2009 The Artof Hanukkah4website

THE ART OF HANUKAH

0. THIS MATERIAL IS FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY

1. The ART OF CHANUKAH OR HANUKAH???
2. ‫ חנוכה‬is Hebrew for ‘DEDICATION’

3a. JUDAH THE MACCABEE-Rothschild Miscellany, No. Italy, 1450-80
Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah. China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc.
Pen and ink, tempera, gold leaf on vellum. 8 1/4 x 6 1/4 in. (21 x 15.9 cm).
Ms. 180/51, fol. 217. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Gift of James A. de
Rothschild, London
Rothschild Miscellany is an illuminated Hebrew manuscript
It has over 300 text illustrations
It is a compilation of almost 50 religious and secular works
It was made during the Florentine Renaissance
It was for a Jew of great wealth and taste in Florence
These illustrations are based on Josephus’s account of history
These images and text are for the Sabbath during Hanukkah
Judah the Maccabee is shown as a medieval knight in armor
His shield has a rampant lion, the Jewish symbol of strength

3b. JUDITH AND HOLOFERNES-Rothschild Miscellany, No. Italy, 1450-80
Pen and ink, tempera, gold leaf on vellum. 8 1/4 x 6 1/4 in. (21 x 15.9 cm).
Ms. 180/51, fol. 217. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Gift of James A. de
Rothschild, London
Judith is the heroine who decapitated Holofernes
He was the military leader of the enemy of the Jews
She saved the Jewish people from destruction

4. KINDLING THE HANUKKAH LIGHTS -Sefer HaMinhagim, 1723
Kosofsky, S. M. (2004). The Book of Customs. San Francisco: Harper
Collins
This image is from the Book of Customs
It shows a man kindling a very large Hanukah Lamp
It was probably kept in the synagogue
This is a print made by the woodblock technique
It displays the characteristic checkerboard pattern of floor tiles
Notice the diagonal frets in the windows of Holland

5. KINDLING THE HANUKKAH LIGHTS-Moritz Oppenheim, 1880
Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah. China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc
Oil on canvas. 27 11/16 x 22 1/2 in. (70.4 x 57.2 cm). The Israel Museum,
Jerusalem
Moritz Oppenheim is often considered the “first Jewish painter”
This is due to his genre paintings
They depicted traditional Jewish life
This was during German Jewish emancipation in the 19th century
Oppenheim was born in 1800 in Hanau
He was educated in art in Munich, Paris, and Rome
He returned to Frankfurt where he lived out his life until
He died in 1882
He was a master portraitist of the Rothschild’s, his major patrons

Myrna Teck, Ph. D. 12/3/09 1

THE ART OF HANUKAH

This painting is in the grisaille medium (various gray tones)
It was created between 1865 and 1880
Oppenheim steadfastly used Jewish subject matter
This was when many Jews were converting to Christianity
They did that in order to achieve financial success
Oppenheim had a childhood home full of fine ceremonial objects
The nostalgia of the Hanukkah celebration may have come from there
It joined his conviction of the value of Jewish religious experience
Note the many Hanukkah lamps in the room
This indicates that each family member participated in the mitzvah
That is of lighting and blessing the candles
His Pictures of Old-Time Jewish Family Life are reproductions
These are of the cycle of his paintings
It was published in many versions in the l.19th and e. 20th centuries

6. CHANUKAH CANDLES-Ze’ev Raban, Bezalel Academy, 1920s.
Ze’ev Raban was a European-trained artist
He taught in many departments of the Bezalel Academy of Art
After 1914 -He also designed many commercial products
It is his design that appears on the familiar box of Hanukkah candles
This is now nearly 100 years later

The use of light originates at the beginning of all time
Those first words were: “Let there be light”
Light was separated from darkness
This marked the first act of Creation
The Midrash says that light is not of this world
It emanates from ennoblement
That is, of something that comes from the other side of reality
The Baal Shem Tov said that the Hebrew word for light is “or”
It has the same numerological value as “raz, or mystery

