The Majdan ek State Museum Droga Mêczennikó w Majdanka 6 7 2 0 - 3 2 5 L u b l i n, P o l a n d
PRE S S REL E A S E
SH RIN E FO R AN AN ON Y M O U S VICTIM JUNE 19 9 9
Majdanek was a Nazi conc e ntration ca m p in Lublin, Poland. 360,0 0 0 peopl e of ov er 50 different nation alities wh er e exter min at e d there. It was sec o n d in size after Ausch witz.
The Majdanek State Museum was esta blish e d in 194 4 on the actual site of the
conc e ntration ca m p following liberation. It is the first institution of this kind in the world, as well as on e of the largest ce m et eri e s in the history of mankind. Today Majdanek rem ain s as a sym b ol of past inhum a nity and suffering.
On July 23, 19 9 9 to coincide with the 55th annivers ary of the liberation of the ca m p, an openin g will take plac e in on e of the original barrack s, # 47 (Proviantlag er II). The con c e pt for this per m a n e nt installation, Shrine for An Anony m o u s Victim, co m e s from the New York-bas e d artist Tadeus z Myslowski who was born and raised in Lublin. Myslowski invited for this collab or ation co m p o s e r Zbigniew Bargielski, also of Lublin and now working in Vienna, Tom a s z Pietrasie wicz director of Theat er NN Brama Grodzka in Lublin, and, mo st inspiration ally, Danuta Brzosk o Mêdryk, survivor of Majdanek, as well as activist and author of Matylda , a rec ounting of her own experien c e s in the ca m p.
Myslowski will creat e an installation with two platform s in the cent er of Barrack # 47. On on e platform, 52 barb e d- wired bulbs will be susp e n d e d from the ceiling, ea c h 32 cm in dia m et er, orga niz e d in four rows of thirteen. Every bulb will be lit faintly, the light repres e nting the enduring spirit of the victims . On the sec o n d platform there will be 72 barb e d- wire bulbs orga niz e d in four rows of eighte e n , but this time they are unlit and plac e d on the ground, signifying the silenc e of the dea d. At the far end of the barrack, Myslowski will creat e an altar m e a nt for m e ditation wh er e twelv e drawings, Black Hole , will be display e d.
Barrack # 47 is situated within the mus e u m so that it is the last spa c e experien c e d by the visitor.
Ultimately it will stay as a lasting ho m a g e to all the victims of Majdan ek. It is m e a nt to sp e a k for tho s e who cann ot and to stand as a telling remind er of the perpetual nature of injustice which cann ot be bound by time or plac e. In this spirit, Shrine for an Anony m o u s Victim is to be a non- religious, multinational, and multi-lingual dedic ation.
As explain ed by Majdanek Museum Director Edward Balaw eid er, the effect of this collab or ation will be to clean s e and strength e n on e's entire experien c e of the mus e u m .
Irena Hoch m a n Fine Art Ltd 1 1 0 0 Madison Avenue New York, NY 1 0 0 2 8 T 1 21 2 772 22 2 7 F 1 21 2 772 22 2 2
