Artists respond to Trumpists' barbaric immigration policies

From the "13 Artists on: Immigration" article in today's New York Times Style Magazine: Art Spiegelman's "A Warm Welcome," 2015. CreditPortrait by Phil Penman. Artwork courtesy of the artist. 

Art Spiegelman ("Maus: A Survivor's Story") was one of the 13 artists asked by the NYT to respond to current U.S. immigration issues. An immigrant himself, he has a few things to say about his own experience, and the above illustration:

I first saw the Statue of Liberty in October 1950 while perched high on my father’s shoulders. My parents, survivors of Hitler’s death camps, had been granted immigration visas to the United States, and all the passengers were crowded on the foredeck of the Gripsholm as we approached the harbor. I was less than 3 years old when my father excitedly pointed at the giant lady standing in the water to welcome us to New York. I was suitably awed until we got closer and was disappointed to see that she was “just” a statue.

"Maus" was probably the first graphic novel I read, and it took me awhile to get to it. It was after I wandered into an exhibit of Spiegelman's work at the Rollins College Gallery in Winter Park, Fla. It was about a decade ago. I thought of graphic novels as bloated comic books. "Maus" taught me otherwise. Something about seeing the exhibition-size artwork arrayed around the gallery got to me. I know quite a bit about the Holocaust but something about Jews as mice -- and Nazis as cats -- got to me. I recommend it highly. The issues  echo down the years to 2018. It's tempting to equate any fascist behavior to the Nazis. But Trump's cruel, racist actions are happening right now in the U.S., not in 1943 Germany or Poland. 

WYO Shakespeare Festival Company explores "the quality of mercy" Saturday in Cheyenne

Shylock, Portia, Antonio and the crew from the Wyoming Shakespeare Festival Company come to Cheyenne Saturday for a production of "The Merchant of Venice." Curtain rises outdoors at 5 p.m. in the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens. It's free -- bring friends, a picnic, folding chair and an umbrella.

The WSFC works out of Lander and tours the state each summer with a different offering of The Bard. Friday evening, the troupe faced severe thunderstorm warnings in Torrington. But nature's elements don't faze the WSFC. Last July, the players were soaked to the bone as they weathered Cheyenne's only serious thunderstorm in the summer of '12. "King Lear" never looked so good or so wet.

The players are led by Diane Springford, who received a Governor's Arts Award for her efforts. The players are volunteers who devote many hours to rehearsals and travel. Have you ever been involved in local theatre? I have, and am continually amazed by the devotion of actors, directors, costumers, back stage crew, set builders, ticket takers, etc. It takes a village to put on a show. The reward? Putting on a great show. It feeds the ego and challenges you in ways you never anticipated. As in any artistic pursuit, there are good performances and bad ones. You get this sinking feeling when you blow a line or miss a cue. A good performance brings applause and euphoria. 

Shylock is a controversial figure among Shakespeare's characters. This intro was on the title page of the first quarto:  

The most excellent History of the Merchant of Venice. With the extreme cruelty of Shylock the Jew towards the Merchant....

Shylock, the Jewish money lender, is seen through the eyes of a playwright in 1596 Christian England. In the play, set in Venice, Shylock can only be redeemed by converting to Christianity. At the time, the Inquisition was still in effect in Italy and most of Catholic Europe.  

I see the play through the eyes of a 2013 American, one who knows about pogroms and the Holocaust. Today's audiences have to push beyond ourselves to experience the lives of these historic characters and to marvel at Shakespeare's language. As Portia says:

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes...

Mercy.

See you in the gardens this evening. 

"Who do they say I am? Interfaith perspectives on Jesus" begins May 23

Whistle Stop Film Festival stops at Mt. Sinai Synagogue in Cheyenne

From Wyoming Community Media's Whistle Stop Film Festival:

Mt. Sinai Synagogue in Cheyenne will present a double feature of two short documentary films on Saturday, Nov. 3, 7 p.m.  The films are:

Shanghai Ghetto (95 minutes): A gentle, loving accounting of 20,000 mostly German Jews who were able to escape the Nazi's before World War II started and go to Shanghai, China, where the Japanese were in control of that city.

Visas and Virtues (30 minutes): 1997 Oscar-winning short by Chris Tashima. Haunted by the sight of hundreds of Jewish refugees outside the consulate gates, a Japanese diplomat and his wife, at the beginning of World War II, must decide how much they are willing to risk. Inspired by a true story, this Academy Award® winning portrait gracefully captured in period black and white by noted cinematographer Hiro Narita poignantly pays tribute to the rescuer of 6,000 Jews from the Holocaust.

