Impossible to Forget is a haunting, sobering, powerful, and stunning black and white photography show that just opened in Carlsbad at the well-known Cannon Art Gallery, adjacent to the public library. [the photograph here is taken from the artist's personal website and appears in the show]
I have been very impressed with the art offerings that this thriving town of 95,000 offers here in Southern California, which I call home, and it is one of the many things that attracts people to buy a home in Carlsbad.
In addition to the gallery (which offers multiple programs a year including family craft days [free] to accompany each show), the Friends of the Arts raises money to fund the 9 TGIF Jazz in the Park Seriesduring the summer. These events are free to the public and usually attract 3-4,000 attendees to one of the 3 local parks to enjoy dining al fresco and listed to great jazz, blues, and Latin music.
Anyhow, back to Impossible to Forget.
This show is an amazing retrospective of years of work by Michael Kenna, a British photographer (and now a resident of San Francisco), who captures the pain, suffering, sorrow and memories of 25 Nazi concentration camps (e.g., Dachau, Auschwitz, Sobibor, Treblinka) as they currently are today. Kenna's photography is stunning, technically and compositionally, and while the scenes are troubling, at the very least, he manages to create a show that is memorable on many levels - intellectually, emotionally, psychologically. The atrocities committed at these camps remain forever etched in our minds, and to relive them through this show is painful, yet to ignore the reality of what occurred is impossible.
If you are in the Carlsbad area, this show is a must see, in my opinion. It is a national exhibit and Carlsbad is the only stop in this area on the tour, which makes this show in our wonderful Cannon Gallery that much more impressive. One cannot view these amazing photos without having profound, and mixed, feelings. Do be careful about taking younger children - you may want to preview the show first, due to the theme.
Stop by his website to see some of the photos that are appearing.
