Name Edith Altman | ||
 | ||
Edith Altman (born 1931) is a German Jewish-American artist. She emigrated from Germany to the United States at a young age. Her work investigates the lowest and the highest levels of any hierarchy. She explores systems (governmental, financial, cultural, etc.) of power, and the powerless. Altman is "a student of Jewish mysticism", which has influenced her work.
Contents
Early life
Altman escaped Nazi Germany in 1938 as a little girl and emigrated to Chicago, Illinois. Her father Max Hittman (Markus Hüttmann) escaped from Buchwenwald, where he had been imprisoned since 1938. She lost her grandfathers and grandmothers on both sides of her family to the Holocaust. While in the United States, she attended Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, and was a resident at the UNO Art Gallery for the term of one month.
Influences
Altman's work is deeply influenced by both her experience as a Holocaust survivor and her Jewish faith. In her secular work, she places an emphasis on remembering the Holocaust as a central theme.