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9780271079127 Add to Cart Academic Inspection Copy

Image, Action, and Idea in Contemporary Jewish Art

  • ISBN-13: 9780271079127
  • Publisher: PENN STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS
    Imprint: PENN STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS
  • By Ben Schachter
  • Price: AUD $75.99
  • Stock: 0 in stock
  • Availability: This book is temporarily out of stock, order will be despatched as soon as fresh stock is received.
  • Local release date: 14/01/2018
  • Format: Paperback (203.00mm X 152.00mm) 176 pages Weight: 363g
  • Categories: Judaism [HRJ]
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Contemporary Jewish art is a growing field that includes traditional as well as new creative practices, yet criticism of it is almost exclusively reliant on the Second Commandment’s prohibition of graven images. Arguing that this disregards the corpus of Jewish thought and a century of criticism and interpretation, Ben Schachter advocates instead a new approach focused on action and process.

Departing from the traditional interpretation of the Second Commandment, Image, Action, and Idea in Contemporary Jewish Art addresses abstraction, conceptual art, performance art, and other styles that do not rely on imagery for meaning. Schachter examines Jewish art through the concept of melachot—work-like “creative activities” as defined by the medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides. Showing the similarity between art and melachot in the active processes of contemporary Jewish artists such as Ruth Weisberg, Allen Wexler, Archie Rand, and Nechama Golan, he explores the relationship between these artists’ methods and Judaism’s demanding attention to procedure.

A compellingly written challenge to traditionalism, Image, Action, and Idea in Contemporary Jewish Art makes a well-argued case for artistic production, interpretation, and criticism that revels in the dual foundation of Judaism and art history.


Contents

Illustrations

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1 Images and Actions in Art Criticism and Jewish Thought

Chapter 2 Melakhot, Creative Activities, and Artistic Practice

Chapter 3 Contemporary Jewish Art

Chapter 4 Visual Midrash and Artistic Interpretation

Epilogue: Becoming a Jewish Artist

Bibliography

Index


“A valuable contribution to the expanding discussion of Jewish art. ‘Action’ as the consummate motif in the making of contemporary Jewish art may not be a new idea, but Schachter’s articulation of it is new and the framing of it refreshing and, in many respects, original.”

—Ori Z. Soltes, Ars Judaica

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