By Julia Olson
Assistant Editor
The Skirball Museum in Cincinnati opened three new exhibitions on a single evening, on Thursday, October 19.
The Skirball’s permanent galleries dedicated to Torah, Life Cycle, and Holidays were reopened in the exhibition “An Eternal People: The Jewish Experience.” The galleries feature brand new cases whose acquisition, according to Curatorial Consultant Abby Schwartz, was hampered by supply chain issues due to the pandemic.
Schwartz stated, “It is with a special sense of pride that the Skirball reopens its core collection, The Jewish People: An Eternal Experience after a 4-year closure of our life cycle, Torah, and holiday and festival galleries. Supply chain issues during COVID prevented the making and delivery of new casework. It is especially meaningful to be able to display many objects of material culture for the first time, and to have several of these ritual objects interpreted by Ellie Beth Scott in her fabric art installation, Eve: I Understand.
As we present out current exhibitions, we are reminded, at this difficult and painful time in our world, of the power of art to heal, to inspire, and to be a catalyst for dialogue and understanding.”
There are new tables and signage, as well as new objects from the B’nai B’rith Klutznick collection that have never before been on view. The collection showcases items such as an engraved silver Havdalah spice container, a mezuzah, a shofar, a Torah finial made of engraved silver, and other objects. The new items from the B’nai B’rith Klutznick collection are displayed according to rituals, such as Shabbat and Havdalah, wedding ceremonies, bar and bat mitzvah celebrations, and holidays like Chanukah. Each case is filled with objects that draw out and illuminate the themes of the gallery. The new collection is a breathtaking one, and in especially dark times it is heartening to see the light reflect off of these beautiful testaments to the longevity of the Jewish people. Many of the pieces on display are accompanied by works by artist Mark Podwal. Podwal created eighteen drawings inspired by objects from the B’nai B’rith Klutznick collection and then gifted those drawings to the museum at the end of their first exhibition in 2016.
Podwal’s pieces hang near the objects that inspire them, granting the visitor a multi-textured view of the objects and their enduring impact on ritual life.
Another exhibition that opened alongside “An Eternal People” was Ellie Beth Scott’s “Eve: I Understand.” Scott chose ritual items from the Skirball collection and rendered her own interpretations of them using fabric, thread, paint, buttons, and beads. The work focuses on women’s participation in ritual life. In a booklet that accompanies the gallery, Scott wrote “Women often measure time and events in cycles. It is a paradigm that spans generations and many cultures. This installation is a visual interpretation of objects and subject matter found in life and in the particular traditions of Jewish life.” Scott’s grandfather, she wrote, was a tailor, so she channeled the power of his hand craft “to explore personal and ritual objects that carry both history and reverence for religious traditions and cultural celebration.” The work women do to honor the past and build the future is personified in Eve, wrote Scott, so the exhibition is named in honor of Eve, “the first woman of valor.”
The final exhibition to open was “Motherhood Essence and the Feminine Divine: Cincinnati and Israeli Artists Interpret the Female Experience.”
Two Israelis from Netanya, artists-in-residence, hosted by ish, along with two more Israeli artists and four Cincinnati artists contributed to this exhibition. According to a statement in a booklet that accompanies the exhibition, ish’s Becky Mason, curatorial consultant, wrote that “the theme is inspired by a play on the Hebrew words for motherhood (imahut) and essence (mahut), and the idea the women shape who we are at our core.” The artists worked together to create an original work of art and four additional pieces that interpret the work of their fellow artists.
The Israeli artists who contributed their work are Roni Fixler, Stav Even Zahav, Maya Prat, and Dana Cohen. The Cincinnati artists are Avery Plummer, Sharareh Khosravani, Mary Barr Rhodes, and Leo Manis. The artists worked together in their own mediums to generate a unique piece and then respond to and interpret the works of their colleagues in the exhibition. What is rendered is a vibrant, multi-vocal conversation between pieces that carries the visitor through the gallery and highlights the impact motherhood and the female experience have on all elements of life. Each piece stands on its own and speaks to the others, offering multivalent engagement to visitors as they move through the exhibition. The exhibit is organized by ish and hosted at the Skirball.
Ethan Hughes, Executive Assistant and Special Project Coordinator at ish, said, “Through this initiative, ish intended to instill a sense of optimism in our constantly evolving political landscape. At its essence, ish strives to foster productive discussions, promote comprehension, and drive transformation through its programming. We aspire to cultivate space for establishing interpersonal bonds, especially during periods characterized by alienation and polarization. It was significant to host Israeli artists in Cincinnati amidst a backdrop of widespread confusion, misinformation, and anti-Semitic sentiments. The potential to employ art as a catalyst for engagement and constructive dialogue has proven to be one of the most impactful manifestations of our mission.”
Both “Eve: I Understand” and “Motherhood Essence and the Feminine Divine: Cincinnati and Israeli Artists Interpret the Female Experience” run until February 4th, 2024.