Hanukkah celebrates Judah Maccabee’s triumph over the Syrians
That happened in 165 BCE
A miracle accompanied this even
The Temple menorah burned for eight days on a one-day supply of oil

7. DREIDLS-Various Artists, American and Israeli.
Mixed media: lacquer, paint, paper decal, plastic, porcelain, and wood
Height: 2-3 in. (5.1 –7 cm)
Collection of Linda and Leonard Thal, Los Angeles.
Dreidels-in wood, ivory, cast lead, silver, pewter, and other metals
Today’s dreidels also use
Wood
Glass
ceramic
plastic
Plexiglas
Liquids


THE ART OF HANUKAH

Confetti
Electronics
And other non-traditional materials.
Tiffany and Wedgwood make them of silver, porcelain, and crystal
These clearly reflect a modern Jewish sensibility
Some are wound up and walk instead of spin, while others play music.
Russian-Israeli artists create dreidels like Russian nesting dolls
These colorful and unique dreidels enhance the “Hiddur Mitzvah”
This is especially true within a contemporary Jewish home

8. MENORAH AND MAGNOLIAS-Bill Aron, 1993
Silver gelatin print. 16 x 20 in. (40.6 x 50.8 cm). Collection of the
Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience
Bill Aron photographs of Jewish communities throughout the world
1989-Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience commissioned him
He was charged to document uniquely southern Jewish life
This photograph captures such a moment
It evokes the spirit and customs of the Jewish south
It highlights the Jewish value of transmitting Jewish customs
L’Dor v’Dor-from generation to generation
The graceful magnolia is the state flower for Mississippi
It symbolizes the strength and beauty of the South
This contemporary family kindles the Hanukkah lights in a window
It proclaims the miracle for all to see

9. HANUKKAH LAMP- Avignon, c. 12th c.
Wigoder, G. (1972). Jewish Art & Civilization, Fribourg, Switzerland:
Chartwell
Marble from the Pyrenees. Paris, Klagbald Collection
The lamp has eight compartments for the oil wicks
The inscription reads:
“For the Commandment is a Lamp, and the Law is Light”
That is from Proverbs 6: 23
It is often used on Hanukkah Lamps

10. LEHMAN/FIGDOR HANUKKAH LAMP- Italy (?), 14/16th c
5 3/8 x 6 11/16 x 2 in.( 13.7 x 17 x 5.1 cm)
Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York
Bequest of Judge Irving Lehman, 1945
Formerly in the collection of Dr. Albert Figdor, Vienna
This lamp is the oldest Ashkenazi bronze lamp in existence
That is, according to Professor Bezalel Narkiss
The architectural character relates to the High Gothic style
That is of the European Middle Ages
This is a of rare cast bronze lamp
Cast in a mold in a single piece
It is one of several rare medieval extant bronze Hanukkah lamps
The lamps were designed with a back panel
That is in order to hang it in a window or inside a room
It is intended to be seen from outside the house


THE ART OF HANUKAH

This is what is prescribed by the Talmud
There is a four-pointed quatrefoil in this central medallion
It encloses a grotesque animal: a salamander, phoenix, or dragon
These are all symbolically associated with fire
They are thus appropriate to the rededication of the Temple menorah
Lions of Judah inhabit the roundels, typical of medieval manuscripts
Squirrels holding nuts are a reference to mystical Cabala writings
Or they may be to the Jewish metaphor linking the Torah to a nut
As one peels away a nut’s hard outer shell to get to the kernel
So the study of Torah requires many levels of interpretation
That is to discover its true meaning
The shell and the kernel are compared in the Zohar (Splendor)
That is, to the levels of meaning of the study of Torah.
Intersecting arcades are an architectural reference to the Temple
The quote from Proverbs 6:23 is seen here once again

