Installation by Menashe Kadishman at the Judisches Museum, Berlin
Discordant clanging reverberates through the Jewish Museum
in Berlin, breaking the sombre spell. The
sound comes from ‘Fallen Leaves’, or ‘Shalechet’ in Hebrew, an installation
by Israeli artist Menashe Kadishman. According
to Daniel Libeskind, the architect of the extraordinary building, ‘voids’, or tall
narrow spaces linking the different levels of the building and generally left
free of museum display, are intended to express the absence of Holocaust
victims. It is in one of these spaces
that the installation, dedicated to all innocent victims of war and violence,
is located.
Faces crudely cut from heavy steel plate, with gaping mouths reminiscent of Eduard Munch’s painting ‘The Scream’, lie in a drift across the floor of the enclosed space. Like fallen leaves, the sea of faces evokes the cyclical nature of life and perhaps the powerlessness of victims to escape the horror of their fate. However the temptation to walk through the installation, like walking through leaves, is difficult to resist. The sensation is exhilarating, but also disconcertingly transgressive – ‘should I be walking on this artwork, disturbing the concentrated quiet of the museum?’ This sense of unease is compounded when you look down and are reminded that you are treading on upturned faces. Kadishman’s gently provocative installation perfectly complements the distorted architecture of the museum, successfully engaging the visitor in a moment’s intense reflection.
Faces crudely cut from heavy steel plate, with gaping mouths reminiscent of Eduard Munch’s painting ‘The Scream’, lie in a drift across the floor of the enclosed space. Like fallen leaves, the sea of faces evokes the cyclical nature of life and perhaps the powerlessness of victims to escape the horror of their fate. However the temptation to walk through the installation, like walking through leaves, is difficult to resist. The sensation is exhilarating, but also disconcertingly transgressive – ‘should I be walking on this artwork, disturbing the concentrated quiet of the museum?’ This sense of unease is compounded when you look down and are reminded that you are treading on upturned faces. Kadishman’s gently provocative installation perfectly complements the distorted architecture of the museum, successfully engaging the visitor in a moment’s intense reflection.
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