Abt Too Jewish or Not Jewish Enough

Ritual Objects and Avant-Garde Art at the Jewish Museum of New York
1. Auflage 2024
ISBN: 978-1-80539-279-8
Verlag: Berghahn Books
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 352 Seiten, Web PDF

Displays of Jewish ritual objects in public, non-Jewish settings by Jews are a comparatively recent phenomenon. So too is the establishment of Jewish museums. This volume explores the origins of the Jewish Museum of New York and its evolution from collecting and displaying Jewish ritual objects, to Jewish art, to exhibiting avant-garde art devoid of Jewish content, created by non-Jews. Established within a rabbinic seminary, the museum’s formation and development reflect changes in Jewish society over the twentieth century as it grappled with choices between religion and secularism, particularism and universalism, and ethnic pride and assimilation.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Abt, Jeffrey

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Prologue

Museum Culture
The Contours of Secularization
Secularizing Sacred Objects
Ritual Objects and Art

Chapter 1. Entering the Contact Zone

From Ritual Objects to Cultural Artifacts
Expositions, Subalterns, and the Public Sphere
Placing Judaism on Display

Chapter 2. Seeding a Seminary Museum

“Jewish Ecclesiastical Art”
Judaica for a National Museum
The Museum of Jewish Ceremonial and Historical Objects
Finding an Audience

Chapter 3. A New Venue, a New Purpose

Reimagining the Museum: Interfaith Dialogue
Reimagining the Museum: Cultural History
Reimagining the Museum: Modern Jewish Art
Art’s Usefulness for Jews
Abstraction, Renunciation, Faith

Chapter 4. Creating a Way and Space for Contemporary Art

The Premise of Universality
Reshaping the Museum
The Art World’s 92nd Street Y, New School, and Commentary
Inaugurating the List Addition

Chapter 5. The Avant-Garde or Judaica?

The Nature of a Real Explosion
Pursuing a Greater Balance
The Museum, the Seminary, and Conservative Judaism
Ethnography, History, or Art

Chapter 6. Secular Paths Through the Avant-Garde, the Lower East Side, and Ancient Israe


Reaffirming the Avant-Garde
Heritage Rather Than Religion
The Lower East Side and Masada
Victim of Confusion | An Institution Adrift

Chapter 7. The Jewish Jewish Museum

The Soul Museum
Pushing Boundaries: Ethical, Social, Financial
Denouement
Cultural History, Ethnicity, and Jewish Experience

Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Abt, Jeffrey

Jeffrey Abt is Professor Emeritus at Wayne State University. Prior to that he worked at the Wichita Art Museum; the Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago; and Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art. An artist and writer, his artwork is in several museum and corporate collections. His books include American Egyptologist: The Life of James Henry Breasted and the Creation of His Oriental Institute and Valuing Detroit's Art Museum: A History of Fiscal Abandonment and Rescue. He co-edited and is on the editorial board of the Museum History Journal.