11. HANUKKAH LAMP-Fez, Morocco, 18th c
Sed-Rajna, G. (Ed.). (1997). Jewish Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc
Brass, cast, pierced, and engraved. 19 x 19 1/4 x 2 3/4 in. (48.3 x 23.5 x 7
cm). The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Tycho Collection
The backwall of this lamp is made of two separately cast pieces.
The triangular upper section has birds perched on its ‘branches’
The lower part has two arcades of horseshoe arch windows
These reflect local architecture
The lamp has an overall decorative quality
This reflects the richly ornamented domes on mosques in the area

12. HANUKKAH LAMP-Valentine Schuler, late 17th c
Grossman, G. (1995). Jewish art. NY: Hugh Lauter Levin Assoc., Inc
Valentin and his brother Michael established a workshop in Germany
For 80 years, it produced the most magnificent silver Judaica
These branches are similar to the biblical description
Exodus 25: 33- knobs and flowers of the seven-branched menorah
Here the knops are bell-shaped

Judith holds the head of Holofernes at the top of the lamp
There is an animal on each burner: squirrel, stag, eagle, and pelican
These may be emblems of Jewish families from the Frankfurt ghetto
Base has medallions with architectural engravings appliqué angels
Rampant lions holding shields form the feet of the lamp
The lamp was for a wedding in the Judengasse in Frankfurt, 1681

13. HANUKKAH LAMP-Brody, 1787
Mid-to late 18th c.-high baroque and rococo German aesthetic
Architectural motifs are traditional to Hanukkah lamps
Ancient practice of placing the lamp to be seen from the street
This backplate is based on Torah arks in Polish synagogues

Strict symmetry and horror vacui are the two aesthetic principles
These principles exist on this lamp
Heraldic animals face one another at the central vertical axis


THE ART OF HANUKAH

Griffins support a crown symbolic of the Torah
It is aligned with the meeting point of the ark doors.
There is a contrast between the architecture and surrounding areas
They are overlaid with dense silver vegetation
The gilt ground is distinctly different
It is as if the artist possessed a fear of empty spaces
Horror vacui is most reminiscent of folk art
The artist’s skill is evident in the graceful forms of natural life
Rococo scrolls and cartouche at bottom are examples
Lions are the shape for the burners in this lamp
They recall the biblical Lion of Judah
The crown above the ark doors refers to the “crown of Torah”

14. HANUKKAH LAMP-Eastern Europe, late 19th c
Bronze, cast. 29 34 x 26 12 in 13 3/4 in. (75.5 x 67.3 x 34.9 cm).
Rose and Benjamin Mintz Collection
The Jewish Museum, New York
This lamp is a menagerie of animals from the Garden of Eden
They are arranged in heraldic pairs along a central vertical axis
This exotic paradise consists of:
Four dolphins
Two elephants
Two lions
Birds
Deer
Griffins
A gorilla
A bear
They create the harmony and peace the Maccabees fought to ensure

The protruding candleholder for the shammash emphasizes this axis
Many aspects of this lamp recall east European folk art
Torah arks and the carvings on tombstones may be design sources
Animals in dense foliage with openings are like paper cutting
This lamp’s complex composition drew on sophisticated arts
Open ironwork reached its apogee in the first half of the 19th c.

This lamp was probably a special commission
Unique decoration reflects the fantasy of its maker, patron, or both
It is a sculptural celebration of art in the service of ritual

This lamp came from Rose and Benjamin Mintz
They were dealers in antiquities in Poland
1939-They brought their collection of E. European folk art to NYC
They intended to exhibit it at the New York World’s Fair
The items were never put on display
That is, because they were not products of Palestine
The Mintzes remained in America after the Nazi invasion of Poland
Their collection became part of the Jewish Museum
15. HAMSA HANUKKAH LAMP-Iraq, 19th c.


