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Samuel Bak Stations in Life • Gyvenimo Stotelės

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Samuel Bak Stations in Life • Gyvenimo Stotelės Samuel Bak Stations in Life • Gyvenimo stotelės The Tolerance cenTer of The Vilna Gaon STaTe JewiSh MuSeuM ValSTybinio VilniauS Gaono žydų MuzieJauS ToleranciJoS cenTraS Study for “The Ghetto”, 1970 Studija „Getas“ crayons & pastels on paper | popierius, spalvoti pieštukai, pastelė 65 x 48 cm Dear All, Gerbiamieji, It is impossible to imagine the history of Lithuania without the Neįmanoma Lietuvos istorijos, jos raidos įsivaizduoti be Lithuanian Jewish community that has left a deep imprint on Lietuvos žydų bendruomenės, kuri nuo pat Vytauto Didžiojo our history and our lives. Since the times of Vytautas the Great, laikų yra palikusi gilų įspaudą mūsų valstybės politikoje, it has always been an integral part of the Lithuanian society, moksle, kultūroje, ekonomikoje. Daugelis žydų išeivių iš closely involved in the development of science, economy and Lietuvos – Litvakų – istorijos vingių blaškomi pasklido po visą culture. Turbulent history has scattered many Jewish emigrants pasaulį. Šiandien jų palikuonys yra tarptautiniu mastu from Lithuania—Litvaks—all over the world. Today their pripažinti menininkai, mokslininkai, įtakingi politikai, descendants are internationally recognized artists, scientists, verslininkai. Holokaustas, sunaikinęs litvakų kultūrą ir istoriją, influential politicians and businessmen. The Holocaust, having nuskurdino visos Lietuvos kultūrą. destroyed the Litvak culture and history, has impoverished the Lietuvoje šie metai paskelbti Holokausto aukomis tapusių culture of the entire Lithuania as well. Lietuvos gyventojų atminimo metais. Lietuvos Vyriausybė ypač Lithuania has declared 2011 as the year of remembrance for daug dėmesio skiria tam, kad būtų išsaugoti arba grąžinti į the victims of the Holocaust in Lithuania. The Government of Lietuvą plačiai po pasaulį išblaškyti garsios litvakų kultūros, Lithuania has been doing its utmost to preserve or recover the religijos, istorijos likučiai. Mes tikimės surinkti juos į vieną remaining heritage of the famous Litvak culture, religion and šiuolaikinę kultūrinę visumą, kad didžiuodamiesi įspūdingais history that has been scattered across the world. We are litvakų pasiekimais neužmirštume, kad Holokaustą išgyvenusių committed to bringing it together into a modern cultural whole žmonių ir jų artimųjų skausmas yra ir Lietuvos žmonių for us not only to take delight in impressive Litvak skausmas. Demokratinė Lietuva siekia grąžinti istorines skolas. achievements, but most importantly to be always reminded that 2010 metų gegužę viešėdamas JAV, turėjau puikią galimybę the pain of the Holocaust survivors and their loved ones is also asmeniškai apsilankyti Bostono galerijoje ir susipažinti su the pain of the people of Lithuania. The democratic Lithuania pasaulinio garso dailininko Samuelio Bako kūryba. Gerbiamo seeks to compensate for these historical debts. autoriaus kilnus ketinimas – padovanoti gimtinei Lietuvai per During my visit to the U.S back in May 2010, I had an 600 geriausių savo kūrinių yra išskirtinės svarbos mūsų valstybės exceptional opportunity to personally visit the Pucker Gallery in kultūrinis įvykis. Boston and see the oeuvre of the world-renowned artist Samuel Šiemet į Tėvynę sugrįžo ir kito pasaulinio garso dailininko, Bak. The artist’s noble wish to donate over 600 of his best works gimusio Lietuvoje, Arbit Blato kūrinių kolekcija iš Niujorko ir to his homeland, Lithuania, is a cultural event of exceptional Venecijos. Šių dviejų įžymių litvakų kūrybos sugrįžimas į importance to our State. Lietuvą daro mūsų šalį pasaulinio garso litvakų dailininkų We are also happy to have witnessed this year the return from kūrybos tyrinėjimo ir populiarinimo centru, atskleidžiančiu New York and Venice of the collection of the other world- kokius išskirtinius talentus bei aukštus humanistus išugdė renowned painter Arbit Blatas, who had been born in Lietuva. Lithuania. The return of the art of these two famous Litvaks to Esu tikras, kad geriausias paminklas pagerbiant Holokausto Lithuania makes our country a center for research and aukas, yra litvakų atminimo įprasminimas. promotion of Litvak art heritage, demonstrating to the world Su geriausiais linkėjimais, the outstanding talents and highly esteemed humanists who were brought up in Lithuania. I am convinced that the best memorial to honor victims of the Holocaust is giving meaning to Litvak remembrance. Kind regards, Andrius Kubilius Prime Minister Lietuvos Respublikos Ministras Pirmininkas 3 Shelter, 1959 Slėptuvė oil on canvas | drobė, aliejus 50 x 100 cm 4 Dear Friends, Brangūs draugai, I am delighted to offer words of greeting in honor of this Man malonu pasveikinti Jus atidarant šią išskirtinę Samuelio exceptional exhibit of Samuel Bak’s work in the Tolerance Bako darbų parodą Valstybinio Vilniaus Gaono žydų muziejaus Center of