ticketsMember | Make a donation

The Nazis

1998
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Described by a critic as “a pitfall out of which nobody scrambles intact,” The Nazis presents the viewer with a conundrum: if the horror of the Holocaust is truly beyond our ability to represent it, then where did the stereotypical image of the leather-clad, monocle-and-scar-wearing Nazi come from? Implicit in Uklański’s provocation is the uncomfortable fact that more people get their image of the Holocaust from the movies and television than historical study and commemoration. Collectively and unconsciously, Uklański implies, the portrayal of evil peddled by Hollywood carries the uncomfortable truth of our inability to face reality without the distorting lens of fantasy.

For reasons of space, this installation includes 117 of the 164 panels.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Nazis
  • Artist: Piotr Uklański (Polish, born Warsaw, 1968)
  • Date: 1998
  • Medium: Chromogenic and gelatin silver prints
  • Dimensions: Height: 14 in. (35.6 cm)
    Width: 10 in. (25.4 cm)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Collection of Danielle and David Ganek
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs