8 Nights 8 Windows: Public Hanukkah Art In Boston

7 Dec
2015

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By Olga Khvan for Boston Magazine

To celebrate Hanukkah this year, windows at eight establishments throughout Boston will be illuminated with installations by local artists—one to represent each night of the Festival of Lights.

“8 Nights, 8 Windows” is the city’s first Jewish public art project, organized by the New Center for Arts and Culture and Combined Jewish Philanthropies in partnership with the Boston Jewish Music Festival and the Boston Jewish Film Festival.

Traditionally, the Jewish community celebrates Hanukkah by lighting the menorah, one candle a day for eight days, to honor the miracle of light, which dates back to when the Maccabees reclaimed Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple with a single canister of oil that unexpectedly burned for eight days.

Inspired by this origin story, the public art project called for artists to submit proposals for installations that tell stories of miracle, illumination, and innovation.

The final projects, which were selected by a jury of notable curators, arts leaders, and arts practitioners, incorporate everything from holographic laser projections to videos to mini lanterns. One installation, on view at Roche Bros. in Downtown Crossing, promises to grow in brightness and vibrancy with each night of Hanukkah.

Read the rest at Bostonmagazine.com

Find out more about the project and at 8Nights8Windows.com and see below for locations:

Piece of History’s Inventive Objects

4 Dec
2015

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Contemporary Israeli designer “Piece of History” have some cool collectible objects on sale now that are inventive twists on traditional concepts.

Just in time for Hanukkah, the Special DIY Sevivon, which comes flat and is easily assembled into a real usable dreidel. The also have Kings porcelain figurines: The Kings of united monarchy of Israel – Saul, Solomon and David – with crown of gold and a biblical verse that symbolizes each figure. Sold as a set of three or individually. Also, need to lay down the law in your home? Check out the Personal Stone Tablets, a dry erase board with divine authority.

Brooklyn Jewish Art Gallery Seeks Submissions For “Passover and the Consequences of Freedom”

3 Dec
2015

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Venue: Brooklyn Jewish Art Gallery @ CKI, 603 St. Johns Place, Brooklyn, NY. More info on the gallery here.

Theme: Passover and the Consequences of Freedom.
Maximum dimensions: 48 x 48, ready to hang, all media, but not 3-D.

Curator: Richard McBee.
Co-sponsored by the Brooklyn Jewish Art Gallery @CKI and the Jewish Art Salon.

SUBMISSION INFO:
Deadline January 16, 2016.
Read the rest of this entry »

Ken Goldman’s “Some Body Jewish” at The Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art

1 Dec
2015

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On view December 1, 2015 – April 1, 2016
Exhibit Curated for the PMJA by Wendi Furman
Opening Reception: Thursday, December 3, 5:30-7pm. Artist Talk 6pm.

About the Exhibition
For the last thirty years I have been living and creating art in Israel. My work is influenced by the challenges of being at the same time; an American, observant Jew, and an Israeli kibbutz member. These different parts of my identity are a major factor influencing my art. Many of my works give the impression of one firmly planted in the moment and place-yet the feeling of being on the outside looking inward seems to pervade the art as well. While speaking specifically to my experience I feel the works communicate with people of all backgrounds regardless of religion or nationality. The works presented cover a large variety of subject matter such as; gender, religion, politics, ritual and community. The various mediums I use are: body art, video, sculpture, painting, drawing and photographs of my performance based pieces.
-Ken Goldman

Entrance to Museum and parking on Green Street
PMJA Hours: Monday-Thursday 10-4; Friday 10-2
Hours are subject to change; please call 215-627-6747 to confirm

Video: “Sjnoder, Anatomy of Tzedakah” by Billha Zussman

30 Nov
2015

The story “Anatomy of Tzedakah” depicts the life of a Sjnoderbook, transformed into a magic, self- consuming hand disguised as a glove, representing the Rambam’s Eight Levels of Tzedakah. The selfless, self-devouring, self-regenerating hand, the magic hand that reaches its heart and disappears.

View this new work from the Israeli-born, Dutch artist Billha Zussman:

Archie Rand’s New Book “The 613” Features Paintings For Every Commandment

2 Nov
2015
Photo Credit: Christian Hansen for The New York Times

Photo Credit: Christian Hansen for The New York Times

Godfather of the contemporary visual Jewish art movement Archie Rand finished his 613 paintings, one for every commandment, in 2008. But on November 10th, a new book called “The 613” is being published allowing viewers to experience them all in one space for the very first time.

You can read all about the project in features from The NY Times, Religious News Service, and elsewhere.

Additionally, Brooklyn institution BookCourt will host the artist in conversation with Rabbi Dan Ain. The very special event will feature Rand and Ain discussing art, religion and their convergence.

