The Jew As The “Other”, art exhibition at Yiddish New York Festival

The Jew As The “Other”

Wednesday, December 23 – Wednesday, December 30, 2015, 3-7:30 pm

Opening reception Wednesday, December 23 from 5:00-8:00 PM.

Abrazo Interno Gallery, Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center, 107 Suffolk Street, New York NY.

Organizers and jurors: Tine Kindermann, Deborah Ugoretz, Yona Verwer

From the myth of Salome, the quintessential femme fatale, over the romanticized belle Juive, the beautiful Jewess, exemplified as Rebecca in Sir Walter Scott’s “Ivanhoe” to the dangerously attractive Jewish man, caricatured in anti-Semitic Nazi Germany pamphlets, Jews have been portrayed as mysterious and provocative.

What is it that makes being Jewish so exotic and appealing? There is no one answer. This exhibit shows artwork dealing with the issue of being exotic within the context of history and experience.

This exhibition is in conjunction with the Yiddish New York festival.

Full press release here: http://wp.me/P5n3hG-15Q

Click on the thumbnails for larger images

Joyce Ellen Weinstein – THE ARTIST-J.E.W

Anya Roz – Judith with the head of Holofernes

Lisa Ferber- ‘Do Go On About The Gefilte Fish,’ Cooed Chet

Justine Neuberger – Self Portrait As Esther

Ann Lipscombe – What We Talk About When We Talk About My Jewish Nose

Marcia Bricker Halperin – Internet Danger

About the exhibit:

Being Jewish has become fashionable in Europe in no small part due to the resurgence and popularity of klezmer music. Its sound has the power to evoke both emotion and curiosity about Judaism. Klezmer is exotic. What is it that makes being Jewish so exotic and fascinating? For some, being Jewish is to exist outside the mainstream. For others, it is to exist inside a community and hold fast to its culture and practice. For still others it is a way to reconnect to a world that has been violently ripped away. However one identifies as a Jew, being one or wanting to be one has some kind of radical other-ness to it.

The Jew as a type has been seen and fetishized as the exotic “other” by non-Jews for centuries, inspiriing artists who have filled their work with sumptuous imagery. From the myth of Salome, the quintessential femme fatale, to the romanticized “belle Juive”, the beautiful Jewess, to the dangerously attractive Jewish man, caricatured in Nazi German pamphlets, Jews have been portrayed as mysterious and provocative.

And so, one wonders: Is it possible to distill the essence of what makes one Jewish and “other”? How might the artist’s work deal with the issue of being exotic within the context of history and personal experience?

The Jew as the “Other” is juried and organized by Tine Kindermann, Deborah Ugoretz and Yona Verwer.

More information about Yiddish New York here.

Partner organizations for YNY are The Center for Traditional Music and Dance (fiscal sponsor), The 14th Street Y, The Forward, The Educational Alliance, The Museum At Eldridge Street, The New York Klezmer Series, The Town and Village Synagogue, The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, The Stanton Street Shul and The Workmen’s Circle

Full press release here: http://wp.me/P5n3hG-15Q