Steven Bariban
Immigration is a difficult process. It is tiring, costly, and time consuming. However, men and women hoping to live the American dream are willing to sacrifice a great deal for that opportunity. My family, which included my parents, brother, and grandparents (mother’s side), experienced immigration in 1981 when moving from the former Soviet Union to the United States.
In my quilt, these two countries are represented by two distinct semicircles (the USSR featuring a yellow hammer, sickle, and star with a red background, and America showing red, white, and blue stars and stripes). My family stayed in Italy for a few weeks until they were allowed to fly to the United States. A smaller circle with the colors of the Italian flag is in the center, since it was the midpoint of their immigration.
From a distance, the quilt appears to be a basketball court layout. This design embodies the difficulty and competition faced in the long process. Russian Jews moving to America required special sponsorship from organizations located in various states, and my family was lucky enough to find support from New York. The blue background represents a mixture of air and water, which stands for the traveling from the Soviet Union to Italy and from Italy to America via plane.
Two triangles near the Soviet region on the quilt show the difficulty of practicing Judaism in the USSR, which was an anti-Semitic society. These shapes are separated since certain Jewish customs could not be practiced due to persecution and hate, thus separating them from the overall belief system of Soviet Jews. When my family temporarily moved to Italy, there was less religious pressure, and they got closer to their faith, as shown by the corresponding triangles. Finally when reaching America, the shapes were connected to form the Star of David. Being permanently established, my family was able to celebrate the various holidays in peace without fear of persecution.
December 12th, 2006 at 5:02 pm
The story that this collage tells is very similar to my own. Soviet oppression of Judaism led both our families to immigrate to the United States. Putting together the separate triangles into the Star of David was a great way to show the freedom of religion in the United States. The blue background that was meant to symbolize the Atlantic Ocean, separating these two worlds, achieved its purpose and looks like it is actually keeping the regions apart. The basketball court background reminds me of the 1972 Olympic games in which the USSR defeated the US after a very controversial ending.
December 15th, 2006 at 12:54 pm
The way you positioned the USSR and the U.S. reminds me of the “spheres of influence” and brings to the collage the aspect of the cold war. I like your metaphorical use of the Star of David coming together when it got closer to Italy and then unification with your religion in the United States. I was, however, wondering why you chose basketball for your collage instead of a more European sport like hockey or soccer to reflect your heritage?
December 15th, 2006 at 11:30 pm
Steven –
I’m amazed at how creatively you used the space of the paper for your collage. The background and the placement of the flags and the Star of David so that it looks like a basketball court is impressive. Until you pointed this out in class, I did not notice that the triangles floating above each other combine to form the Star of David as you look from left to right. Your essay is a very good explanation of your collage, and I’m impressed with all of the symbolism of your family’s immigration history in your collage.