Art © A. K. Segan

UTW 32

Laja Lederman with two of her three daughters, Zosia & Hanah

ART:1996
Media: Ink, watercolor, colored pencil, pencil, linoleum block printing ink, pieces of a handmade paper envelope
Framed: 29 in. H x 39 ¾ W [71.1 x 100.9 cm]

Laja Lederman and husband Lejzor lived in Ostrowicz, Poland. They had four sons and three daughters. A geography note from the artist: A search for Ostrowicz in the internet shows 3 different towns, cities or districts with that name; I'm not sure which one the Lederman family hailed from.
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In my drawing Laja is shown with two of her daughters: the oldest, Zosia (center) and Hanah, the middle daughter  (right).
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Laja's husband Jejzor and the youngest son Jozef are depicted in UTW 37.
Their son Alin was portrayed in UTW 42: Shoah Dreams.
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Of the entire family of two parents, three daughters and four sons, only one daughter, the youngest, survived. The spouses of each of the seven Lederman children also perished, as did their children.
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Drawn from a 1929 photo, a print of which was given to the artist by Laja Lederman's granddaughter, who Segan had met in 1994.   The artwork was done in a process similar to the mixed media etchings Segan made in the late 1970's and early 1980's. The beige drawing paper was sprayed with a red ink solution except for the center section.
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Then an uncut foot square linoleum block was inked in yellow and printed over. Then a piece of an envelope, made out of hand-made light blue paper with threads (mailed to Segan by a friend as a holiday card a year earlier) was pasted on top; then portions were torn off. The black india ink drawing of Laja, Zosia & Hanah was done on that surface.
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The writing at bottom center is from the front plate page of a Jewish religious book, published in Vienna in 1820, that Segan bought in an antique store in Budapest, Hungary, in 1985.
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A photo of the Ostrowicz synagogue can be seen in the book of pre-war postcards: Yiddishland (1999, Ginko Press, Corte Madera, CA)

EXHIBITS

  • Hillel Center, Univ. of Washington, Seattle (2013)

  • Washington State University art gallery, Tri-Cities (2007)

  • Illinois Wesleyan University, Ames Library (2006)

  • Stephens College, Davis Art Gallery, Columbia, Missouri (2006)

  • Jewish Federations of the United States, national conference,

  • Seattle Convention Center (1998)

  • Seattle Central Community College (1998)

  • Temple Beth Am, Seattle (1997)

  • Western Illinois University, Macomb (2004)

  • Wing Luke Asian Museum, Seattle (2002)


BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • 2008 Forfar Academy, Angus, Scotland. Holocaust Memorial Day info handout booklet

  • 2007 Washington State Univ, Tri-Cities. Under the Wings & Sight-seeing with Dignity art series exhibition poster

  • 2004 Western Illinois University, Macomb. Under the Wings art series exhibit announcement card & poster