THE ART OF HANUKAH

Brass, cast (glass cups missing). 10 7/8 x 18 in. (27.6 x 45.7 cm).
Deinard Collection, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
This lamp’s design reflects its origin in an Islamic country
The back wall is the façade of a domed building on four pillars
The scalloped arch provides a decorative element
The hamsa, or hand, relates in Hebrew and Arabic to the number five
It is a popular amuletic device to ward off evil
The hamsa is used five times on the lamp
this increases its power fivefold
The inscription is from Genesis 49:22 and reads
“Joseph is a fruitful vine”
This is a popular quote on amulets
That is because the second phrase of the verse is
“A fruitful vine by a fountain.”
The word for both fountain and eye is “ayin”
This text was thought to afford good protection against the Evil eye

16. DAMASCENE HANUKKAH LAMP-Damascene, Syria, 19th c.
Brass with copper and silver inlay
111/2 x 13 1/4 x 2 1/4 in. (29.2 x 33.7 x 5.7 cm).
Judaica museum of Central synagogue, New York
Islamic influence is apparent in the keyhole shaped arches
These are behind the oil wells and in the backplate.
The use of Damascene work is at its high point in the 19th c.
Jews in Arabic lands usually did this kind of work

Damascus Jews were metalworkers for many hundreds of years
They perfected a unique art form called Damascene ware
It has inlays of yellow copper, brass, and silver
The surface of Damascene objects is decorated with
cursive lines
calligraphy
roundels
symbols
imagery
geometric patterns
They used the horror vacuii aesthetic of Islamic painting
This bench-type lamp has a flattened horizontal arched backplate
Its openwork crown incorporates Islamic stylistic features
The border of Hebrew lettering accentuates the outline of the lamp
The six-pointed Star of David is applied to repousse roundels
This intensifies the reflected glow from the candles in the holders
Disparate ethnic Jewish communities continued to use:
Lions of Judah
Ark
Ten Commandments
They used these symbols for thousands of years
this indicates the Jewish ability to retain the beliefs and tradition
They maintained Judaism while living in many places

17. BAAL SHEM TOV HANUKKAH LAMP--Germany, early 20th c.


THE ART OF HANUKAH

Grossman, G. (1995). Jewish art. NY: Hugh Lauter Levin Assoc., Inc.
Silver, filigree, cast, die-stamped. Engraved, parcel gilt. 14 x 12 7/8 x 5 1/4
in. (35.6 x 32.7 x 13.3 cm). Hebrew Union College, Skirball Museum, Los
Angeles. Kirschstein Collection.
Tradition says that the Baal Shem Tov used this type of lamp
It was widely imitated in the Ukraine and Poland
The elaborate filigree lamp is architectural in form
Onion-shaped domes of E. Orthodox churches influenced it

18. HANUKKAH CHAIRS LAMP--Germany, 20th c.
Pewter. 3 x 1 1/8 x 1 3/8 in. (7.6 x 2.9 x 3.5 cm).
HUC, Skirball Museum, Los Angeles. Kirschstein Collection
Chair-shaped oil lamps is typical of fin-de-siecle Austria & Germany
They are reminiscent of the design of the Vienna Secession
The backs are inscribed with Hebrew words (Ner Hanukkah)
The words say that they are to be used exclusively for the festival
They may have been made for and used by children
That is based on the dollhouse quality of these chair lights
They also bring to mind small game pieces, such as dreidls
Prof. Mordechai Narkiss wrote this in his book The Hanukkah Lamp
(Hebrew, 1939)
Prof. Narkiss’ son, Bezalel Narkiss explained the term “Chanukiah”
It is a word frequently used to describe the Hanukkah lamp
Turn of the 20th century, there was a Judeo-Portuguese song
The double “ll” sounded like a “y” producing the popular term

19. HANUKKAH LAMP-Eretz Yisrael or Yemen, e. 20th c.
Grossman, G. (1995). Jewish art. NY: Hugh Lauter Levin Assoc., Inc.
Stone, carved/ 6 3/8 x 14 3/4 x 8 1/8 in. (16.2 x 14 3/4 x 8 1/8 in.)
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
This lamp is made of Jerusalem stone
It depicts a two-storied building surrounded by a wall
There is a gabled structure on the lower story
It is similar in form to numerous depictions of Torah arks
It may appropriately serve as a reference to the Temple

