Why Artist Ben Shahn Embraced Nonconformity

This summer, The Jewish Museum is examining the life and work of a local artist who dared to be different. Ben Shahn was born in present day Lithuania in 1898, but immigrated to Brooklyn as a boy after his father was exiled to Siberia. Shahn began a life of using his art to respond to historical moments with social realism, from the Great Depression to the Vietnam War. Dr. Laura Katzman, professor of art history at James Madison University, and Dr. Stephen Brown, curator at the Jewish Museum discuss, "Ben Shahn, On Nonconformity," on view through October 12.