Yahrzeit Lamp/Kristallnacht 

Linda Gissen
Kiln-fused, enameled and slumped glass; engraved bronze and copper direct welded metals
USA, 1992
Gift of the Artist

Gissen was one of 1000 artists who responded to the invitation to create work that expressed remembrance of the Holocaust, and specifically Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) for a publication entitled Artists Confronting the Inconceivable. Kristallnacht occurred on the night of November 9 to November 10, 1938, when Nazis in Germany torched synagogues, vandalized Jewish homes, schools, and businesses, and killed close to 100 Jews. Gissen won a bronze award for her piece, and made this statement in 1992: “This Yahrzeit (memorial) sculpture incorporates pieces of glass as a central element and theme. Intertwined in the shards are engraved memories of lost loved ones, barbed wire and an admonition: ‘Zachor’ (remember). The bronze figures behind the barbed wire and the smoke images enameled onto the glass address the reality of Kristallnacht and the inconceivable horrors that followed. The Yahrzeit candle, which Jews traditionally light on the anniversary of a loved one’s death, is lit to remember and memorialize the Kristallnacht.” Asked to comment on the piece in 2013, Gissen, who did not personally experience the Holocaust, stated: “It was my hope that in today’s world we would still not be facing similar issues of hatred and intolerance that we memorialize in this lamp. It seems that almost daily we learn of hatred and prejudice and fear of groups and most are of no harm to anyone. The smashing of religious icons and burning of holy manuscripts is still going on almost daily and not only in countries overseas, but here in the U.S. where we have prided ourselves for our tolerance and acceptance of others. Not a day goes by when most of us don’t hear a hateful remark directed at ‘the other.’”