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Max Weber:
Reflections of Jewish Memory in Modern American Art |
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Exhibition (English
v.)
Exhibition (Polish
v.) |
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"I was prompted to paint
this picture after a pilgrimage to one of the oldest synagogues of
New York's East Side. I find a living spiritual beauty emanates
from, and over and about a group of patriarchal types when they
congregate in search of wisdom in the teaching of the great
Talmudists of the past. The discussion of the Talmud is at times
impassioned, inspired, ecstatic, and at other moments serene and
contemplative…to witness a group of such elders bent on and intent
upon nothing but the eternal quest and interpretation of the
ethical, significant, and religious content of the great Jewish
legacy--the Torah--is for me an unforgettable experience.”
Max
Weber (1881-1961) is one of America’s most important twentieth century
artists. The first American cubist, Weber translated the modern
European aesthetic into a truly American style that evolved during the
roughly sixty years of his career. He developed a personal
expressionism in his mature phase that was influential for the
development of Abstract Expressionism.
Weber, at age forty-nine, was the first American artist to be given a
retrospective at the newly opened Museum of Modern Art in 1930. This
major recognition was followed by solo shows at the Whitney Museum of
American Art and the Jewish Museum in Manhattan, acknowledgment that
Weber was one of America’s most significant modernists. His works are
included in most of the major American museums and in other museums
throughout the world. He is acknowledged as one of the leading
American artists of Judaic themes.
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Paint What You
Remember: The Memories of Mayer Kirshenblatt |
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Exhibition |
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"A highlight of the
holiday was the Purim play. The most popular plays
were Mordechai and Esther, which told the
story of Purim; Mekhires-yoysef, which was
about the sale of Joseph by his brothers (this
play always drew a few tears); and, above all,
The Kraków Wedding (Krakoskie Wesele in
Polish), which is the subject of this painting.
The troupe would rehearse for months in advance.
Most of the performers were laborers and artisans. They wore
homemade costumes, the styles going back to the eighteenth
century. The female characters are wearing the traditional costume
of the Kraków region. If the women look masculine, it is because
men are playing the female parts. in the Jewish tradition, a woman
would not perform this sort of thing. Those playing male roles are
wearing shako hats, which were inspired by the hats that soldiers
wore during the Napoleonic wars to make them look taller and more
intimidating. The hats were decorated with braid and tassels." |
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Through the Eye of
the Needle: Fabric of Survival |
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Exhibition |
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"October 15, 1942.
We were ordered by the Gestapo to leave our homes by 10 a.m. to
join all the other Jews on the road to Krasnik railroad station
and then to their deaths.
We left our house
for good and walked down the road. Mottel sat in the front wagon
holding the Torah. My parents went to join him while my brother
helped my little sisters settle into the rear wagon with my aunt
Trushel, her sister Golda, my uncle Ruven, and my five little
cousins. Suddenly Mottel's daughter-in-law stood up and cried to
my mother, 'Rachel, we will never come back! We will all
perish!'
Everyone began
to cry. Mania and I followed quickly behind the woman who was to
take us to Dombrowa and the house of Stefan, my father's friend.
The wagons left to the Krasnik station, and we never say our
family again."
--Esther Nisenthal Krinitz |
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Art of the
Holocaust: The Works of Martin Kieselstein |
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Exhibition |
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"My name is Dr.
Martin Kieselstein. I was born in Romania in 1925, during the
Second World War, the area belonging to Hungary. In 1944 I was
deported to
Auschwitz, together with all the Jews of my hometown. Of our
family only my
father and I survived. My mother and my sister died while doing
forced labor. I still suffer due to the lack of knowledge whether
they perished during the cold winter, hunger, or the beatings of
the Nazis. After my release I returned to my hometown, studied
medicine, graduated in 1952 and worked there as a physician.
In 1959 I came to Israel and worked there as a geriatrician in
Jerusalem,
because I saw it as my duty to help elderly people, especially
those who were
Holocaust survivors. In recognition of my activities I was awarded
the 'Yakir
Yerushalayim,' ('Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem') award. I am
married; we have two sons and five grandchildren. I don't regard
myself as an artist, but feel
obliged and duty bound to convey to future generations the
awareness of the
horror of the Holocaust through creations made from various
materials." |
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