In The Press
- Maariv, Signon (Article)
- "The Anatomy of the Gray"
- by Sharon Dubjinsky, 20011
- "Design Milk"
- Design Blog
- 2011
- "infoplus"
- Online Magazine in Russian
- 2011
- "Design Edition JM" (Design Edition Exhibition)
- "The Jewish Museum New York"
- November 8, 2010
- "Reinventing Ritual: Contemporary Art and Design for Jewish Life" (Exhibition Web page)
- "The Jewish Museum New York"
- Museum Exhibition , September 13 - through February 7, 2010
- "The Jewish Museum New York Gallery" (Website catalogue)
- "Marit Meisler, ceMMnet Mezuzah" 2009
- "The Jewish Museum New York Blog" (Blog article)
- "Reinventing Ritual: Contemporary Art and Design for Jewish Life"
- by Daniel Belasco, 2009
- "Time Out" Tel Aviv (Article)
- "Menorah, I have not"
- by Shani Harari, 2008
- At Magazine (Article)
- "Light, for the gentiles too"
- by Adi Bosiba, 2008
- Calcalist (Article)
- "Design / Menorah"
- by Noa Barak, 2008
- Maariv, Signon (Article)
- "Concrete Menorah"
- by Dekel Godovich, 2008
- The Jewish Press (Article)
- "Designer Elevates The Mundane"
- by Elliot Resnick, 2007
- The Boston Globe (Article)
- "Branching out"
- by Linda Matchan, 2006
- The San Francisco Chronicle (Article)
- "Designers Modernize Traditional Menorahs"
- by Linda Matchan, 2006
- "Becoming a Product Designer" (Book)
- by Bruce Hannah
- Publisher: John Wiley & Sons INC, 2004
- (Designed in Lisa Smith Studio)
- "WhiteOut" (Exhibition catalogue)
- Felissimo Design House, 2004
- Designed in Lisa Smith Studio
- Haaretz Magazine (Article)
- "Bazooka Joe and His War against The ABC Warfare"
- by Arie Berkovich, 2003
- Design collaboration with Joni Friedman
- "Head Gurad- Design Takes on Risk"
- (Exhibition catalogue)
- Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design, 2003
- Design collaboration with Joni Friedman
- "Artik 5" (Exhibition catalogue)
- The America-Israel Cultural Foundation, 2003
- "Artik 4" (Exhibition catalogue)
- The America-Israel Cultural Foundation, 2002
The Jewish Museum New York Blog, Reinventing Ritual: Contemporary Art and Design for Jewish Life
By: Daniel Belasco, Henry J. Leir Assistant Curator
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
Welcome to the blog for The Jewish Museum’s Fall 2009 exhibition Reinventing Ritual: Contemporary Art and Design for Jewish Life. The exhibition maps
the 21st century avant-garde expressions of design in Jewish ritual objects, and art about Jewish ritual. We are defining Jewish ritual rather generally, to
include everything from the reading of the Torah, to the observance of dietary laws, to the construction of green synagogues. Actions that perform a Jewish
ceremonial function can motivate an artist to make a silver object, video projection, ceramic plate, or sculptural installation.
Fortunately, we are at a moment when the interests of design and Judaism overlap significantly. Critic Ellen Lupton recently defined
design as the combination of critical thinking and human behavior. Judaism, which has been involved with making meaning in the
everyday for over the millennia, has become an especially apt inspiration for many designers and artists today.
The blog is a way of returning to the online community more of the fresh and exciting news and insights gained from my own online
research. When I started researching this exhibition in July 2007, I began with the Web. Typing key words like menorah, mezuzah,
and seder plate into every relevant art and design website and blog, I came across some amazing objects, like Marit Meisler’s
concrete mezuzah and Joe Grand’s iron pipe-fitting Hanukkah menorah. A number of these pieces have since been added to the
museum’s permanent collection and/or the checklist for Reinventing Ritual.
There is an active, if diffuse, conversation about the intersection of contemporary design and Jewish ritual practice. Yet, I felt that this conversation could be taken to the next level and given a platform. The exhibition itself, as well as its accompanying catalogue, co-published with Yale University Press, and public programs, will go a long way to filling the gap in this exciting and little-known area of contemporary art. Yet there are many more amazing works of contemporary Judaica appearing around the world than can be included in a single exhibition, and this blog will be a way to bring more works into the dialogue.
Over the next several months, in advance of and during the opening of the exhibition in September, this space will become a source for conversations around current issues and developments in Jewish ritual art. Some of the posts will be pegged to Jewish holidays, some will spread the word about new events or exhibitions around the world, and others will discuss the backstory of the organization and design of Reinventing Ritual itself. Check back here frequently for semi-weekly postings. And we’d love to hear your suggestions and recommendations for new works and happenings.
Daniel Belasco
Henry J. Leir Assistant Curator