Images of My Childhood

About the Book

About the Author

Our deepest emotions bend the expressive capacities of the human language to the breaking point. In this book, child survivor of the Shoah, artist/composer Judith Evan Goldstein transforms tragedies and horrors, into multi-colored, richly textured images on wood and canvas. Her paintings palpably indict the perpetrators of the crimes against the Jewish people, providing a voice for the victims. Goldstein balances painful memories with testimony to the cherished new lives built by survivors. Joy, not evil, has the last word. Dr. Elena Procario-Foley, Ph.D., Driscoll Professor of Jewish-Catholic Studies, Iona College Chair of the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations New Rochelle, New York Judith’s art is a reflection of her painful journey and personal experiences during the Holocaust, daring and colorful as if done through the eyes of a child. She and her metaphorical art appear in the film, ”As Seen Through These Eyes” of which the title comes directly from Judith’s profound assertion, “What I’ve seen through these eyes, I made a promise to tell the world so that it will never happen again.” In this book, Judith unlocks the collective unconscious and reconstructs the unthinkable horrors of her past as a memorial. As a composer/lyricist and artist, Judith says, “I paint the images of my childhood and play the images I see.” Hilary Helstein, Director/Producer of “As Seen Through These Eyes” Judith Evan Goldstein's art and music have made a significant contribution on the pantheon of Holocaust art at the Florida Holocaust Museum and in the world. Her art, using bright colors, wonderful imagery and the underlying sadness of a childhood interrupted brings us closer to understanding the human condition. Her music, haunting or lively, rooted in traditions yet ever new, expresses the very heart of memory. Judith's work, most of all, makes the incomprehensible, accessible. The visual, the auditory, the non-verbal expression of this fine and talented artist being understanding of the Holocaust to audiences regardless of language, disability or experience. In her work is truth. Museum Director and Curator Stephen M. Goldman Florida Holocaust Museum St. Petersburg, Florida Judith uses her painting and music as a way to communicate her childhood memories of the past in the Vilna Ghetto and concentration camps. Her technique, collage/mixed media and painting, invites the viewer into her tormented past, while her more symbolic work speaks to the spirit of the Jews under the most adverse condition. Judith also raises the question of whether art about the Shoah can be colorful, even beautiful. Dr. Stephen Feinstein, Director Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies University of Minnesota Judith Evan Goldstein is one of the most multi-talented people that I know. She is an accomplished artist, composer, musician, singer, writer, poet and lecturer. Besides her creative abilities, Judith has overcome her trials and tribulations by turning them into triumphs. She is someone I truly admire. Chana Benjamin President and Director of New Century Artists, Inc., Chelsea, New York