2011

After cataloging Blitt’s five drawing books of Holocaust composers, her assistant Colleen Nilson encouraged her to honor the legacy of the composers through her art.  Ultimately, Blitt chose the music of Pavel Haas’s string quartet, “From the Monkey Mountains,” and her drawings to combine into a film, “Collaborating with the Past.”

In homage to the Jewish artists whose works were silenced by Hitler, Rita Blitt created “Collaborating with the Past,” a 10-minute, multi-media film. The passionate, evocative music of Czech-Jewish composer Haas is synchronized with the artist’s spontaneous, minimal line drawings, fading in and out across the screen in expressive, patterns and rhythms.

Rita Blitt has been described as a conductor of color and light. Her musical, flowing drawings synthesize the spirited movements and lyrical passages of Haas’ composition, as she achieves her own personal and artistic collaboration with the past.”