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Artistic Toys for Jewish Girls and Boys
April 08, 2002Comments (0) | Add | E-mail this to a friend  Have a taste for unusual Jewish art? The Bronfman Center Gallery at New York University, home of Hillel at New York University, recently presented the work of 20 artists in "Jews. the exhibit : artwork from the magazine of chosen words and images."
Jews. magazine has included more than 70 artists and writers in the course of publishing seven issues of the magazine since 1999. Subscribers also receive unique mail art items. Jews. magazine strives to reach those who seek connections to their Jewish identities but in many cases don't make those connections through ordinary means.
Co-editor Esther Cohen said, "The vision for Jews. has been to create something Jewish that is organic, dynamic, irreverent, inclusive, funny and open for the wide range of possibilities that being Jewish means."
NYU Hillel consistently has broken new ground in the arts in New York City and Hillel. Last year, NYU was awarded the Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Learning Award for Ein Sof, a book featuring traditional Jewish Sabbath tunes surrounded by original student art. The Bronfman Center gallery's two student managers won a Pitt Creativity Grant for the Actus Box, an exhibit featuring original Israeli cartooning work from Tel Aviv. NYU Hillel also mounted two shows by renowned cartoonist Ben Katchor before he was featured at New York's prestigious Jewish Museum.
"We prove the point that New York City's creativity comes from below 42nd street," joked NYU Hillel Director Rabbi Andrew Bachman.
Many pieces in the Jews. exhibit extended (sometimes literally) past the boundaries of the gallery wall to make their connections. Elements of the eclectic collection required interaction from the viewer, such as Lawrence Bush's Bridge of Peace, a magnetized toy that encourages the viewer to move Ariel Sharon and Yasser Arafat to a table with a peace treaty on it. Other pieces in the exhibition reflected the artist's individual way of relating to Judasim. "It is, most fundamentally, a celebration of Jewish Life," says co-editor Pamela Vassil.
The Bronfman Center Gallery at New York University showcases work by contemporary artists, including but not limited to NYU students, faculty, and alumni. Exhibitions explore the influence of Judaism and other religions or cultures in the field of visual art. The gallery also offers a venue for students to gain experience as curators in a non-traditional exhibition space. Here, the visual arts become a lens through which we focus on the cultural, intellectual, and spiritual implications of Judaism in a contemporary context. More information can be found at www.nyu.edu/bronfman/.
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