The Jew as the “Other”, an exhibition of contemporary art
Contact: Deborah Ugoretz at ynyartexhibition@gmail.com
Organized in conjunction with Yiddish New York, a new festival celebrating Yiddish Music, Language and Culture.
The exhibit will take place on the Lower East Side from Wednesday, December 23rd through Wednesday, December 30th, 2015
Opening Reception: Wednesday, December 23, 2015, from 5:00-8:00 pm.
Abrazo Interno Gallery at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center, 107 Suffolk Street, N.Y.C. 10002
Viewing hours: 3:30 pm- 7:30 pm, December 24th-30th.
Images here: http://wp.me/P5n3hG-14B
High-res images available
The Jew as the “Other” is juried and organized by Tine Kindermann, Deborah Ugoretz and Yona Verwer.
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?
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