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Reflections on History, Memory, and Auschwitz in Contemporary Art and Film

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Reflections on History, Memory, and Auschwitz in Contemporary Art and Film UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Memory and Power: Reflections on History, Memory, and Auschwitz in Contemporary Art and Film A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Art History, Theory and Criticism by Orly Shevi Committee in charge: Professor Lesley F. Stern, Chair Professor Norman Bryson Professor Jean Pierre Gorin Professor Yen Le Espiritu Professor Lisa Yoneyama 2010 © Orly Shevi, 2010 All rights reserved. This Dissertation of Orly Shevi is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: Chair University of California, San Diego 2010 iii Dedication For Yuval Shevi, and girls like her who are so eager to learn about our world iv Tables of Contents Signature Page ………………………………………………………………,……iii Dedication ……………………………………………………………………........iv Table of Contents …………………………………………………………….…....v Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………vii Vita ………………………………………………………………………………..ix Abstract of the Dissertation …...………………………………………………….xii Chapter 1: Introduction: ‗A Site of Struggle‘ – The Political Challenge of Memorization in Visual Arts …………………………………………...1 1:1 Locating ‗Sites of Struggle‘ …………………………………....…….. 1 1:2 ‗Sights of Struggle‘ ……………………...………………….………..22 1:3 Paradigms ………………………………………………….................31 Chapter 2: Boltanski‘s Absents Subject ………………………………………….39 2:1 Presence/Absence …………………………………………….............39 2:2 Child of the Holocaust ………………………………………...……...52 2:3 Anti-Monument ………………………………………………...…….55 2:4 Holocaust Effect ………………………………………………...……62 2:5 Aesthetic of Mourning ………………………………………….….....72 2:6 Art After the Disaster …………………………………………….......78 v Chapter 3: Boltanski‘s Archival Regulations ……………………………………..84 3:1 An Old Archivist ……………………………………………………...84 3:2 Rule#1: Naming ………………………………………………………88 3:3 Rule#2: Inclusion/Exclusion …………………………………….........92 3:4 Rule#3: Identity …………………………………………..……….....102 3:5 Rule#4: Archeology/Ethnography………………………………...….108 3:6 Rule#5: Whatever …………………………………………..………..112 Chapter 4: Godard‘s History of Montage ………………………….……….….....119 4:1 Introduction to the Practice ………………………….……….……....119 4:2 Here and Elsewhere: Background ………………………….….….....125 4:3 Montage as a Paradigm ………………………………….….……......135 4:5 Auschwitz, Here and Elsewhere ………………………….….....……153 Chapter 5: Historie(s) of Cinema with ‗SS‘ ………………………………..….....159 5:1 The Flame in Auschwitz …………………………………….….……159 5:2 What is a Thinking Form? ………………………………….…..…....174 5:3 Montage of Auschwitz ……………………………………….............190 5:4 ISRAEL/ISMAEL …………………………………………...….……203 Epilogue …………………………………………………………………..………211 Bibliography ……………………………………………………………...….……217 vi Acknowledgments Writing this dissertation has been an intellectual and physical journey and, as I approach its end, there are many people in many places around the world that I need to acknowledge. First, I would like to thank Professor Bille Melman and Professor Shlomo Sand from the History Department at Tel Aviv University, who not merely encouraged me to depart on this journey, but also served throughout as exceptional scholarly role models. At the University of California, San Diego I was lucky to come across a group of devoted Professors who offered the tools and ideas I needed to reflect upon my dissertation topic. They in turn became my Academic Committee, advising me on how to shape and execute this project -- I would like to express deepest gratitude to all of them. To Lesley Stern who recognized my writing abilities, helped me to improve them, and always kept driving me to excellence. To Norman Bryson who, with his intellectual enthusiasm, never stopped challenging me with questions and original ideas. To JP Gorin who, with his extraordinary capacity for analyzing films, opened my mind to their endless reading possibilities. Finally, special thanks are due also to both Yen Le Espiritu and Lisa Yoneyama, for it was in their inspirational seminars that I first encountered the theoretical texts that would provide the foundation for my argument. Many thanks to you all! vii I would like to acknowledge the faculty, TAs, staff and students at the Sixth College Writing Program (CAT) at UCSD for their financial and emotional support; and the Visual Arts department staff for their administrative help. Special thanks to my friend on this journey, Sarah Lookofsky, for her support during those difficult moments when the road seemed endless. In addition, thanks to Ryan Lepic for his careful corrections and comments on the manuscript. I left Tel Aviv for San Diego seven years ago with mixed feelings, as I was forced to leave behind many good friends and a