Images(2)

Untitled (Women and SS Guards)

Artist David Levinthal (American, born 1949)

Date1994

MediumDye diffusion print

DimensionsImage: 25 × 20 3/4 in. (63.5 × 52.7 cm)
Support: 27 5/8 × 22 in. (70.2 × 55.9 cm)
Mat: 30 × 25 in. (76.2 × 63.5 cm)

ClassificationsPhotograph

Credit LineGift of Bobbie Foshay, 2017

Object number2017.24.20

DescriptionIn foreground are two figures, one at left of composition and one at right, wearing military uniforms with the insignia of the Nazi party, boots, and helmets. In middle ground is a line of three nude women, arranged from left to center of picture as if parading in front of the soldiers. Background is primarily red and unfocused with two spotlights.
eMuseum Notes

Emuseum Notes

This photograph comes from a larger series titled “Mein Kampf” (“my struggle” in German and the title of a 1925 book by Adolf Hitler) in which the artist uses toy soldiers and other figurines to set up photographic tableaux that examine of the rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany. Though we realize this is a constructed scene, the composition and lighting create a powerful and disturbing image. His use of toys and staging reminds us of the fragility of memory and the inadequacy of facts in the face of major historical events. In trying to comprehend the devastating consequences of Hitler’s vision, even having a historical record leaves us with an out-of-focus picture of how it came to be.

On View

Not on view

Terms