20. JUDAH THE MACCABEE HANUKKAH LAMP--Benno Elkan, 1956
Bronze, cast. 26 1/4 x 31 in. (66.7 x 78.7 cm)).
Spertus Museum, Chicago
Benno Elkan created this lamp with three-dimensional figures
They were cast in bronze and arranged in a classical composition
They tell the story of Judah the Maccabee
Judah stands victorious on top
His brothers Jonathan (a philosopher) and Simeon (a king) are close
Two other brothers died in battle against the Syrians
They are draped at the bottom
The Hebrew inscription from Exodus 15:11 emphasizes God’s power
It brought victory to the brave Maccabees and their followers
The verse reads:
“Who is like You, O Lord, among the might”


THE ART OF HANUKAH

Elkan was an important German sculptor who fled Germany in 1933
He to live in England
He did major public sculptures on
The theme of the ravages of war
The price of freedom
England-Elkan made large-scale bronze candelabras in various sites
These included Westminster Abbey and King’s College in Cambridge
1945-British Parliament gave Elkan’s bronze menorah to the Knesset
It depicts events in the 5000+ year history of the Jewish people

21. MASADA HANUKKAH LAMP-Moshe Zabari, 1967.
Silver, fabricated and embossed; in three parts. 6 3/4 x 11 3/4 in. (17.1 x
29.3 cm). HUC Collection, Skirball Museum, Los Angeles
Gift of Lucy Hubbard in honor of Jack H. Skirball
Moshe Zabari designs and fabricates Jewish ceremonial art
He is a MELEKHET MABSHEVET
That is a biblical expression for “skillful workmanship”
In Hebrew means “maker of Jewish ceremonial art”
Zabari develops new aesthetic and symbolic approaches
He captures the essence of an object of ritual significance

This lamp displays mountaintop shapes
They emerge from an undulating plane
It is evocative of a low, hilly range symbolizing Masada
Zabari links the martyrdom of the Jewish zealots as triumph
That occurred at Masada in 73 C.E.
He joins that to the victory of Judah the Maccabee over the Syrians
That incident happened in 165 B.C.E.

Both events signify Jewish refusal to capitulate
They would not bow to mighty oppressors even upon threat of death
The story of Masada grew in importance to modern Israelis
It became the symbol for Jewish resistance after the Holocaust
It was especially important in the era of modern Israeli statehood

The surface and structure of this lamp are totally undifferentiated
Ritual and meaning are enhanced by bent and hammered silver
Its irregular curves and turns imitate Masada’s landscape
They are analogous to the reflecting, shining silver surfaces
The luminosity and energy are similar to the fire of the lights

22. HANUKKAH LAMP-Zelig Segal, Jerusalem, Israel, 1984
Aluminum, laminated, painted, and kiln-fired
7 1/2 x 14 in. (19 x 36 cm)
Collection of Mark and Peachy Levy, Los Angeles
Zelig Segal’s design increases the opportunity for interaction
The person lighting the lamp is “performing” the ritual
Both a physical act and a spiritual purpose are combined


THE ART OF HANUKAH

The four pieces can be literally taken apart and recombined
There are numerous composition and artistic formats
They are dependent upon one’s mood or preference
The lamp comes with 4 separate bases, candleholders, and tops
Each piece can be used as a separate lamp
In the spirit of the holiday, one lamp can equal four lamps
Segal’s lamp gives added dimension to the Hanukkah celebration
Putting together a puzzle piece menorah reflects games and joy
Both of these are associated with the conviviality of the holiday

the lamp’s 4 levels represent the artist’s view of the Jewish nation
That is, Judaism continually rebuilds itself
That is to perpetuate continuation of the people and the religion

Segal was born and raised in Israel
He is a supporter of the Zionist approval of the Maccabean victory
He equates contemporary Zionists with the Maccabees
That is in their struggles against great odds for national freedom
Shield-like shape has the force and military spirit of Jewish victor
The range is from Judah the Maccabee to modern-day heroes

