Illuminating the Spirit

Art speaks to us of spirit. This is a major theme of Bob Barancik’s Art Not Hate, a multimedia exhibit at the Carrollwood Cultural Center in November and December, 2010. In the photo, Adrienne Hutelmyer and Paul Berg, Executive Director, examine a portrait of Raoul Wallenberg from the exhibit.

Some individuals, like Wallenberg, live forever as examples of the greatness of the human spirit. Wallenberg was a Swedish architect and businessman, recruited in 1944 for a rescue mission to help the Hungarian Jews. He was given a minor diplomatic post in Budapest, and used it to pass out fake passports—even to people already in detention—and provide refuge in buildings that he declared to be Swedish property. He saved the lives of about 15,000 people.

Wallenberg’s own fate remains a mystery. He was detained by the Russians in 1945 and is believed to have died in Lubyanka prison in 1947.

Spirit Figures

The figures in Barancik’s paintings are stripped down to their essence—they are glowing energy fields, standing against a background of darkness and chaos. These works amplify the difference between life and an environment that seeks to deny it. Mary Ellen Bitner (left) and Evelyn Bless examine two of these spirit works, each depicting three figures that draw strength from each other against the emptiness around them.

Integrity

We all need examples of how to live life with integrity. In the photo, artist Bob Barancik and Mary Ellen Bitner, Art Curator, look at two portraits of people who spoke out about the human condition: Jan Karski and Andrei Sakharov.

Jan Karski, a Polish Catholic, was a resistance leader who entered the Jewish ghettos to observe first-hand what was taking place. In 1942, he was the first person to report to the Polish, British and U.S. governments on the slaughter of Jews in Poland. He continued to urge heads of state to act; at the time, no one would listen to him.

Andrei Sakharov, known as the father of the Russian atomic bomb, became a spokesperson for human rights and against development of atomic weapons. Despite official Soviet opposition, Sakharov spoke out about the dangers of totalitarianism. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975.

For more information on the Carrollwood Cultural Center, see www.carrollwoodcenter.org. For information on upcoming art shows at the Center, see www.carrollwoodcenter.org/art-exhibits.html.