HERC & TSC Mural Project
HERC partnered with graduate student in the Art Therapy at Florida State, painter Ilana Herman, to create a mural for the HERC building on the campus of Tallahassee State College, formerly Tallahassee Community College. The mural depicts many hands in diverse colors reaching to a vibrant blue and purple sky through a barbed wired fence. In the middle ground, beyond the hands and fence, stand the remnants of two brick chimneys. Ilana stated that she intended the chimneys to identify the location of the scene as Auschwitz, the notorious concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland, at which one million Jews were murdered between 1941 and 1945. Above the chimneys fly two enormous bright yellow butterflies. According to Ilana, the butterflies are symbolic representations of hope and resilience. The butterflies fly above the hands in the foreground, directing the raised hands upward, as they ascend to the skies. This scene combines realistic images with abstract elements to convey both the brutal reality and continuing emotional impact of the Holocaust. Ilana noted that she wanted to represent the diversity among Jewish people all over the world as resilience and triumph over the tragedy of the lives lost in the Holocaust. Additionally, the iconographic significance of the yellow butterfly as a symbol of the Holocaust has its origins poem “The Butterfly” by Pavel Friedman, which he composed while imprisoned in the concentration camp Terezin (Theresienstadt in German) before being deported to Auschwitz where he was killed in 1944. The butterfly took on additional enduring significance when the Holocaust Museum Houston created “The Butterfly Project” in 2001 by collecting 1.5 million handmade butterflies to commemorate the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust. Commemoration and remembrance are central themes at the heart of Ilana’s vision.
This mural project was a true collaboration not only between Florida State and HERC, but also with the Tallahassee community at large. On Saturday, July 13, members of the community came to HERC to assist Ilana in painting sections of the mural. By actively involving students in the creation process, HERC has ensured that the lessons of the Holocaust are not only remembered but also deeply understood and internalized by future generations. The mural serves as an educational tool, sparking conversations about history, tolerance, and the importance of standing against injustice. The mural fosters awareness and understanding of the Holocaust. It encourages students, faculty, and visitors to reflect on the atrocities committed and the importance of combating hatred and intolerance in all forms. This mural project is not only a memorial, but also a call to action to ensure that such horrors are never repeated. To Teach Is To Touch A Life Forever.