Submitted by the Skirball Museum Cincinnati
In her one-woman show currently on view at the Skirball Museum on the historic Cincinnati campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, former Cincinnatian Ellie Beth Scott sews together a narrative about the power and determination of women. On Thursday, October 26 at 11 am at the Skirball Museum housed in HUC-JIR’s Mayerson Hall, she will share her insights about her exhibition, Eve: I Understand, in conversation with Skirball curatorial consultant Abby Schwartz. Coffee, tea, and light refreshments will be served.
In conjunction with the reinstallation of significant sections of the Skirball Museum’s permanent collection (Torah, Life Cycle, Holidays & Festivals), Scott, now based in Santa Fe, brings her inimitable talent to a visual interpretation of objects and subject matter in Jewish life, with an emphasis on women, who perpetuate devotion and determination in a myriad of ways. Using selected objects of material culture in the Skirball collection used by women and practices performed by women for reference and inspiration, Scott renders colorful quilted pieces using fabric, thread, paint, buttons and beads. Scott comments: “As women we often measure time and events in cycles. It is a paradigm that spans generations and cultures. My grandfather used his hands as a tailor to provide a life for his family when they immigrated to the United States from Poland. For this show, I use my hands to explore personal and ritual objects that carry both history and reverence for religious traditions and cultural celebration. This lineage connects our past, present, and future.”
This exhibition, which appears in the museum’s second floor lobby, is intentionally presented in concert with the exhibition in the museum’s fourth floor gallery, also dedicated to the contributions of women, titled Motherhood Essence and the Feminine Divine: Cincinnati and Israeli Artists Interpret Representations of the Female Experience, organized by ish in celebration of Israel at 75. Attendees at the Coffee and Conversation event will have the opportunity to visit both special exhibitions, as well as the permanent collection, where works of art that inspired Scott are on view.
Scott will return to Cincinnati in late January to conduct an intergenerational workshop where participants will make their own fabric pieces. Details about this program will be forthcoming later in the fall. For information about the Coffee and Conversation and other events and programs, visit the Skirball Museum website. Eve: I Understand closes on Sunday, February 4, 2024.
Support for this program is provided by the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation and the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati.
