Rick Wienecke was born in Toronto Canada in 1955. When he was twenty years old, he read the book “Exodus” by Leon Uris that introduced him, for the first time, to the Holocaust, and to the struggle of the Jewish people to have a nation of their own. This was at a time in his life that he was searching for God and he became more and more convinced, that if there is a God, He must have something to do with these Jews and this country Israel; “How could they (the Jewish people) survive the Holocaust and only three years later declare themselves as a nation?”
Rick felt an inner stirring to go and see Israel for himself. In 1977 he left Canada, with the plan to work on a kibbutz as a volunteer for six months.
The plan changed, however, and Kibbutz Ramat Hakovesh became home for the next 7 years. Rick would say that his time on the Kibbutz began everything for him. He became a believer in Jesus, he started to sculpt, he was given permanent residency, and then, after doing his time in the army, he received full citizenship. This for Rick was a clear sign from God that he was to stay in Israel. He married Dafna and they have two sons.
In order to work as an artist full-time, Rick and Dafna had to make a hard decision to leave the kibbutz. For over 40 years, they have continued to live and sculpt in Israel. They now live in Arad in the south of Israel.
Rick has many pieces of sculpture around the world (go to Other Sculptures) but his largest work is the Fountain of Tears. He describes this piece as a “Sculptured dialogue of suffering between the Holocaust and the Crucifixion”
The Fountain of Tears is now in two places in the world, Arad, Israel, and Poland, just outside the gates of Auschwitz – Birkenau.
The original Fountain of Tears is located in Arad, Israel.
Directions are found on the PDF attachment
Visits are by appointment only
contact us
castingseedsYte@03%#tu@gmail.com
052 346 42 84
The second Fountain of Tears is located just outside the Gates to Auschwitz Birkenau.
Directions are: found on Google maps – Fountain of Tears Birkenau
Visits are by appointment
contact us
castingseedsYte@03%#tu@gmail.com
The Fountain of Tears, Arad is housed in what could be perceived to be a large tent; in Birkenau the Fountain is in a building with the interior designed to facilitate the sculptures and their communication.
The Fountain of Tears in Arad has six olive trees that are a part of the display. The trees represent the promise of God to bring life to the number six million; to take this number of death and turn it into a number representing life, but specifically back in the land of Israel. In Birkenau there are no olive trees.
The Fountain of Tears in Arad, the stones of the crucifixion panels are the color of Jerusalem stone. (an off white with light yellowy gold). This is representing the color of the land of Israel. The panels in Birkenau are grey representing the ash from the camp when it was fully operational.
In Arad the six pillars of stone that divide the crucifixion panels are made from the stone in the Judean wilderness. In Birkenau the six pillars are made from stones mostly from the area around the camp, but also stones gathered from the areas close to the other killing camps.
In the building at Birkenau there is a “Hallway of Questions”. This is a hallway that the visitor walks through before coming into the large room that holds the Fountain of Tears. The hallway is dimly lit and it has half-walls that force the visitor to go back and forth as they proceed through. There are eight sculpted panels representing seven questions and one response. The hallway with its turns and darkness and questions tries to represents a deep struggle; Rick’s resistance in entering into a creative process that would be the Fountain of Tears. In Arad there is no “Hallway of Questions”, but is where all the questions began.
The Foundation is registered with the Dutch Tax Authorities and has been accepted to be a Dutch ‘ANBI’ which means that all gifts, donations, legacies and inheritances will not be charged through taxes.
Bank account: IBAN NL09ABNA0534228771
Address:
Stichting Fountain of Tears Foundation
Oostendorperweg 3
8097 PP Oosterwolde Gld
The Netherlands
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