Maya Wainhaus – Jewcy

Hump Day Art: Artist Afloat in the Dead Sea

Maya Wainhaus — Fri, 02 May 2008 08:15:42 +0000

In her tryptich of videos called CycleSpun, currently up at MoMA, Israeli artist Sigalit Landau employs water, landscapes, and the body to explore the cyclical nature of life and religion. All three videos — Day Done, DeadSee and Barbed Hula — are set in Israel, and provide the viewer with scenes that are at once engrossing, disturbing and beautiful. Here are some stills from the videos, and an image from the instillation, which is lit by Dead Sea salt-encrusted chandeliers.

Last week: Psychedelic Hebrew

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Hump Day Art: Psychedelic Hebrew

Maya Wainhaus — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 08:45:52 +0000

It's not officially Hump Day anymore, but with all the Passover goings-on it can be easy to lose track of time. It may be a day late, but here's your weekly serving of Hump Day Art.

In JAMS2 (Jewish Animated Mandala Series), artist Melissa Shiff used Judaica from the Jewish Museum in her kaleidescope-like video for the Off the Wall exhibit. This is not the first time Shiff has played off of Jewish iconography; she's reinvented the Jewish wedding, and decked out entire rooms in matzo.

At the end of Off the Wall, Shiff displayed a series of video projections featuring swirling, colorful Hebrew letters that served as the backdrop for a fashion show and performance. The work is both gorgeous and surprising, as she finds the geometry and patterns in the letters. Here are some stills from the projections at the museum.

Last week: Modern Day Exodus

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Pets Can Keep Kosher Too!

Maya Wainhaus — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:51:51 +0000

Just in time for Passover, lots of religious pet news! This week we learned that Pope Benedict XVI's loves cats — he even has an authorized biography written by a furry friend named Chico who was his neighbor in Germany. The book is called “Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told by a Cat" (as told to journalist Jeanne Perego).

As for Jewish furballs, a recent article at Petside.com suggests that Passover is the perfect time to have your pets keep kosher too. While the dogs at my seder (there were four!) seemed to enjoy a stray matzoh ball, the article doesn't offer much insight into KforP pet food. It does, however, provide some helpful hints for keeping Fido kosher the rest of the year:

The companies that now provide kosher kibble adhere to the strict separation of meat and dairy to qualify the food as kosher for animals. This does not make the pet food kosher for human consumption, and in a kosher household, the animal’s dish would have to be washed in a bathroom or laundry room sink, separate from the kosher supplies in the kitchen.

Of course, there are no Jewish laws stating that pets must keep kosher, but for pet owners, it can be a way to ensure that beloved dogs and cats are getting high quality food. In no time at all, they'll be ready for their Bark Mitzvahs.

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Hump Day Art: Modern Day Exodus

Maya Wainhaus — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 07:57:07 +0000

With Passover beginning this week, the theme of exodus seems inescapable. Luckily, artist and Six Point Fellow Avishai Mekonen has found the nuances in the term, which in recent history has often been applied to the Ethiopian Jews' migration to Israel. Mekonen uses photography and sound in his project Seven Generations, documenting how the lives of Ethiopian immigrants have changed as they adapt to a new culture, and how traditions have been preserved.

Last Week: The American Dream Via Russia

Sudanese Refugees in Israel

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Seder Behind Bars

Maya Wainhaus — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:38:58 +0000

Passover is a time to commemorate our freedom, but as New York Magazine points out, perhaps no one understands the meaning of the holiday more than the Jewish inmates at Otisville Prison. The Jewish prisoners, who number about 60, hold a yearly Seder at the medium-security facility in upstate New York. Unlike the ancient Israelites, who were enslaved by Pharaoh against their will, the inmates at Otisville are mostly white collar criminals. Still, prison chaplain Gary Friedman argues that the Seder allows the men to celebrate freedom, at least in the metaphorical sense. “The Haggadah has a line that reads ‘Tonight we are all free men,’ and for the duration of the Seder, they are.”

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Hump Day Art: The American Dream Via Russia

Maya Wainhaus — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:10:15 +0000

Alina and Jeff Bliumis are a duo of artists from the former Soviet Union who use photography to document the often ambiguous notion of the American dream. Their 'Casual Conversations' series is an ongoing project that “explores migration, displacement, and assimilation through dialogue and interactions with strangers.” Here are some of the photographs from their recent residency at the Jewish Museum in New York.

Chassidic Fashion Designer Levi Okunov

Mixing Heresy and High Fashion, Levi Okunov Dresses Women up as Torahs

Last Week: More to the Lower East Side Than Hipsters

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Hump Day Art: More to the Lower East Side Than Hipsters

Maya Wainhaus — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:06:15 +0000

From Jacob Riis' How the Other Half Lives to the recently renovated Eldridge Street Synagogue, there's plenty of documentation of Jewish life in the tenements of the Lower East Side at the turn of the 20th century. Thomas Holton, however, captures the tenements' present-day occupants in the series "The Lams of Ludlow Street" currently up at the Sasha Wolf Gallery. The photographs chronicle the lives of a Chinese couple who share a two room apartment with their three children, offering an intimate glimpse into the famous neighborhood's most recent history.

Last week: Chassidic Fashion Designer Levi Okunov

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Hump Day Art: Chassidic Fashion Designer Levi Okunov

Maya Wainhaus — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 06:30:12 +0000

Two weeks ago we showed you photos of the Jewish Museum's Off the Wall exhibit under construction. Now that the exhibit is in full swing, take a look at the results. These photos feature fashions from Chassidic designer Levi Okunov. For more on Okunov, check out the interview below, in which the designer talks about his inspirations, Chassidic teachings, spirituality, and the Jewish Museum.

Levi Okunov discusses his residency at the Jewish Museum from mobius1ski on Vimeo.

Last week: Bagels with a Side of Art

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Hump Day Art: Bagels With a Side of Art

Maya Wainhaus — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 08:53:38 +0000

You know what's wrong with the art world today? Not enough bagels. Luckily, C. Pascual has remedied the situation with her recent show, "Darwinian Mixed Media" at Brooklyn Bagels in Chelsea. Here's a sneak preview of what's on display.

Last week: Off the Wall at the Jewish Museum

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Billy Crystal is the Yankees’ New DH — “Designated Hebrew”

Maya Wainhaus — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 08:09:18 +0000

Today comedian Billy Crystal fulfilled the fantasy of every short, aging Jewish male in America — he played baseball before a sold-out stadium during spring training. The Yankees signed Crystal to a two-day contract to celebrate the long time fan's 60th birthday. He joins the ranks of Jewish baseball greats like Shawn Green, Sandy Koufax and Hank Greenberg. "I’m the D.H. — designated Hebrew," Crystal commented in the Times. “It doesn’t matter. I’m so jazzed. It’s the greatest thrill ever.”

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