MAURICE SENDAK; AUTHOR, ILLUSTRATOR, EXHIBIT DESIGNER

Marion Pellicano Ambrose

Maurice Sendak, author and illustrator of childrens books, has created an exhibit for the Jewish Museum in New York City. The exhibit, called “An Artist Remembers:Hanukkah Lamps Selected by Maurice Sendak” is on display through January 29^th, 2012. Sendak, most famous for his story “Where the Wild Things Are”, the tale of little Max and his journey to the land of the Wild Things, selected 33 menorahs from the museums extensive collection to put on display.

In an interview, Sendak stated that the simplicity of the exhibition’s menorahs reminded him of the Holocaust. Sendak was born in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish immigrants. He described his childhood as “ a terrible situation” since much of his family died in the Holocaust.

According to Susan Braunstein, one of the organizers of the exhibition and curator of Archaeology and Judaica at The Jewish Museum

“For Maurice Sendak they (the lamps) are powerful repositories of memory, embodying stories that illuminate the past for new generations,” Braunstein told JointMedia News Service. “The lamps speak to us of their survival through time and of the people that once made or owned them.”

Braunstein said visitors will be able to understand the deep connections between the emotions they evoked in Sendak and his aesthetic choices, and selected visitor memories will periodically be posted on the museum’s website at www.thejewishmuseum.org.

Maurice Sendak is 83years old and his career has spanned over 60 years. He has won every important award given for children’s literature. He is a true American Treasure!