For more than 20 years, Lisa Barr stuck with the facts.As a reporter in the Middle East, she was present for and documented the famous “handshake” that took place in September 1993 at the White House involving President Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat. Most notably, she was granted an opportunity to write an exclusive for Vogue Magazine about the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. Her vast repertoire as a writer also includes working at the Chicago Sun Times as the sex and relationships editor. As a veteran journalist, she had never attempted to write fiction before.
Artists of war
In 1991 Barr was on assignment at the Art Institute of Chicago when she viewed an exhibition of “degenerate art,” a term used by the Nazi regime to describe what we know today as modern art. She was blown away by what she saw and knew there had to be enough fodder for a truly important story. As the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, she jumped at the chance to begin collecting facts about this seldom-discussed side effect of Nazi occupation. Barr was amazed to learn that Hitler was himself an artist and many of his cohorts were art lovers, collectors and aficionados. She wondered: how could someone who at one time was so intensely devoted to creating art turn around to oppress other artistic creators? How far would he go to enforce his ideology?
Fugitive Colors charts the story of fictitious characters wrapped up in the Third Reich's pervasive assault against European avant-garde artists and their work before and during World War II. Although not a true story, it’s not difficult to imagine similar scenarios involving real-life artists, the sacrifices they made, and the losses they endured at the hands of the Third Reich.
Personal experience
Barr’s blog, GIRLilla Warfare, has become viral in the past few months. She excitedly reported receiving emails and letters from all over the world, expressing gratitude for the subjects she writes about. The blog serves as a more evolved way to discuss parenting and suburban life in contemporary society – less ‘mommy and me’ and more ‘mommy reads the New York Times.’ You can view Barr’s blog at girillawarfare.com.
At Barr’s lecture for the Jewish Federation’s book series, she will discuss her experience as a journalist in the Middle East and her novel, Fugitive Colors, which has been optioned for development by top Hollywood producer Arthur Sarkissian. His work includes the Rush Hour trilogy and While You Were Sleeping. The book won first prize at the Hollywood Film Festival, receiving the Opus Magnum Discovery Award.
Registration is open and space is limited. Tickets are $15 for author presentation and reception; $35 to include pre-ordered copy of Fugitive Colors. To register, email [email protected] or call 419-724-0354.
See Barr’s lecture at 7:30pm on Wednesday, November 5 in the Registry Bistro Ballroom,
144 N. Superior St.