JWST 31198

About this course

"Is there a Jewish art? First they build a Jewish Museum, then they ask, 'Is there a Jewish art' Jews!" With these provocative words, Harold Rosenberg began his inaugural address at the Jewish Museum in New York City in 1966. Since then, Jewish museums have opened around the world, from Berlin to Tulsa, Cape Town to Buenos Aires, and numerous exhibitions on 'Jewish art' have been mounted. And yet, no consensus has emerged about just what we might consider Jewish art. Jewish individuals may have made works of art but that does not necessarily make the artworks Jewish. In this course, we will use the imprecision of the term "Jewish art" to reflect on the multiple ways in which Jewish identity has surfaced within, and been influenced by, visual art.