Visual Art In Elie Wiesel's Night

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Visual art has the amazing ability to powerfully communicate ideas through images. Becky Schamberg's artistic interpretation of Elie Wiesel’s autobiography, Night, explains the key concepts of the book through artistic expression. A survivor of the Holocaust, Wiesel writes of his experiences as a concentration camp prisoner and how they impacted him physically, mentally, and spiritually. Becky Schamberg's art piece strategically takes Wiesel’s story and transforms it into a meaningful illustration that captures cruelty and horror of the Holocaust. Many techniques are used within the work to signify, highlight, and identify the unimaginable terror faced by Jews during this time. In this drawing, the artistic devices of symbolism, theme, color, and text are used to convey the concepts of …show more content…

Theme is the general message that is conveyed by a work, and this drawing uses theme to explain the horrors of the Holocaust. The theme of loss is shown in the falling grip, as man is losing his faith in God. As the two hands lose their connection, viewers see how victims of the Holocaust lost their trust and belief in Judaism. The similar theme of separation is also demonstrated in this drawing. The Nazi symbol underneath the hands portrays the idea that the Nazis have caused the Jews to separate from God. The two hands are being pulled apart, showing how the Holocaust resulted in the divide of man and his faith. Moreover, the theme of fear is conveyed through the fire and trembling fingers. The flames are a reminder of the ever-present fear of death concentration camp inmates were faced with. The hands also appear to be trembling, a sign of the terror victims were surrounded by. This drawing conveys the themes of loss, separation, and fear by illustrating man’s distrust in God and the constant fright concentration camp prisoners

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