This is the third in a four-part series of stories about the work of Käthe Kollwitz and how it influenced artists, activists and collectors like Dr. Richard Simms, part of whose collection is being exhibited by the Getty Center in Los Angeles. You may find the previous articles here and here. In 1971, as America…
The fourth Biennale for Contemporary Jewish Art is currently being held in Jerusalem, featuring the work of 200 artists in 30 exhibitions. The theme of this year’s Biennale is “For Heaven’s Sake,” and it centers on the Jewish penchant for discussion and argument. In that spirit, the Forward reached out to a half-dozen artists in…
It’s the 90th anniversary of the creation of Popeye, and the Yiddishkeit of the sailor, created by American Jewish cartoonist Elzie Segar (1894–1938), is more apparent than ever. There’s even a Popeye The Sailor Man Mezuzah sold online to protect Jewish homes from evil. Yet explicit Jewish content was scant in the Illinois-born Segar’s original…
Ivy L. Barsky, the chief executive of the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, has resigned. She will leave the institution in June, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Barsky was named CEO in 2012, two years after the museum opened a new $150 million building. (The museum, founded in 1976, was historically housed in…
Editor’s Note: This is the second story in a series about the work and art of Käthe Kollwitz and how it influenced artists, activists and collectors like Dr. Richard Simms. Read Part I here. Dr. Richard A. Simms devoted himself to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for 33 years. From the time it…
In a civilization neurotic with branding, some artists are identified as simply “artists,” while others get qualified. Nancy Spero, whose wonderful work is now a subject of a major show at MOMA PS1, is often called a “political artist,” or “artist and activist.” Even as they attempt to be merely descriptive, or even honorific, such…
As flames devastated Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral on April 15, more than just a worldwide center of Catholic worship and an architectural masterpiece was threatened. Jewish history is also reflected in the cathedral, for better and for worse. When its massive construction began almost one thousand years ago, Notre-Dame de Paris reflected theological messages that…
A month after a Virginia high school student’s drawing solicited concerns from community members who believed the artwork to be anti-Semitic, The Washington Post ran an editorial condemning the school district’s official response as “a groveling apology” with a “feeble reference to students’ First Amendment rights.” The editorial was titled “A High Schooler’s Controversial Artwork…
Last week, in a sea change for the world of art philanthropy, three major museums decided to reject donations from the Sackler family. The museums, which announced their decisions over the course of three days, are the London-based National Portrait Gallery and Tate galleries and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. Yesterday, the…
Carolee Schneemann, a boundary-shattering visual, film and performance artist has died at the age of 79; her often messy, always provocative mark on the culture survives in figures as diverse as Marina Abramović, Lena Dunham and Lady Gaga. ArtNews reported Schneemann’s passing, confirmed to them by a New York representative and her dealer P.P.O.W. Gallery….
Samantha Bee slapped the Sackler name on yet another art institution. To draw attention to Purdue Pharma’s alleged role in the opioid crisis, Bee enshrined the family behind the company in “The Sackler Museum of Stupid S—t the Sacklers Bought with Their Blood Money” on Wednesday’s “Full Frontal.” The museum presentation is a nod to…
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