November 11, 2014, 5:00 PM
On November 11, from 5-7 pm, American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center will present the Shoah Memorial Prague with introductory remarks by Madeleine Albright, Member of the Honorary Board of the Shoah Memorial Prague and former U.S. Secretary of State. The presentation will be followed by the Gallery Talk: Eugenic Minds with documentary filmmaker Pavel Štingl and artist Xenie Hoffmeisterová.
The exhibition Eugenic Minds is comprised of a documentary by Pavel Štingl, animations and paintings by Xenie Hoffmeisterová, and literary artwork by Patrik Ouředník. The exhibition offers a timeless meditation upon the abuse of the human pinnacles of science and education. Secondly, it addresses the question of academic careerism, which under totalitarian regimes reaches self-destructive proportions. The moving documentary, animations, and artwork delve into the definition of science and the situations when learning becomes a pseudo-science. The exhibition also uses historical sources regarding the dominant theme of the first half of the 20th century, centered on the Nazi era. Nazism here is not only an inexhaustible fount of drama from the time when the value of human being or not-being was seriously deformed, but it also provides examples of propaganda capable of visualizing a subject in an unprecedented manner. The project is coordinated by the Shoah Memorial Prague that is preparing the launch of the Holocaust Memorial in the Czech Republic. Eugenic Minds is the first presentation of the young NGO abroad. View this unforgettable exhibition that brings new perspectives on humanity.