Visited the Contemporary Jewish Art Museum for the Beyond Belief show. There were quite a few pieces that I enjoyed and several I have seen before, but were great to revisit.
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Larry Thomas, Soul Trap, 1982 drawing | pastel, charcoal, and raw pigment on paper |
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| Ross Bleckner, Knights not Nights, 1987 oil, beeswax, pigment, and damar crystals on canvas, 108 in. x 72 in |
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| Mona Hatoum, Pin Rug, 1998-1999 stainless steel pins, canvas, and glue, 1 3/4 in. x 47 7/8 in. x 73 5/8 in. |
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Helène Aylon, Bulging Spread, Central Break, 1979 Linseed oil on paper adhered to Plexiglas This piece by Aylon was my favorite. Here is the didactic: Aylon was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family whose life was structured by religious ceremony; as a result, an emphasis on ritualistic action informs her artistic practice. Part of a larger series, Bulging Spread, Central Break is the result of a performance open to chance: Aylon poured linseed oil onto a large flat panel, and months later broke the sac formed by the oil, allowing it to gush and drizzle down the support. Describing this process, Aylon explained that she would "stand by holding the pan to catch the gushing oils like a midwife, as the participants lifted the the panel off the floor onto a wall." |
