Kinderstern 1996

Imi Knoebel made this painted aluminum sculpture, Kinderstern, as a reproduction of a window in the Jewish school of Hamburg, Germany. In 1938, this school, along with many Jewish institutions, was forcibly closed down by the Nazi regime. Knoebel’s work can be understood in relation to Germany’s Vergangenheitsbewältigung, or working through the past. As Germany reckons with the atrocities of the Second World War, artists such as Knoebel grapple with the cultural legacy of that period. Note how Knoebel transforms the star of David, which Jewish people were forced to wear during the Holocaust, into an abstract and aesthetically pleasing sculpture. Art historians have debated whether this transformation is a form of redemption or a gesture of appropriation. What do you think? Historical archives and academic literature can provide further insight.