The Anne Frank Center USA Announces Faith & Form,

a new exhibit with the Jewish Art Salon.

"Responding to the mission of the Anne Frank Center USA, The exhibit features Jewish Art Salon artists from North America, Israel and Europe whose work addresses themes of intolerance, identity, anti-semitism, racism, and discrimination," explains Yvonne Simons, executive director of the Anne Frank Center USA. 

OPENING RECEPTION JANUARY 15, 2014, 6 – 9 PM HOURS: 1.15.14 through 3.28.14, Tuesday – Saturday 10-5. THE ANNE FRANK CENTER USA 44 Park Place, New York, NY 10007 Tel: 212 431.7993 Participating artists: Robin Atlas, Shoshannah Brombacher, Dorit Jordan Dotan, Ash Fitzgerald,  Lorelei and Alex Gruss, Reineke Hollander, Michal Mahgerefteh, Paul Margolis, Jacob Mezrahi, Aaron Morgan, Marcy Rivka Nehorai, Mark Podwal, Carol Phillips, Deborah Raichman, Joan Roth, Lynn Russell, Gillian Singer, Arlene Sokolow, Yona Verwer, Julian Voloj, and Joyce Ellen Weinstein. Faith & Form consists of multi-media work depicting a range of subjects. Anti-semitism is explored in various ways: through the myth of the Golem, a portrait of the Iranian president, and in unusual approaches to Holocaust art: a lantern homage to the lost ghetto of Krakow; an abstract painting featuring stones from Treblinka; stolen sacred Jewish objects for sale at an antique market, a Yizkor artists book, a wood inlay of people waiting for unknown destinations, a collage based on Holocaust poems, a Purim painting, and a menorah in Nazi Germany painting. Several of the photographs detail the lives of Jewish émigré and outsider communities, such as the vanishing Bukharan Jews and the self-proclaimed Black Jews in Queens. Intolerance is alluded to in a gay Jewish wedding photo, and a protection amulet painting. Faith, history and identity inform the work of these 21 artists, asserting a vision of contemporary art that is as bold as it is diverse.

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Article in NY Jewish Week here TV interview on The Jewish Channel here  Article in the British press here ___________________ 44 Park Place is near Church Street. 2/3 train to Park Place, A/C train to Chambers Street, E train to World Trade Center, N train to City Hall, 4/5 train to Fulton Street.   About The Anne Frank Center USA Founded in 1977 by Anne’s father Otto, The Anne Frank Center USA, a partner of the Anne Frank House, uses the diary and spirit of Anne Frank as unique tools to advance her legacy, to educate young people and communities in the U.S. and Canada about the dangers of intolerance, antisemitism, racism and discrimination, and to inspire the next generation to build a world based on equal rights and mutual respect. Through a variety of innovative education programs and exhibitions, the Center uses Anne Frank as a role model for today. Her insights and courage continue to inspire students, educators and citizens more than 60 years after her diary was first published. The Anne Frank Center USA is a non-sectarian, educational organization, that is not-for-profit under the Internal Revenue Code Section {501 (c) (3)}. Contributions to the organization are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.   RELATED PROGRAMMING

Recreating the Golem: From Prague to The Simpsons

February 4, 6:30-8PM, 2014 Artist Mark Podwal and author Thane Rosenbaum will explore the Golem legend in words and images. Co-organized by the Jewish Art Salon. Anne Frank Center USA 44 Park Place, New York, NY 10007 In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, constructed in the form of a human and endowed with life; its purpose to ward off anti-Semitic attacks. In conjuncture with Faith & Form, the current exhibition at The Anne Frank Center USA, artist Mark Podwal and author Thane Rosenbaum will explore representations of the golem legend in words and images. Mark Podwal, whose Golem sketch is featured in the exhibit, will present an illustrated lecture exploring how succeeding generations have recreated the golem legend to suit the times. The lecture will touch on the first mention of golems in Biblical and Talmudic sources, the origins of Prague’s golem legend, the transformed image of the Prague golem from servant to protector in the early 20th century, and numerous depictions of golems in book illustration, fine art, and film, including The Simpsons TV episode, You Gotta Know When to Golem. Author Thane Rosenbaum will read excerpts from The Golems of Gotham, a ghost story exploring myth, memory and post-Holocaust Jewish imagination. Rosenbaum’s novel was published to critical acclaim in 2002, and has been compared to Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. The San Francisco Chronicle called the novel “chilling and warm, rigorous and fanciful, savagely witty and profoundly reasoned.” The program will be followed by a Q&A and a reception, and is presented by the Anne Frank Center USA and the Jewish Art Salon. About Mark Podwal Mark Podwal is the author and illustrator of numerous books. Most of these works – Podwal’s own as well as those he has illustrated for others – typically focus on Jewish legend, history and tradition. His art is represented in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Fogg Art Museum and the Library of Congress. Podwal is the author and illustrator of Jerusalem Sky: Stars, Crosses and Crescents; A Sweet Year; Doctored Drawings, among others. King Solomon and His Magic Ring, a collaboration with Elie Wiesel, won a Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators in 1999 and You Never Know, his collaboration with Francine Prose, won a National Jewish Book Award in 1998. In 1996, the French government named Podwal an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters. Hebrew College, Newton Centre, Massachusetts, in 2003 awarded him a Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa. Beyond his works on paper, Podwal’s artistry has been employed in an array of diverse projects, including the design of a series of decorative plates for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His work has been engraved on a Congressional Gold Medal and woven into an Aubusson tapestry that adorned the ark in the main sanctuary of Temple Emanu-El in New York. Moreover, he designed sixteen kiln cast glass windows for the United Jewish Appeal Federation Headquarters. Podwal is represented by Forum Gallery, New York and has exhibited there since 1977. About Thane Rosenbaum Thane Rosenbaum is an essayist, law professor, and the author of the novels, The Stranger Within Sarah Stein,The Golems of Gotham, Second Hand Smoke, and Elijah Visible. His articles, reviews and essays appear frequently in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and The Huffington Post, among other national publications. He moderates an annual series of discussions on Jewish culture and politics at the 92nd Street Y. He is the John Whelan Distinguished Lecturer in Law at Fordham Law School, where he teaches courses in human rights, legal humanities, and law and literature, and also directs the Forum on Law, Culture & Society. He is the author of The Myth of Moral Justice: Why Our Legal System Fails to Do What’s Right. He is the editor of the anthology, Law Lit, from Atticus Finch to “The Practice”: A Collection of Great Writing about the Law. His forthcoming book is entitled, Payback: The Case for Revenge.

Artist’s talk: Documenting Diaspora.

Wednesday March 12, 6.30-8pm A discussion and presentation on Jewish émigré communities from around the globe, by artist Julian Voloj. The German-born photographer and writer Julian Voloj, whose “Rosh HaShanah” is featured in the  Faith & Form exhibit,  explores aspects of identity and heritage in his work. His award winning work has been shown in The Washington Post, Tablet, Publishers Weekly, the New York Post, etc. His photographs were shown in various venues in the US and Europe, including a 10-year Retrospective at the German Consulate in New York in 2012. This program is made possible through COJECO’s Center Without Walls, sponsored by the UJA-Federation of NY and Genesis Philanthropy Group.