The movies will be shown in the Social Hall at the Synagogue. For more information, go to
http://mtsinaicheyenne.org/special_events.asp, or contact Jaimee Sodosky, 303-503-1844

Mt. Sinai Synagogue sponsors "Jews from Eastern Europe" exhibit, Jewish cuisine and a post-show talk Sept. 29 at "Fiddler on the Roof"

The most powerful musical theatre has origins in human misery. "Les Miserables" centers around survival on the mean streets of Paris and the struggle for freedom by the disenfranchised masses. "West Side Story" is about New York City street gangs and immigration. "Fiddler on the Roof" is about pogroms targeting Eastern European and Russian Jews. Lurking in the background of "Fiddler" is the eventual extermination of The Six Million. 

The Cheyenne Little Theatre Players will open its production of "Fiddler on the Roof" on Friday, September 28. The show will run for 10 performances: September 28, 29, 30 & October 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 14, 15. Tickets are going fast so call the Box Office at (307) 638-6543 today or order online at www.cheyennelittletheatre.org.

There are several special events/activities associated with "Fiddler on the Roof." One of them is sponsored by the Mt. Sinai Synagogue. Several members of the Mt. Sinai congregation are in the cast. The Synagogue will present an exhibit of local Jews with families from Eastern Europe, compiled by Mt. Sinai Librarian and Historian Dorothy Feldman. The exhibit will be on display in the lobby of the Mary Godfrey Playhouse at Pershing and Windmill throughout the run of the show. It opens September 28.

On Saturday, September 29, Mt Sinai Sisterhood will offer Jewish treats (Hamantashen, Rugelach, and other baked goods) at 6:30 P.M. before the 7:30 P.M. show. Donations will be accepted which will benefit the Cheyenne Little Theatre. Then, after that show, a free "Talk Back" session will be presented by the cast and Mt Sinai's Rabbi, Harley Karz-Wagman.

A closer look at Forrest King's "Remember, Heal & Hope" sculpture

HM earlier featured some photos of Forrest King's sculpture for the International Day of Peace ceremony Sept. 21. We thought a close-up and a description was also in order. This artwork could be variously described as a sculpture, an assemblage, or an installation. After making its debut at Peace Day in the Herschler Building, it will tour local churches and any other locale that would like to view the piece and hear the story behind it.

The materials in the sculpture came from representatives of local churches. They donated the items at the Sept. 11 commemoration held 9/11/11 in front of the Wyoming State Capitol.

Forrest organized his piece around the symbols of three religious traditions: the Christian cross, a Jewish tallit or shawl and a set of Muslim prayer beads. A firefighter's helmet tops the sculpture and it's propped up with an EMT's ready box. To illustrate the international storm caused by 9/11, the shawl and prayer beads have a wind-whipped look and are forever frozen in place that way. Not sure of Forrest's techniques, but the sculpture has the look of a traditional bronze monument.

Arrayed below that are three panels that say "Remember," "Heal" and "Hope." A prayer candle sits above an old hymnal opened to "My Country 'Tis of Thee" and "America the Beautiful."

It takes time and contemplation and talent to come up with a work of art in 11 days. We would all do well to take some time to contemplate what the artist has wrought. If you're interested in bringing it and the artist to a church or synagogue or mosque or school near you, go to Forrest King's Facebook page.

UPDATE: Cheyenne Interfaith Council 9/11 commemoration

September 11, 2011 - 10th Anniversary of 9/11. The theme of the Cheyenne Interfaith Council Observance is “Remembrance, Healing, and Hope." On the 11th, there will be a presentation by Hands in Harmony starting at 2:45 PM at the Capitol. The Interfaith Service will begin at 3:00 PM with a program that includes music, readings from the Quran, Hebrew Bible, Gospel, Greek Orthodox, and other traditions... Each faith community is asked to bring a meaningful “broken” item to the September 11 commemoration. All broken items will be brought forward and used by a local artist, Forest King, to create a work of art symbolizing the transition from brokenness to hope. Please come! 

Christian, Jewish and Muslim views of Noah and the flood Monday at "Bibles and Beer"

Noah's Ark, oil on canvas painting by Edward Hicks, 1846, Philadelphia Museum of Art (Wikimedia Commons)

From Rodger McDaniel, Cheyenne's indefatigable minister and activist:

"Bibles and Beer" on Monday, July 11, 5:30 p.m. at Uncle Charlie’s Grill & Tavern in Cheyenne. Happy hour Bible study... inviting all open-minded over 21 persons interested in learning what the Bible says! We are talking about Noah and the Flood...the Christian view as well as the Jewish and Muslim. Join us!

Look up Rodger on Facebook and RSVP.

