Immersive, intense, free, week-long workshops for anyone, ages 21 to 30, who’s curious about the connections between Jewishness and modern culture.
“My Soul Thirsts” Heichal Shlomo Museum, Jerusalem Bienniale 2013
Review and reflection by Yehudis Barmatz
As a religious Jewish mother and young woman I struggle with my artistic identity. I search for inspiration and company amongst other modern artists whose art practice and Jewish association exists in one breath.
From the start, I have associated my art with my Jewishness but have refused to have answers about how that defines my artwork. Prior knowledge can be restraining. Rebbe Nachman explains that ideas are like a growing fetus. Just as the fetus develops in the darkness of the womb, our thoughts and ideas need to form in the nurturing space of the unknown.
“The question ‘What is Jewish Art?” reads the statement for the group show, My Soul Thirsts, “Is like asking ‘What is Love?’ There is no single, clear definitive answer.” Yes, finally someone said it. In any case, the statement provides an answer. Jewish Art is “the yearning for spiritual growth.” I take liberties to interpret this “definition” as a comment which says, “Let it grow.” Contemporary Jewish art is in throes of development, the yearning for spiritual growth is its process. This process needs space and nurture.
by Jonathan Maseng for JewishJournal.com
“Rebel Spies,†by Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik, mixed media, 2013. On loan from Scott and Gayl Gluck.
“Sacred Words, Sacred Texts,†which officially opened Oct. 6 with a reception at AJU, is an exhibition that celebrates Jews as a People of the Book: Torah, Talmud, Midrash and sacred poetry are all explored through various media by more than a dozen Jewish artists from the L.A. area. It was curated by Anne Hromadka, Sara Cannon and Georgia Freedman-Harvey.
Sponsored:
The Chavaya Fellowship is now accepting applications from the next young Jewish leaders in our community! Deadline to apply is Oct 31st!
Nov 6, 203
6-9pm
Igal Fedida Fine Art
Manhattan Gallery
1482 First Ave
New York, NY
RSVP: IGALFEDIDAGALLERY@yahoo.com
310-466-3916
By Saul Sudin
No upcoming film is more anticipated here at Jewish Art Now than director Darren Aronofsky’s take on the events of Noah and the flood, simply titled ‘Noah‘. Past projects like Pi and The Fountain have shown the filmmaker has no fear tackling exciting experimental takes on Judaism and spirituality and for almost three years we have been following the development of this film from page to page to production.
Having completed production in New York and Iceland, Noah is now in post-production in advance of its theatrical release this spring. Aronofsky told the Directors Guild of America that the film will feature the most complicated shot in the history of Industrial Light and Magic, the visual effects company that George Lucas established in 1975 to make Star Wars. Since their inception, ILM have been at the forefront of effects both practical and digital, being instrumental in producing complicated effects for everything from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? to Terminator 2: Judgement Day and Jurassic Park.
“I don’t think it’s the most incredible shot, but I think because of all the hair on the animals it was incredibly complicated for them. They said, ‘We can only render it two or three more times so make sure those are exactly right because they take so long and are so complex.’†he told the DGA. All the animals in the film will be digitally inserted, much like the tiger in Ang Lee’s brilliant Life of Pi. Aronofsky added, “Politically it’s not a great thing to work with live animals and that’s becoming more apparent to people as time goes by, but also, technically, it would have been extremely difficult. And we’ve learned from lots of other films how hard it is to bring different kinds of animals together.†(As in clashing species or animals that might decide to eat their co-stars.)
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Faces: Weaving Indian Jewish Narratives by Siona Benjamin from gregory wendt on Vimeo.
Accomplished painter and Fulbright scholar Siona Benjamin was given the opportunity to further explore her Jewish and Indian roots this year, culminating in an exhibition now on view in Mumbai. Says the artist, “The Fulbright experience has transformed my research, art and life forever. With the help of the Fulbright fellowship I conducted a 4-month project to explore and reveal the various Indian Jewish faces of India in a visual art exhibition. The goals of this project are to raise awareness about the long-standing history of the Indian Jewish communities in India and document, using photography and painting, the individual faces and stories of this ancient group and their heritage before their existence becomes a cultural relic of India.”
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya
Formerly The Prince of Wales Museum
159/161 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 023, India.
Telephone 22844484
Through October 20th 2013, Daily 10:15 AM – 6 PM
For those not in India, the full book from the show can be digitally read below.
Tuesday October 8, 2013
7:30pm
Creative Soul Gallery
425 Kingston Ave Brooklyn NY, 11213
Join us on Tuesday evening, October 8, at 7:30 pm for a screening of the Sukkah City Documentary Film, followed by Q & A with director Jason Hutt.
SUKKAH CITY chronicles the architecture competition created by bestselling author Joshua Foer (Moonwalking With Einstein) and Roger Bennett (Reboot co-founder) that explored the creative potential of the ancient Jewish sukkah and created a temporary exhibition of 12 radically designed sukkahs in the heart of New York City. The film goes behind the scenes of the jury day, the construction, and the exhibition to provide an entertaining and inspiring portrait of the project’s visionary architects, planners and structures and celebrates an exciting, singular moment in the American Jewish experience.
http://oxbowlakefilms.com/sukkahcity/
$7 per person at the door **** Special! Only $5 if you mention Jewish Art Now! *****
RSVP on Facebook
For many Jews, the arts can serve as a common denominator regardless of their degree of belief, cultural literacy, or religious affiliation. The UW-Madison Hillel at the Barbara Hochberg Center for Jewish Student Life, The Conney Project on Jewish Arts (an initiative of the Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin), The Sabes JCC of Minneapolis, and The Harry & Rose Samson Jewish Community Center in Milwaukee, are collaborating on a new initiative to assist Jewish artists and the regional Jewish community in finding meaning, community, identity, and spirituality through the arts thanks to the support of the Covenant Foundation. During the 2013-2014 program year, this project will take place in Madison, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis.
The Regional Artists’ Laboratory seeks to enrich two populations in our region: artists who may or may not already be drawn to art as an expression of their Jewish identity, and the Jewish public at large. We seek to create two interrelated programs: 1) An Artists’ Laboratory in which artists will combine the study of Jewish texts, both traditional and non-traditional, with their own creation of works of art that intersect with those texts; and 2) An Artists-in-Residence program for emerging artists that will interact with both the Laboratory and the Jewish community. Both aspects of the program will connect with an annual exhibit/showcase for the artists’ work. In all cases, we will seek artists from across disciplines, including visual art, theater, music, dance, literature, and beyond.