Holocaust Project: From Darkness into Light (1985-93)

Judy Chicago first became interested in the subject of the Holocaust in 1984. Perhaps it was a combination of her enquiry into some of the consequences of male power; her long-standing interest in issues of power and powerless; along with a growing interest in the ways in which being Jewish had shaped both her art and her life that drew her towards this dark subject.

Whatever the explanation, her subsequent marriage to photographer Donald Woodman and their joint realization that they were utterly ignorant about both their Jewish heritage and the subject of the Holocaust plunged the couple into an eight year attempt to understand the evil and cruelty that seem to live so closely under the surface of civilizations – both past and present. The Holocaust Project traveled for ten years to both Jewish and non-Jewish institutions and selections from the project continue to be exhibited.

As Chicago wrote in the book that described the traveling exhibition:

“The Holocaust Project is…structured as a journey into the darkness of the Holocaust and out into the light of hope. It is based on the journey – intellectual, physical, and emotional – that Donald and I took…The exhibition and the book are structured around our belief that…confronting and trying to understand the Holocaust, as painful as that might be, can lead to a greatly expanded understanding of the world in which we live. Our hope is that this will contribute to a firm individual and collective commitment to take up the vast project of transforming ourselves and nurturing our humanity, thereby creating a more peaceful, equitable world.”

Selected work

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Installation views

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