Hatching rescue plans for Florida's elderly voters

Chris and I left Florida 30 years ago for the Rocky Mountains. During those three decades, the changes in our old home state have been enormous. I'm not going to look up the statistics because it's Sunday morning and I still haven't had enough coffee. But it's no secret that millions of people have moved to Florida looking for warm weather, pristine beaches, verdant open spaces, and peace and quiet. By moving there in droves, they've destroyed all but the first one. That's the way it goes. We've had similar problems in the West's beautiful places. We're short on beaches, but we boast mountains that will knock your socks off. People buy property to be near those mountains. Others follow and pretty soon you can't see the mountains for the mansions and woodsmoke, and open spaces are pushed further back into the wilderness until the Bush Administration gets its hands on the place for oil and gas drilling.

I digress. Chris and I attended high school and college in Florida, met and decided to go West. We get back to Florida as often as possible to see family and friends. My eight brothers and sisters live in Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, Orlando, Palm Bay and Tallahassee. Chris's lone sister and her husband live in Green Cove Springs near the St. John's River. Our parents have passed on, but we still have aunts and uncles and cousins scattered around the state. Chris's relatives from New Jersey and New York all migrated south in retirement, and now all of her cousins live on the Florida West Coast.

The state's big enough to accommodate all of our relatives and millions of others. Sort of. Retirees used to flock to the state and settle among their own kind. Rust Belt retirees (back when there were jobs) settled in St. Pete and environs on the West Coast, Southerners tended to land in the Panhandle along the Redneck Riviera, and New Yorkers, especially those of the Jewish persuasion, flocked to Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and other towns and cities of Dade and Broward counties. In the 2000 election, we saw some of these former New Yorkers trying to make sense of the hanging chads. They looked really old and confused. Some say they cost us the election and gave the world Dubya. We all know it's more complicated than that.

Sarah Silverman of TV fame has decided to help these voters in the next election. Not with the hanging chads -- those don't exist anymore (at least I don't think they do). Silverman is urging those in her Jewish age cohort to travel to Florida before the election and help convince their parents and grandparents to vote for Barack Obama. She and others involved in "The Great Schlep" feel that misinformation has confused their family members and they might end up voting for McCain instead (or by accident). The McCain camp, of course, has been encouraging these misconceptions by his own misleading ads. So Silverman & Company came up with this plan, which I think is brilliant. I am wondering, though, how hard-headed New Yorkers, no matter their age, will response to youngsters flying into Miami to tell them what to do. But it's worth a shot. Just a few votes may affect the entire election.

I'm wondering how our elderly relatives would respond to a similar plan. There's a major problem right off the bat. While Jewish retirees from New York almost always vote Democratic, that's not the case for Catholics from New Jersey. Most of our family members are diehard Republicans. Abortion is the main issue, of course. Birth control, too, as well as the Catholic Church's insistence on centralized authority. That issue rubs most believers in democracy the wrong way. You'd think that "States' Rights Republicans" would bridle at being told what to do by an oligarch in Rome who wears white robes and designer red shoes. Rome's in Europe, that dreadful place. And you can be pro-life when it comes to fetuses but support a foreign policy that vaporizes entire Iraqi families with not-so-smart bombs. But I guess it's O.K. to be a "Cafeteria Catholic" if you're a Republican.

So, "The Great Schlep" won't work for our oldsters, even if it had a different name, such as "Bringing Democracy to Old Benighted Republicans." Perhaps, as nest eggs continue to dwindle in tough economic times, we could frame it as some sort of Bush rescue plan. "We're from the Bush Administration and we're here to help." Considering the past eight years, that could cause a panic, even among Florida Republicans.

Meet the DNC delegates: Jason Bloomberg

Cowboy hats and ballcaps outnumber yarmulkes as the headgear of choice in Cheyenne.

Wyoming's Jewish population probably falls somewhere between the numbers for Alaskan natives and New York Yankees fans. However, Judaism has a long history in Cheyenne, according to the Wyoming State Historical Society.

German Jewish merchants came to Cheyenne starting in 1867.... The first Permanent Jewish Synagogue in Wyoming was erected in 1915 by Cheyenne’s Mt. Sinai Congregation. Jewish settlement in Wyoming has been called the furthermost reaches of the Jewish Diaspora since it represented settlement far removed from the limitations that had been placed on Judaism in Germany and Russia. Jewish participation in the life of Cheyenne and Wyoming has made the slogan “The Equality State” more meaningful.

Dr. Jason Bloomberg wears a yarmulke and also speaks out, another factor that increases his visibility among normally taciturn Wyomingites. The first time I encountered the activist physician was at the Democratic Party caucus in March. He was adamant about the country's crying need for a sensible health care plan. His passionate speech in support of Hillary Clinton's health plan over that of Barack Obama's likely clinched Bloomberg a slot as a Clinton delegate to the Wyoming Democratic convention in Jackson. While there, he was elected as a Clinton delegate to the Dem shindig in Denver.

It's tough to pin down this busy citizen for an interview. But he did talk to reporter Lindsey Erin Kroskob for a story in today's Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. No mention is made of Democratic Party politics or the upcoming convention. It's possible he wasn't asked. It's also possible he was asked and replied and the reporter and/or editor chose not to include that in the story. Who knows?