23. HANDBUILT STONEWARE LAMP-Otto Natzler, 1985
Ceramic, celadon reduction glaze with sang and orange
13 1/2 x 18 x 1 3/4 in. (34.3 x 45.7 x 4.4 cm)
HUC Collection, Skirball Museum, Los Angeles
Museum purchase with funds from Audrey and Arthur N. Greenberg
this Hanukkah lamp displays a modernist form
It has a solid simplicity and proud spirit
It evokes the historical triumph Jews celebrate on this holiday
Natzler and his wife, Gertrud, immigrated to America in 1939
They escaped Nazi-ruled Vienna, where they were born and married
This is where they began four decades of collaboration

They are among the great ceramists of the 20th century
Gertrud threw forms on the potter’s wheel
Otto developed ceramic glazing to a high art form
After Gertrud died, Otto made hand-built work
He found a new sculptural direction in his work
The subtle and ever changing glazed surface is a mystery
It adds to the spiritual quality of the lamp’s ritual function

Natzler’s work has a purist integrity
It is devoid of extraneous decorative or symbolic elements
He laid string on wet clay to make the spirals on the surface
Design is reminiscent of Ionic capitals of classic Greek architecture
That was omnipresent in ancient Israel during the Maccabean revolt
A blood-red glaze flows down from the candleholders
It may refer to the casualties that were the painful price for victory
The quietude and purity of the celadon covers most of the surface
It gives the lamp a peacefulness and strength
It seems to express hope for continued vitality of the Jewish people.


THE ART OF HANUKAH

24. STATUE OF LIBERTY HANUKKAH LAMP---Manfred Anson, 1986
Brass, cast, engraved. 23 x 16 1/2 x 7 (Diam. Base) in. (58.4 x 41.9 x 17.8
(Diam. Base) cm)

Engraved signature on back of shammash statue
HUC Collection, Skirball Museum, Los Angeles
Museum purchase with funds provided by Peachy and Mark Levy
Manfred Anson escaped Nazi Germany
He found safe refuge in Australia
Eventually, he immigrating to America
the Maccabees victory with democratic America ideals are equated
The Constitution gives religious freedom to all the nation’s people

The candleholders were cast from an original 19th century souvenir
It is a modern interpretation of an age-old practice

Jewish ceremonial art includes national emblems
This is a classic work of “outsider” or folk art
This lamp combines found objects and adapts them
The brass Hanukkah lamp is a cast of a 100-year-old Polish menorah
The artist added the two outer arms and the service light in front
Miss Liberty statuettes were modified to hold the Hanukkah candles
This reinforced the analogy between:
the torch of freedom
Hanukkah’s allusion to the light of life

The inscriptions, dated by the artist, allude to many moments in Jewish
history:
Exodus from Egypt
Babylonian Exile 597-538 BCE
Judah Maccabee 168 BCE
Two Revolts Against Rome 69-79 C.E. 132-135 C.
Galut
Herzl Zionist congress Basel
Holocaust 1939-1945
Israel 1948;
under the shammash figurine, 1886-1986
dates commemorating the centennial of the Statue of Liberty.

25. LOS ANGELES HANUKKAH LAMP-Peter Shire, 1986.
Anodized, painted, and chromed steel. 21 x 24 1/2 in. (53.3 x 61.5 cm).
HUCCollection, Skirball Museum.
Museum purchase with funds from Judy and Marvin Zeidler
This is the first Hanukkah lamp that Peter Shire ever created
He is world-renowned sculptor, ceramist, and furniture designer
He researched the Skirball Museum’s collection first
Then he created 8 large-scale, hand-wrought, innovative lamps
They extend the Jewish ceremonial art form into the postmodern era


THE ART OF HANUKAH

Shire was active in Memphis, Tennessee in the 1980s
He was part of the Italian design movement
This approach rejected a clean, spare, functional aesthetic
That approach predominated during the postwar years
Shire’s notion of art is based on a sense of adventure
Its aesthetic is conveyed through bold color, form, and pattern
This lamp includes fantasy, ephemera, and the transience of life

