Human Sacrifice/Waste Him
- Mixed Media
-
45 x 64 in
(114.3 x 162.56 cm)
- Johanna Vogelsang
Thank you to the Eyerman family--artist Johanna Vogelsang’s daughter Kirsten Eyerman, her granddaughter Kyra Eyerman, and her son-in-law Edward Eyerman--for the generous donation of this work.
Also, thank you to the Hudson County Office of Cultural Affairs and Tourism for the generous grant to mount this exhibit of works by Johanna Vogelsang dealing with Social Justice.
The views expressed in this work are solely those of the artist, and do not reflect the views of Hudson County Community College, the Hudson County Community College Foundation, anyone working at this college, or any local, state or government organization.
The title of this work, “Human Sacrifice”, is a term that refers to an ancient ritual practice of killing someone for some higher purpose, such as placating a deity. “Waste Him” is contemporary slang terminology for ordering someone to kill. Likewise, in this work, the artist is drawing together references to horrific massacres of human beings, from the period of the crucifixion, to World War II Nazi-occupied Poland, to the Killing Fields of 1970s Cambodia. The quotation in the work reads, “The ash moon Auschwitz hangs over us all.” Auschwitz was a World War II Nazi concentration camp in Poland where over a million people were murdered. Most were Jewish, but many were Polish Christian people, Roma people, Soviet prisoners of war and others. The crucified figure depicted in this work is surrounded by photographs related to Pol Pot (a Cambodian leader from 1975-9 who was responsible for the deaths of over 1.5 million of his people) and Nazi histories. A quotation in the work: “Natural cover is the most convincing of all, and the best way to fool the people all the time is to be genuine,” comes from a CIA manual. Look up every unfamiliar reference to learn more about these important people, places, and events.
Many of the artworks in this exhibit were also reproduced in a 1984 booklet called, “Meditations for Lent: Where Was God?” produced by the General Board for Church and Society in Washington, DC. David Showers, who wrote the meditation for this work, said, “My eyes and my thoughts can’t seem to stay focused. They keep moving as I look, or try to look, at the picture. The tension between that naked figure flung across the canvas and the flow of the images from across the face of history—it all leaves me fidgeting. Look too deep or for too long and I find the smell of death, the edges of raw human emotions creeping into my body; I feel the pull of decay and destruction.” If you would like to read more from this booklet about these works, please contact the Foundation Art Collection office at 201-360-4007.
- Created: 1980
- Current Location: 2 Enos Place - 3rd Floor
- Collections: Art that Includes Writing, Mixed Media, Portrait or Figurative, The Totalitarian State, Works by Women