Joseph and His Brothers XI 1966

Editor: Here we have Peter Lipman-Wulf’s “Joseph and His Brothers XI” from 1966. It seems to be a print with ink on textile and paper. The fragmented phrases give the piece a very melancholic feel; it's as though we're looking at fragmented memories. How do you interpret this work? Curator: It strikes me as a visual poem grappling with themes of fate, identity, and the power dynamics inherent in storytelling itself. Lipman-Wulf, who experienced displacement during WWII, positions the biblical story of Joseph not just as religious narrative but also as a commentary on power, betrayal, and resilience. Editor: Resilience? How so? It feels more about inevitability to me. Curator: Consider how phrases like "Joseph the prison's overseer penetrates truth" appear alongside notions of being "shackled." Is Lipman-Wulf perhaps using Joseph’s story to question the narratives that confine us, and suggest the possibility of finding agency, "penetrating truth," even within systems of oppression? How do you see that playing out through the style itself? The phrases are stacked rather than composed in any kind of sentence. Editor: Good point. The way the words are scattered certainly disrupt any conventional reading. That fragmentation becomes its own statement, doesn’t it? The accident. Curator: Exactly. And note how words like "baker," "butler" connect Joseph’s narrative to everyday people. Maybe he invites us to examine our own roles within these larger narratives of power, fate, and the search for meaning. Editor: I see. I initially read the scattering as disorienting but now recognize that it is also empowering the reader to make personal meaning out of the accident, from fate. Thanks! Curator: A piece like this shows us that even stories that seem set in stone can be re-examined, questioned, and ultimately, re-owned.