Event details:
BookCourt
163 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Friday, December 4th @7pm

“Not by Words Alone”: A Visual Beit-Midrash Evening with Yehuda Levy-Aldema

30 Oct
2015

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Date: Tuesday, November 3rd, 2015
Time: 5:30 PM – 7 PM
Location: 55 Lexington Avenue, Room 14-270, New York, NY

A native of Jerusalem, Yehuda Levy Aldema has been working as an artist in a variety of media since 1982. A graduate from Bezalel Academy of Fine Arts, his first commissions were public murals in Samaria, Tirat Carmel, Petah Tikva, and Jerusalem. At the same time, he was producing work in oil on canvas and other media and exhibited in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem. He has visited, lectured and worked in Europe and the United States, most recently completing a residency in the Ukraine, at the Odessa Jewish Community Center, which produced a community art project focused on community identity. His current work explores the interpenetration of Biblical texts and reality through constructions that include found objects, carvings, drawings, and photography. He lives in Modi’in near Jerusalem with his wife of thirty-five years, Shirley Levy-Aldema.

Anshie Kagan: In Case Of Moshiach Break Glass

28 Oct
2015

By Beth Sarafraz for the Jewish PressCBX3OdVUcAAUE9r

Ani ma’amin b’emuna shelema be’viat hamashiach, Vi’af al pi sheyit’mame’ha im kol zeh achakeh lo bechol yom sheyavo.

I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah; and even though he may delay, I will await him every day.

–12th Principle of Faith, from Rambam’s Shloshah-Asar Ikkarim

One could wonder how the Rambam would react to the Anshie Kagan sculpture, “IN CASE OF MOSHIACH BREAK GLASS,” scheduled to be auctioned December 16 at Kestenbaum & Company.

Would the author of Guide for the Perplexed (Moreh Nevuchim) be, himself, perplexed?

Anshie (who prefers to be known by his first name), is a young Boston-born Orthodox Jewish artist currently residing in Brooklyn, who attended Lakewood Cheder, Mesivta Pe’er Hatorah and Manhattan’s Fashion Institute of Technology. He renders a unique take on a traditional principle of faith: a sculpture – a wooden box 36” x 12” x 12”, painted red, with a classic metal hammer on a chain attached and a glass front with the lettering: IN CASE OF MOSHIACH BREAK GLASS. Behind the glass is a full-sized shofar, because, says Anshie, “Moshiach will use a shofar to announce his arrival.”

The piece screams for attention, much like the old style fire alarm boxes we used to see on street corners.

It certainly got the attention of Daniel Kestenbaum, founder and president of Kestenbaum & Company, an upscale boutique auction house in Manhattan featuring fine Judaica, rare books, manuscripts, autographed letters, graphic art and ceremonial objects.

When asked what attracted him to this artist and this particular work of modern Judaica, Kestenbaum said:

“Anshie Kagan – living and worshipping within the religious world – has about him a most witty and original energy. No, his artworks are definitely not going to match the dining room drapes. It’s edgy and it stops the viewer short — exactly what good art is supposed to do, and just what the thinking Jew should be doing — stopping short and reflecting about his life and his Judaism. For that reason, I support Anshie’s work and seek to gain for it a wider audience.”
Read the rest of this entry »

“MosesTen” Photography from Toby Cohen

8 Oct
2015

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British-born, Israeli-based photographer Toby Cohen is fundraising for his new project MosesTen, which seeks to recreate major moments from the life of the biblical leader Moses and the Jewish people’s desert journey.

He recently told The Jerusalem Post, “There are large numbers of people in Israel who study the words of the Torah all day long, but many people find it difficult to interpret those words, or don’t find the text interesting. “If I can turn those words into pictures, if I can bring the Bible to life and bring these stories to life then that’s a very positive thing, and maybe my picture will serve as a starting point for people to explore the Torah.”

The inspiration for the project says Cohen is his “obsession” with the varied landscapes of Israel.

“I’m always looking for the connection to our land, today, and the stories that tie us to it,” he said. “By creating these images in the Land of Israel today, and tying them to the stories that make up our cultural identity, I’m trying to reaffirm that bond between the Israelite people and the Land of Israel in a visual manner.”

View a behind-the-scenes video about the entire project below and help support his Indiegogo campaign here.

Rooted: The Ecological Duality of Nature and Jewish Identity

7 Oct
2015

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ABOUT THE EXHIBITION | Rooted explores the dual role of art embedded in the environment and in Jewish identity. Co-sponsored by the Jewish Art Salon and Manny Cantor Center, Rooted highlights the complex and deeply rooted relationships featured artists have to the changing natural environment and to Jewish culture. This group exhibition invites art enthusiasts, environmental activists, and the wider community to experience the artwork in the galleries and contemplate their own roots.

Providing in-depth Jewish learning, community engagement, and artist studio experience, Art Kibbutz’s residency programs helped participating artists deepen their own complex relationship to the environment and their Jewish heritage.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS | Photography by Helène Aylon, Shay Arick (Israel), Leah Caroline, Larry Frankel, Ken Goldman (Israel), Gil Lavi (Israel), Paul R. Solomon; digital mixed media with augmented reality by Cynthia Beth Rubin; paintings by Tobi Kahn and Shira Toren (Israel); and sculptural and site-specific installations by Hila Amram (Israel), Jackie Brookner, Stephanie Osin Cohen, Filipe Cortez (Portugal), Susan Hoffman Fishman and Elena Kalman, Elisa Pritzker, Deanna Sirlin, and Renata Stein

Curated by Aimee Rubensteen with Curatorial Assistant Yona Verwer.

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