Native Detroiter Todd Weinstein Opens Photo Exhibit at Holocaust Museum

Noted photographer Todd Weinstein, a native Detroiter who now lives in New York, unveiled his photo exhibit on Sunday, "Light Is My Voice: Images, Legends, and Abstractions" at the Holocaust Memorial Center on Orchard Lake in Farmington Hills.

The museum describes the exhibit this way:

"Todd Weinstein’s moving photography explores themes including the reemergence of Jewish life in modern day Germany, the prophets of the Bible, and the legend of the 36 Righteous Ones whose merit keeps the world from destruction in times of peril.                                                           

A synagogue in Cologne, Germany. (Todd Weinstein photo)

On Sunday afternoon, Weinstein spoke before a crowd at the museum's auditorium, talking about his photos and his early days in Detroit. He first lived around the Dexter-Davison area on Detroit's west side. In 1956, at age five, he moved to Oak Park and later graduated from Oak Park High. He then attended the Center for Creative Studies and later moved to New York where he honed his photography skills working with some legendary photographers.

He also talked about his father (along with Bernard Adelson) opening "The Mummp," (spelled with three Ms), a teenage nightclub near the Northland Mall in Southfield where such noted musicians as  Bob Seger and Ted Nugent played.

The holocaust exhibit, which is open to the public, will run through Dec. 22.

The Observer & Eccentric, in its "Hometown" section, wrote about the exhibit:

 Weinstein spent six years photographing the reemergence of Jewish life in modern-day Germany. This project helped Weinstein understand how Holocaust survivors could go on with their lives in a country soaked with Jewish blood. It also gave him a deeper understanding of his own Jewish identity and heritage.

As Weinstein continued to document Jewish life in Western Europe after the Holocaust, he began to ask himself “What could have saved the Jews? What could have saved the world?” Weinstein began to think the 36 Righteous Ones of Jewish legend may hold the key. It is said the presence of these 36 keeps the world from destruction in times of peril. By photographing images of human faces and gestures he saw in stone, metal, glass, shadows, fragments and stains, Weinstein found a way to address the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust.                                                                      

Todd Weinstein chats with visitors at the museum after his talk Sunday.