interventions: Bambi
Many children have their first encounter with death, when Bambi’s mother is killed. But the history of the book that inspired the film is another dark story. In 1869 the government allowed Jews citizenship, Felix Salten, the author of Bambi was brought to Vienna as an infant. Already an accomplished writer by the time He published Bambi in 1923, Salten achieved international renown with the novel’s English translation. In 1936, however, Bambi was banned by the ruling Nazi party because of its “political allegory on the treatment of Jews in Europe.” Burnings of the book were organized across Nazi states. Salten moved from Austria to Switzerland, where he wrote a sequel, Bambi’s Children. Meanwhile, one of Bambi’s fans, a publishing magnate introduced Salten to Walt Disney, who loved the book and wanted to adapt it to film. Bambi was released in 1942.
Rogue intervention, New York City, 2021.
Acrylic paint, pencil, archival ink, arches paper (30 X 22 inches)
