NAOMI BLAKE, who was a sculptor, an Auschwitz survivor and a human rights campaigner died in 2020 aged 94. She had the most incredible life-story. In spite of her Holocaust experiences, Naomi believed “there is something positive in the human figure – there is a lot of good in people…with my past, if I were pessimistic, somehow, it wouldn’t have been worthwhile surviving”, thus proving her affirmation of hope and faith in humanity.
She was born as Naomi Dum in the former Czechoslovakia, the youngest of the ten children. Most of the family did not survive the war but she and her sister were put to work in a munitions factory where they learned to sabotage the bombs they were making. After their camp was liberated, they managed to escape from a death march while being fired upon by retreating German soldiers. She made her way to Palestine where she was imprisoned by the British and later helped to defend the new sate of Israel. She was wounded by shrapnel while a sub-lieutenant in the IDF. She met and married a German refugee, Asher Blake and they moved to Britain where she learned to sculpt. She is widely exhibited, with 50 of her works currently on public display all over Britain. They include Norwich, Bristol and Portsmouth Cathedrals, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Norris Lea, Kingsbury, Oxford and Leeds Synagogues. Her sculptures are also in The Hebrew and Tel Aviv Universities.
I'm listening to The Kinks singing Ray Davies's evergreen piece of social commentary, The Village Green Preservation Society. You can here it here.
8 comments:
I love paintings, textiles, architecture, gold and silver etc.. but am not normally a huge fan of sculpture. The humans are often a bit rugged or the material is ugly.
Naomi Blake's sculpture, on the other hand, seems smooth, thoughtful, hopeful and emotional. Refugee at Bristol Cathedral, for example, is hopeful about humanity. Thankfully Naomi lived a good and long life.
Hi Bazza - I remember reading about her and learning a little about her life story. How very prized must be your Mother and Child sculpture - it's delightful ... especially as you have artistic/creative talent. She looks so positive in that picture ...
Your reference to the Village Green Preservation Society - reminded me of their reference to the Custard Pie Appreciation Consortium ... I wrote about them at the beginning of the pandemic ... I would hope the world can come to its senses in 2023 ... cheers and with thoughts for a happy 2023 - Hilary
Hels: Naomi's work is all the more remarkable because it reflects her incredible attitude and passion for life and looking only at the positive. The piece I have is a maquette, which I rotate every so often because it's beautiful from all angles - I certainly couldn't afford one of the larger works! 'Refugee' is so very typical of her work and has extra meaning because she herself had once been a refugee.
Hilary: She was the most positive of people; to have been in a concentration camp and then to have made her way to Israel, then to London was quite remarkable.
That Kinks song is a real testament to the sociological side of Ray Davies's songwriting.
She lived to a good age ...
That looks a very nice piece of sculpture.
Happy New Year Wishes.
All the best Jan
Hi Bazza! She sounds like an amazing woman! My own parents were Holocaust survivors. Mum is still around, about the same age as Naomi. Dad didn’t do art work, except making jewellery for us, but taught himself a lot of stuff, to the point where he was irritated by a silversmithing course he tried, in which the teacher said, “This is a hammer.” She had very little to teach Dad, who had already taught himself silversmithing.
LTM: Happy New Year to you too!
Sue: Hello! I'd say that making jewellery IS a form of artistic practise. It's great that your Mum is still around!
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