a person standing in a long white coat with hands clasped in front of fire
Context
Small Things End, Great Things Endure is a still from a video of the same name that centers on the motif of victimization and self-immolation in the face of profound guilt. Here, ter Heijne casts herself as a “modern-day Joan of Arc” in a scene based on the film adaptation (2000) of the multivolume novel Jahrestage (1943-1984) by German writer Uwe Johnson. Ter Heijne’s adaptation of an adaptation tells the story of a woman who, upon recalling her mother’s deep guilt over witnessing Nazi atrocities which caused her to commit suicide by self-immolation, is herself overwhelmed by the violent atrocities of the Vietnam War and sets herself on fire. Small Things End, Great Things Endure solemnly asks if we are destined to repeat the histories of generations past.
Acquisition
Accession
2016.139-143
Source or Donor
Barbara Ruben
Acquisition Method
Gift
Credit Line
Collection of DePaul Art Museum, Gift of Barbara and Tom Ruben
