Through the Conversation of a Young Boy and his Great-Grandfather and the Sensitive, Evocative Animation Art of Jeff Scher
New York, NY– A new, family-friendly installation presented by the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust features the HBO documentary The Number on Great-Grandpa’s Arm and original artwork created for the film by acclaimed artist Jeff Scher. The special installation The Number on Great-Grandpa’s Arm opens on January 21, in advance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27,) at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. The installation will be on view through April 29, 2018.
The 18-minute film can be seen in the gallery beginning on January 28, following its broadcast debut on HBO on January 27. When 10-year-old Elliott asks his 90-year-old great-grandfather, Jack, about the number tattooed on his arm, he sparks an intimate conversation about Jack’s life that spans happy memories of childhood in Poland, the loss of his family, surviving Auschwitz, and finding a new life in America.
Elliot and Jack’s tender exchange is woven with historical footage and hand-painted animation to tell a heartbreaking story of Jewish life in Eastern Europe before and during the Holocaust.
Jeff Scher’s rotoscope animation sensitively and evocatively brings the film’s archival footage and photos to life. The installation features 24 of Scher’s original watercolors and 400 digitized images drawn from 20 sequences used in the film.
The installation contains two additional panels showing companion videos produced by HBO. One panel features powerful conversations between Holocaust survivors and young people—members of “the fourth generation.” The other shows a short video about the animation process.
Visitors of all ages are invited to explore this incredible work, view the film, and experience the power of survivors’ stories. The installation is recommended for ages 8 through adult.