Shire calls this a California Hanukkah Lamp
That is, because “it is about the Jewish people who live there”
The piece exudes free-form design, style, architecture, and humor
It reflects the diverse and casual character of life in Los Angeles
Its geometry of shapes and colors display
the Spanish-style homes
Pacific beaches
jagged street patterns

It also contains allusions to the metallic presence
That is the prevalence of the automobile and motorcycle
These are especially abundant in the urban So. California landscape
Adventuresome wit and poetic spirituality make this lamp elegant
The machine aesthetic belies its carefully handcrafted origin
This non-traditional is true to the criteria of ancient Jewish sages
They required places for all eight lights to be on a single plane
In addition, the shammash (or servitor light) had to be elevated

26. ARCHITECTURAL HANUKKAH LAMP-Richard Meier, 1990
Tin. 12 1/4 x 13 3/4 x 2 in. (31.1 x 34.9 x 5.1 cm).
HUC Collection, Skirball Museum, Lost Angeles
Museum purchase with funds from Audrey and Arthur N. Greenberg
1985-Architect Richard Meier created this Hanukkah lamp
It was for the exhibition -Nerot Mitzvah/The Lights of Jewish Ritual”)
The Israel Museum organized this exhibition in Jerusalem
Many were invited to design new forms of Jewish ceremonial lights
Included were Architects, designers, and ceremonial artists
The only criterion was adherence to traditional Jewish law

Meier’s lamp commemorates the long sweep of Jewish history
Its colonnade of architectonic candleholders captures time/place

This is done through aesthetic and stylistic characteristics
Each holder identifies when Jews either thrived or suffered
From left to right:
Egypt (Slavery)
Rome (Hadrian’s Victory Column)
England, 1290 (Expulsion);
France, 1310 (Expulsion)
Spain, 1492 (Expulsion)
Vienna, 1890 (Herzl)
Russia, 1880-1903 (Pogroms)
Germany, 1933 (Holocaust)


THE ART OF HANUKAH

The lamp is a visual commentary on the relevance of the Maccabees
It empowers the ritual kindling of the Hanukkah lights
Resisting repression needs to be learned by every generation
This was in order to preserve human values and the ideals of peace
That is the harmony embodied in the Torah

Richard Meier is a proponent of minimalism
He used this aesthetic in
The High Museum in Atlanta
The Museum for Decorative Arts in Frankfurt am Main
The Getty Center in Los Angeles
The lamp’s simplicity communicates its aesthetic power
It comes from over 4000 years of Jewish experience
Shammash towers in perfect geometry, rising high above the lights
This is in keeping with an even row, as prescribed by the Halakah
It reflects the ideals of the future in the universal “world to come”

27. TEMPLE HANUKKAH LAMP-Bella Feldman, 1993
Silver-plated steel
29 x 35 1/4 x 12 in. (73.7 x 89.5 x 30.5 cm)
Collection of Robert and Sandra Carroll
The artist states:
“This large and massive menorah is intended to be permanently
displayed as both a historical symbol and an evocative sculpture”
The forms signify a Temple of monumental power and sacred ritual
Spiritualized shapes conjure up the meeting between God and humans
A sword-blade curve and insurmountable incline toward the Temple
The shield like larger form adds the connotation of military force
It is a simile for Maccabees, who fought to restore religious freedom

The transcendent idea is the miracle of the light burning for 8 days
The shammash appears as a Temple guard or torch
It heralds a staircase ascending mysteriously to the high, holy level
That is the place of the ritual of the Hanukkah festival
The spaces for the candles exist behind shutters
They are to be kept closed throughout the year
On each day of Hanukkah, another shutter is opened
Thus, they reveal the number of candles appropriate to the day
The closed ones indicate the days of the holiday left to celebrate

1991-Bella Feldman won one of four honorable mentions
That was in the prestigious competition for the Spertus Judaica Prize
Phil and Sylvia Spertus of the Spertus Museum sponsor this award
This Hanukkah lamp has a distilled spiritual presence
It possesses a dignity of honor and hope in the struggle for freedom