Dr. Bloomberg runs Access Health Clinic, a one-man operation that caters to low-income and uninsured patients.

He told the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle:

"I look at health care and access to health care to be as much a basic human right as food, housing, heat in winter and cool in the extremes of summer."

National statistics show that from 17-20 percent of the population is uninsured, according to Bloomberg. If you apply that to Cheyenne with its population of around 55,000, that means up to 11,000 of your friends and neighbors and their kids could be uninsured. Statewide, that number is close to 100,000. Shameful statistics.

Bloomberg doesn't accept insurance to cut down on processing costs demanded by insurers. He does accept Medicare and Medicaid. Office visits are inexpensive, and the doctor offers a 5 percent discount to those patients who keep healthy by eating right, quitting smoking, exercising, and kicking drug or alcohol habits. Here's how he summed up his approach:

"What I'm trying to convey is that their health is worth it for me to receive a smaller amount of fees for the services I provide.... If you are serious about taking care of yourself, I'm serious about helping you."

Dr. Bloomberg stresses personal responsibility when it comes to health. That sounds like a Wyoming trait to me. I'll bet you can find Republicans who agree with that approach.

But he also knows that health care is a "basic human right" and that insurance companies are a big part of the problem. But Republicans keep insisting that we should put our trust in the same insurance conglomerates that made this mess. Wyoming has a Republican U.S. Senator, John Barrasso, that also is a physician. He's a supporter of Wyo. Sen. Enzi's ten-point health care plan, which touts private health savings plans and other crapola. And, in a recent Wyoming Public Radio forum featuring three of the Republican U.S. House candidates, they all used the term "single-payer health plan" with the same tone Wyomingites reserve for venomous snakes and PETA activists. It's more of the same for these Republicans....

That attitude is reflected on a bumper sticker I saw on a pick-up with Colorado plates driving down a Cheyenne street: "No Thanks, Keep the Change." The "o" is "No" was the distinctive red, white and blue Obama logo.

Art Spiegelman in Laramie April 30-May 1

During a trip to Orlando a few years ago, I was waiting for my sister to get off work so I wandered over to Rollins College. It's one of those bucolic and pricey southern liberal arts colleges, one with its own waterskiing lake. It also has a great art museum. When I visited, it was displaying artwork by Art Spiegelman, author of the illustrated novel Maus. I hadn't yet read the Pulitzer prize-winning book but was fascinated by Spiegelman's drawings and the story behind the book, which features Jewish mice and Nazi cats.

I'll have a chance to talk to Spiegelman when he comes to the University of Wyoming campus in Laramie April 30-May 1. The comic artist will give a lecture, "Comix 101," at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30 at the Cavalryman Supper Club, 4425 S. 3rd Street (Hwy. 287). Afterward, he will answer questions from the audience. The event is free and open to the public. On Thursday, May 1, from noon-1:30 p.m., Spiegelman will discuss his work at the Cavalryman. This is free, but seating is limited. For tickets, call 721-2580 ext. 5456 or email albypr@will.state.wy.us.

In advance of Spiegelman's visit, on Wednesday, April 23, 5 p.m., the Albany County Public Library in Laramie will host a book discussion of Maus, led by Dr. Clifford Marx of the UW English Dept. To sign up, contact Kathy Marquis at kmarquis@will.state.wy.us. UW Libraries will provide free copies of Maus for the discussion.

In 2005, Time Magazine named Art Spiegelman one of their "Top 100 Most Influential People." He is credited with inventing the modern graphic novel. In 1980 he and his wife Françoise Mouly founded the acclaimed avant-garde comics magazine RAW. In 1992, Spiegelman won the Pulitzer Prize for Maus. Maus II continued the remarkable story of his parents' survival of the Nazi regime and their lives later in America.

From 1993-2003 Spiegelman was a staff artist and writer for The New Yorker, where he produced some of the magazine's best covers, including the stark black-on-black memorial of the World Trade Center. That image appears again on his book In the Shadow of No Towers (2004), about the 9/11 attacks and their aftermath. It was selected by The New York Times Book Review as one of the 100 Notable Books of 2004, and has appeared on many bestseller lists.

Spiegelman's visit to Laramie is sponsored by the Wyoming Arts Council, where I work, the UW MFA Program in Creative Writing, the Wyoming Humanities Council, UW Libraries, UW Office of the President, UW Art Department, Albany County Public Library Foundation and the Laramie Jewish Community Center "in memory of UW Political Science Professor Dr. Fred Homer."

In the fall, the Albany County Public Library will hold a series of discussions of graphic novels with Jewish themes, including work by Spiegelman, Will Eisner and Harvey Pekar. To sign up, contact Kathy Marquis at kmarquis@will.state.wy.us.