supportive community. Yet, they soon taught me that friendship can cross borders and yield limitless love and care. Thank you all for that lesson, especially Daniel Ussishkin, Rotem Tushah, Shirley Wegner, Lior Shahr, Noah Uri and Shirley Hauser. As years went by in San Diego, I was able to find an additional family and community of friends to whom I would like to express my thanks. To the Levy/Korenbrot family who opened their house and hearts for me, making me feel at home. To my ‗guardian angel‘ Essy Levy for simply being there for me in any given circumstance. To my BFFs Tara, Wendy, Jenifer, Vladan, Dino, and Lola. Thank you for showing me what friendship is San Diego style. Thank you to all my family, especially my brothers Ran and Shay and sisters Nurit and Shirly; needless to say, I would never have made it without you. Lastly, thank you to my dear parents, Nili and Michael, not only for their never-ending support and love, but also for teaching me how to pursue dreams and to never fear challenges. viii Vita Education: University of California, San Diego, Department of Visual Arts. 2003-2010 Ph.D. in Art History, Theory and Criticism. Academic advisors: Norman Bryson, Jean-Pierre Gorin, Yen Le-Spiritu, Lesley Stern (Chair), and Lisa Yoneyama. Tel Aviv University, Graduate School of History. 2000-2003 Studied for M.A. degree in History of Modern Europe. Academic advisors: Billie Melman, and Shlomo Sand. Tel Aviv University, Department of History and Department of Art History, 1996-1999 B.A. degree (with outstanding award) in History of Art and Western History. ―Beit Berl‖ School of Art, Training College for Visual Art Teachers. 1991-1994 Teaching Diploma in Visual Arts. ix Teaching Experience: University of California, San Diego, The Sixth College Writing Program. 2007-2010 Teaching Assistant in numerous classes. University of California, San Diego, Department of Visual Arts. 2003-2007 Teaching Assistant in numerous sections, including: VA 84 Film History; VA 153 The Genre Series – Musical; VA 154 Hard Look at the Movies; VA 22 Formation of Modern Art; VA155 The Director‟s Series; VIS 20 introduction to Art History. University of California, San Diego, Department of Visual Arts. 2005-2006 Reader for numerous classes, including: VA 123AN Between Spirit and Flesh Art in the Early Northern Renaissance – Prof. Susan Smith; and VA 128DN Japanese Painting - Prof. Kuiyi Shen; VIS 126 Maya Art - Prof. Elizabeth Newsom. And LTWL 4M Time of War, Time of Change – American Film in the 60s and 70s – Prof. Stephen Potts (Literature Department, UCSD). Tel Aviv University, Department of History. 2001-2003 Teaching Assistant in the classes: Cinema as History – Representation of Nazism and Fascism; Colonialism and Post-Colonialism in Film Representation; and Woman and Gender in the Western History, 1500-2001; Tel Aviv. 1996-1999 ‖א Tel Aviv Municipal High School― Art Teacher – my teaching program combined subjects of Art History and Visual Arts. x Academic Work Experience: University of California, San Diego, Department of Visual Arts. 2006. Research Assistant for Prof. Norman Bryson University of California, San Diego, Department of Visual Arts. 2004-2005. Research Assistant for Prof. Lesley Stern Tel Aviv University, Department of History. 2002-2003. Research Assistant for Prof. Billie Melman on her book The Culture of History, Oxford University Press, 2006 Tel Aviv University, Graduate School of History and ―The Israeli Historical Society.‖ 2001. Assistant in organizing academic conferences, among them: Consumption and Gender in Historical Perspectives, and Cinema in Historiography and Historiography in Cinema. Scholarships and Awards: University of California, San Diego, International Student Center, 2006, Friends of the International Students Center Award. University of California, San Diego, Department of Visual Arts. 2003-2005 Full tuition scholarship for Ph.D. in Art History, Theory and Criticism. Tel Aviv University, Department of History. 2001-2003. Teaching Assistant Scholarship. Languages: Fluent in Hebrew, English, and able to read and understand French. xi Abstract of the Dissertation Memory and Power: Reflections on History, Memory, and Auschwitz in Contemporary Art and Film by Orly Shevi Doctor of Philosophy in Art History, Theory and Criticism University of California, San Diego, 2010 Professor Lesley F. Stern, Chair This project aims to explore the connection between history, memory, political power, and visual art. It aims to contribute insight to how contemporary visual artists, like the filmmaker Jean Luc Godard, and the installation artist Christian Boltanski, confront politics through the reformation of collective memory. In their case the memory and history that they evoke are connected to Second War World and the Holocaust. In a very schematic way I will try to describe
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