The Nazi Drawings

In the mid-1960s, while serving as the head of the printmaking school at the University of Iowa, artist Mauricio Lansky created a series of 33 life-sized drawings entitled "The Nazi Drawings." Lansky had viewed a U.S. Army documentary about the Nazi death camps and, understandably disturbed by what he saw, responded both as an artist and as a human being by creating a series of visuals that evoke the evil and the horror of man's inhumanity to man. Even on video, the drawings, which are stylistically reminiscent of the paintings of the English artist Francis Bacon, carry a frighteningly sinister aura, delivering a visceral impact that hits the viewer on both a conscious and a subconscious level. Filmmaker Lane Wyrick has done a credible job of presenting the drawings, and while his choice to show many of the pieces rather than dwell on a few prime examples is an arguable one, the cumulative effect is nevertheless quite powerful. Considering that most will never see "The Nazi Drawings" in person, this documentary provides a good summary of the series and of Lansky's motivation for creating it. Recommended. [Note: this is also being sold to consumers on the www.nazidrawings.com website for $24.95.] Aud: H, C, P. (P. Van Vleck)