. Als Künstler fand Ascher nach 1945 seinen ganz eigenen Stil. Angeregt vom nahe [...]
Love, Betrayal and Ascher’s Unpainted Pictures
Tour by Exhibition Curator Jutta Götzmann
Haus der Graphischen Sammlung, Freiburg (Germany)
Haus der Graphischen Sammlung
Salzstraße 34, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Jutta Götzmann, exhibition curator of "Love and Betrayal," presents the artist Fritz Ascher (1893-1970) during a tour. In addition to early charcoal, graphite and ink drawings, colorful gouaches are fascinating. Poems that are considered his "unpainted pictures" and were created in secret during the National Socialist era complement the exhibition. BUY TICKETS HERE The Fritz Ascher Society is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization. Your donation is fully tax deductible. YOUR SUPPORT MAKES OUR WORK POSSIBLE. THANK YOU. DONATE HERE
World Premiere: Kafka’s Last Trial
Screening at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan
Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan
334 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY, United States
Screening followed by Q+A with director Eliran Peled, writer Daphne Merkin, and author Benjamin Balint. Film and screening offered in partnership with the New York Jewish Week. Co-sponsored by Fritz Ascher Society for Persecuted, Ostracized and Banned Art. Upon his death in 1924, the great Czech-Austrian novelist Franz Kafka left behind a rich collection of unpublished manuscripts, with instructions to his friend Max Brod to burn them all. Thanks to Brod’s failure to fulfill Kafka’s wishes, the world has come to know one of the great writers of the 20th century. Now, 100 years after his death, the film “Kafka’s Last Trial” tells the story of this altruistic betrayal and the multi-generational effort to preserve Kafka’s literary legacy. Based on [...]
Behind the Glass: The Villa Tugendhat and Its Family
A book talk by Michael Lambek, Toronto (Canada)
ONLINE
VA, United States
In this book talk, Michael Lambek follows the intertwined history of Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Villa Tugendhat and the family who inhabited it from 1930-1938. Part memoir, part social history, the book traces the family from its origins in a Jewish ghetto to the present day, focussing on the author’s maternal grandmother, Grete Tugendhat who commissioned and championed the house, which is now a World Heritage Site in Brno, Czechia. Image above: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Villa Tugendhat, Brno (Czechia), photo David Zidlicky The Villa Tugendhat, designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1929, is an icon of architectural modernism in Brno, Czechia. It was also a family home. [...]
