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Benton Murdoch Spruance
Jacob Wrestling with the Angel
, 1952
Lithograph
14¾"
x 19¼"
Collection of Sigmund R. Balka
Spruance depicts the eponymous characters in
a consensual sexual embrace. Evidence of any
struggle is missing; perhaps this scene takes place
after Jacob has won the wrestling match, and has
either received the angel’s blessing, or is in the
process of obtaining it. There are many interpre-
tations of this Genesis story due to its ambiguity
and mystical bent. While the maleness of Jacob’s
attacker is confirmed by the text, his identity is
never revealed. The assumption that Jacob
wrestled with an angel is inferred by the meaning
of the name “Israel” (wrestles with God), which
he receives after the struggle is over.
Linda Soberman
Empty Chairs
, 2012
Photographs, metal
43"
x 37"
This installation memorializes the eleven million
people – including Jews, homosexuals, gypsies, political
dissenters, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and disabled – who
were murdered during the Holocaust. The occasional
addition of a translucent face to the back of a chair
personalizes the memorial by giving an individual face
to the overwhelming numbers. Accompanying are
two wall hangings: a list of Nazi “undesirables” and
the colored triangles that were used to represent each
group. The profile of a young man is covered by pink
and yellow triangles in the six-pointed star shape:
a gay, Jewish boy.
