Artist’s Statement:  Timothy Valshtein, Psychology;Jewish Studies

           

Most comfortable with the medium of photography, I approached this project with the mindset of capturing the world through a lens. However, passivity, casual observation, and the occasional snap of a shutter proved to be an insufficient means to portray the life and times of Paul Shane. Paul is a walking encyclopedia and visits with him were equal parts history lectures, motivational speeches, and soapbox rants. Paul’s house, known by some as a repository for his father’s art, was densely packed with knowledge, memorabilia, and other eclectic Tchotchkes – much like Paul’s own personality. His house, full of life, became a major source of inspiration for me both stylistically and thematically.

 

The experience of creating my piece has been an one of great intimacy, both in historical material and personal emotion. While representing Paul’s life in this work, I needed to reconcile my own relationship with Communism as well. Communism has always been an ambiguous and inexplicable entity for me, and in interpreting Paul’s relation to Communism, I became more aware of my own. As a grandchild and son of Soviet Jewish emigrants, a large part of this project has been devoted to plunging into the depths of a topic often approached with great reticence and elucidating and making sense of the contradictions, the gaps, and the horrors. Our families, while never perfectly aligned enough to meet in real life, nearly crossed paths in a surreal, ethereal space. From my roots of Soviet Jewry to his of Jewish-Ukrainian heritage, our pasts share great kinship, and I infused this relationship into the piece.

 

I attempted to crystallize the chaotic, whimsical, and erudite nature of Paul’s essence within my piece. Mosaic fragments and short vignettes from our lives are visible and interspersed throughout. My aim was to create something that reflected the bold and inquisitive, yet childlike and playful nature of Paul. The finished product is an effort to encapsulate Paul, and the year I spent reflecting, learning, and observing with him.