Full Description
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.
Contents
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
