She was, at her core, an artist, and her art spoke volumes about the Holocaust and her family that fled from persecution, along with her family that did not survive. As a byproduct of her artistry, she became a compelling theologian.
Renowned artist Carolyn Manosevitz passed away in Aspen on December 2 at the age of 81.
Ms. Manosevitz’ art was highly reflective of the Holocaust. Her parents fled from Ukraine in the 1940s and settled in Winnipeg, Canada. Her father, Alex Margulius, was the youngest of 12 children; his 11 siblings were unable to obtain visas and were eventually murdered.
“The Shoah was never talked about in our household,” Ms. Manosevitz wrote on her website.
“Nevertheless, I had invisible faces to go with the Yiddish names that I heard daily.
“I did not ask any questions. I was too scared.
“I discovered that, as was the case in so many other towns in the Ukraine, all the Jews in Kremenets were trucked to an open field, forced to dig their own graves, and were shot into them by their Ukrainian neighbors who collaborated with the Nazis.
“As a visual artist, I have backed into the world of theology. For several years, my art has been inspired by conversations I have had with ‘the second generation’: children of Holocaust survivors.”
Some of her artwork, previously displayed at Colorado Mountain College, was inspired by a trip to Ukraine in 2003. The series of art in the wake of that trip included gray images of faces whom Ms. Manosevitz imagined while touring the mass grave in Kremenets, where no Jews live now.
One exhibit called “A Search for Healing,” which consists of paper sculptures and three-dimensional paintings, was displayed at Manhattan (NY) College in 2014.
“Her artwork — three-dimensional paintings on paper and paper sculptures — addresses the human experience after a catastrophe,” wrote the nationwide program ArtShare in 2013. “In Manosevitz’ case, this catastrophe is the Shoah.”
Ms. Manosevitz described one particular, distressing episode in her life.
“On January 2, 1992, my oldest son boarded a plane to live in Berlin with a girl whose father had been a Nazi,” she wrote. “Long before, I had vowed never to set foot on German soil.
“That day (one of the most painful in my life), I found myself in my studio struggling to deal with my pain. I began a painting of an empty swing. All I could think about were all the people who died in the Shoah, who are not here to swing on the swings, walk in the parks, and so forth.
“I completed the painting in about a week.”
Ms. Manosevitz received art degrees from the University of Minnesota and the University of Texas, and her work was exhibited at educational and religious institutions across the US.
She taught at Colorado Mountain College, University of Texas, Austin Community College and Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, where she taught “Spirituality After the Holocaust.”
She held numerous symposiums in Aspen, creating dialogue with religious scholars of many faiths from around the world.
“I found healing in the face of the other, in dialogue with the other, in the compassion of the other and in the spirit of the other,” Ms. Manosevits wrote. “This healing and this dialogue has strengthened me as a Jew.
“It has taught me that people of different faith traditions can come together in search of answers and be fortified and renewed by the joint experience.”
In 2010, Ms. Manosevitz founded the Fund for Interfaith Understanding.
“Carolyn valued her connections with people, maintaining dialogue with her colleagues over many years,” her family said, “creating community with family and friends, new and old.
“She loved to celebrate life with friends, and share her passion for educating people about the Shoah.”
As Ms. Manosevitz wrote in January, 2014:
“The message that I strive to convey through my art is simple: We must walk hand in hand into the future — together.”
Ms. Manosevitz is survived by her husband Martin, whom Ms. Manosevits married in 1959. Other survivors are sons Bradley and Jason. A service was held Dec. 6 at the Chabad Jewish Community Center in Aspen, officiated by Rabbi Mendel Mintz. Burial was at Red Butte Cemetery in Aspen.
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