The Museum at Eldridge Street, NYC, installed its new mosaic floor, based on Jewish interpretations of the zodiac, designed by renowned artist Mark Podwal. The spectacular floor brings symbols of the astrological zodiac to life through a mosaic tile design fabricated and installed by artisans from Progetto Arte Poli, a storied and innovative studio workshop based in Verona, Italy. The new floor is located in the vestibule just outside of the historic Main Sanctuary.
Opening ceremony June 9 from 2 to 4 pm.
Museum at Eldridge Street
12 Eldridge Street (between Canal and Division Streets) New York, NY 10002
212.219.0302
www.eldridgestreet.org
“In all of early Jewish art, no single motif has aroused more surprise and scholarly interest than the zodiac mosaic floors of ancient synagogues,” said Podwal, whose work has been collected by nearly 80 museums, cultural institutions, and synagogues around the world, including Prague’s Altneuschul, the oldest continually active synagogue in Europe.
The Museum at Eldridge Street’s new mosaic floor reinterprets the twelve zodiac signs according to Jewish tradition. Each sign is paired with the first Hebrew letter of the month it is associated with according to the Hebrew calendar. For example, Podwal depicts the capricorn as a sea goat, a symbol with roots in the Babylonian zodiac as well as in Jewish mythology. Additionally, the sea goat holds a Hanukkah menorah, a nod to the winter festival’s last days that fall under the capricorn sign. A rich patchwork of color and symbolism, the mosaic offers an abundance of unique motifs for visitors to discover.
In tandem with the installation of the new mosaic floor, the Museum will be hosting a series of programs exploring the history of mosaic art in Judaism as well as zodiacs across cultures.
Mark Podwal, whose works have been exhibited and published worldwide, is regarded as one of the foremost living American artists of the Jewish experience. Initially known for his drawings for The New York Times Op-Ed page, most of Podwal’s books – his own as well as those he illustrated for others including such luminaries as Elie Wiesel and Harold Bloom – focus on Jewish history, tradition, and legend. His art is represented in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Israel Museum, the Jewish Museums in Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Stockholm, and New York, among many other venues. Author Cynthia Ozick has given Podwal the Hebrew name Baal Kav Emet, or “Master of the True Line.” In 1996 the French Ministry of Culture named Podwal an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters; in 2011 he received the Foundation for Jewish Culture Achievement Award; and in 2019 the Czech Foreign Ministry awarded Podwal the Gratias Agit Prize.