the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum in Vilnius. Tolerancijos Centre. I have had the honor of meeting Samuel Bak during my tenure Eidama JAV ambasadorės pareigas Lietuvoje, turėjau garbės as U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania, and I am deeply grateful to susipažinti su Samueliu Baku ir esu nuoširdžiai dėkinga jam ir him and to the Pucker Gallery of Boston for their support in Pucker galerijai Bostone, padėjusiems įgyvendinti šią parodą. Šis making this exhibition a reality. This project underscores the projektas pabrėžia besitęsiantį vaisingą Lietuvos ir JAV continuing deep cooperation between the Lithuanian vyriausybių kultūrinį bendradarbiavimą, aprėpiantį ir Lietuvos government and the U.S. government on cultural initiatives žydų istoriją. JAV ambasada Lietuvoje didžiuojasi galėdama relating to the Jewish history of Lithuania. The U.S. Embassy in paremti šį svarbų projektą. Lithuania is proud to support this important project. Vadovaujant Ministrui Pirmininkui Andriui Kubiliui, Under the leadership of Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius, the Lietuvos Vyriausybė nusprendė 2011 metus paskelbti Government of Lithuania has designated 2011 the Year of Holokausto aukomis tapusių Lietuvos gyventojų atminimo Commemoration of Victims of the Holocaust in Lithuania. I metais. Aš labai vertinu vyriausybės ir Lietuvos žmonių would like to commend the government and people of pastangas negailint savo laiko, energijos ir lėšų šiems svarbiems Lithuania for committing an extraordinary amount of time, įvykiams paminėti. JAV Vyriausybė taip pat aktyviai prisidėjo ir energy and resources to this important endeavor. The U.S. dalyvavo šiuose renginiuose. Mes intensyviai skatiname Government has been an active partner in this effort, as well. informacijos apie Holokausto tragediją Lietuvoje ir Europoje We are deeply committed to broadening knowledge and sklaidą ir suvokimą tikėdamiesi, kad tai niekada nepasikartos. understanding of the tragedy of the Holocaust in Lithuania and Atverčiant tamsiuosius Holokausto puslapius, taip pat labai in Europe with the goal of ensuring it is never repeated. svarbu pripažinti ir įvertinti šimtmečiais trukusį ypatingą As we work to educate on the dark chapter of the Holocaust, Lietuvos žydų bendruomenės indėlį į šalies ir jos visuomenės it is also important to recognize and highlight the extraordinary plėtrą. Būtina pabrėžti, kad Lietuvos žydai visada buvo iškili ir contribution the Jewish community of Lithuania has made to neatsiejama Lietuvos visuomenės dalis. this country and society for hundreds of years. Lithuanian Jews Išskirtiniuose Samuelio Bako darbuose mes regime turtingą have been a valuable and integral part of the fabric of šios tautos istoriją, persmelktą liūdesio ir kentėjimų šėlstant Lithuanian society, and that can never be emphasized enough. Holokausto šmėklai visoje Europoje. It is through the extraordinary work of Samuel Bak that we Aš nepaprastai džiaugiuosi Lietuvoje praleistu laiku. Žmonės, see much of this rich history depicted, along with the sadness istorija ir kultūra suteikė man ir mano vyrui Hankui and suffering that engulfed this nation as the Holocaust raged neprilygstamą patirtį, kurios mes niekada neužmiršime. Aš throughout Europe. tikiuosi, kad meno ir kultūros pasaulio bei šios keliaujančios I have enjoyed my time in Lithuania immensely. The people, parodos dėka mes žengsime dar vieną žingsnį supratimo ir history and culture have provided both me and my husband tolerancijos link. Hank an incomparable experience which we will never forget. I Ačiū Jums ir tikimės, kad paroda patiks! am hopeful that through the world of art and culture, and initiatives like this moving exhibit, we will move closer to a future of understanding and tolerance. Thank you and we hope you enjoy the exhibition! Anne E. Derse U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania JAV ambasadorė 5 Whispering Scream, 1963 Šnabždantis riksmas acrylic on canvas | drobė, akrilas 65 x 46 cm 6 Some time ago I sat, well into the night, in the American Prieš kurį laiką jau temstant sėdėjau Amerikos ambasados Embassy’s drawing room in Vilnius, and a guest from the U.S. svetainėje Vilniuje, kur Lietuvoje gimęs svečias iš Jungtinių with a Lithuanian background told his Old Vilna stories to a Valstijų dalinosi senojo Vilniaus prisiminimais su vietiniais group of local politicians and cultural activists. Close to him sat politikais ir kultūros veikėjais. Šalia sėdėjo miegūstas didžiaakis a sleepy, big-eyed, beautiful boy—maybe eleven years old—his gal kokių vienuolikos metų berniukas – jo vaikaitis iš Paryžiaus. grandson from Paris. Tas svečias buvo dailininkas Samuelis Bakas, atsivežęs anūką The visitor was the painter Samuel Bak and he brought his į savo gimtąjį miestą. Bakas pats buvo jo amžiaus, kai
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  • Opening of the Samuel Bak Museum
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  • The Art of Samuel
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