28. HANUKAH LAMP -Kerry Feldman, Breckenridge, Colorado, 1995
Aluminum, hand-blown glass, and rose quartz. 12 x 20 x 3 in(30.5 x 7.6 cm)
Collection of the artist


THE ART OF HANUKAH

Glass artist Kerry Feldman made many Judaica objects
These include a Passover Seder plate
It is in the collection of the Jewish Museum in New York
It is also in the Skirball Museum in Los Angeles
He has extensive knowledge of rabbinic precepts
It requires that the lights be ordered and on the same level
The shammash is elevated above the sanctified lights

The 15th c. Rothschild miscellany manuscript shows a similar lamp
It is elevated high upon a pedestal
Glass is a fluid and flexible medium in its molten state
This contrasts to the rigidity of the material once cooled
Similarly, the swaying candleholders are soft and undulating
They are bold in their cobalt blue color
They are soft in their transparency
The rose quartz candle receptacles crown the vertical forms
They accent the energetic movement of the elements

Many subtle Jewish interpretations in this lamp provide intrigue

For example, the candleholders are metaphoric candles
They display flickering whimsical surface decoration
It is from gold and brightly colored glass pictographs and squiggles
they seem to burn even when unlit
Their rigid formation suggests a full-dress military victory parade
It is an allusion to the successful rebellion of the Maccabees
The lineup of light forms connotes the continuum of Jewish history
It also refers to the continuity of the celebration of Hanukkah
This lamp combines:
The beauty of the material
Its color
The interpretive depth vested in it
A balance of humor and seriousness
It exhibits a spirit of joy and also a special hope
That desire is proclaimed in a favorite contemporary Hanukkah song
“Don’t let the light go out!”

29. THE LAMP THAT BURNED ON-Ginny Ruffner, Seattle, 1995.
Glass and mixed media. 7 1/2 in. x 17 s 8 1/2 in. (19 x 43.2 x 20.3 cm).
Collection of the Reichman Family.
Form and function are foremost in this innovative Hanukkah lamp
Its exotic form alludes to Aladdin and his magic lamp
Rubbing the magic lamp brought Aladdin all he could wish for
Lighting this lamp recalls God’s miraculous answer
That is to the Jewish people’s wish for religious freedom
Its light continues to burn on
It gives hope for the triumph of light over darkness

This work was created for “A Hanukkah Menorah Invitational”
It was sponsored by the Jewish Museum, San Francisco
Artists were invited “to create a Hanukkah lamp in their own image”


THE ART OF HANUKAH

Glass artist and sculptor Ginny Ruffner’s work is included in
the Metropolitan Museum of Art
the American Craft Museum
private collections
public art spaces

A friend inspired the artist to create this unique Hanukkah lamp
She recounted the story of the miracle of Hanukkah

Imbuing the lamp with the mystery of the miracle
Luminescent glass, sparkling gold, and jewel-tone blues enhance it
Ruffner said she wanted to
“create a lamp whose lights appear to be on the end of the plumes of
smoke coming out of it”

The form combines religious tradition, folk stories, and pop culture
Jewish art forms have always had traces of the mainstream culture
This enlivens and enriches Jewish art and the art of celebration

30. HANUKKAH LAMP-Leo Lionni, 1985
Gaon & Zipkin (1986). Nerot Mitzvah, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Glass, fabric ribbons. 24 x 26 x 10 cm
The poetry of the ritual act obsesses Lionni from the beginning
That’s what motivated him to design this lamp
He wanted active participation on the part of the user
Either in the process of making, or at least decorating it
Participation would be more religiously/poetically meaningful
This lamp is simple and modest in its scale and stylistic conception

Leo Lionni was born in 1910 in Amsterdam
He received a Ph. D. in economics from the University of Genoa
He then opened a studio in Milan
In the 1940s he taught at Black Mountain College in North Carolina
Later, he organized the Design Dept at Parsons School of Design, NY
1982-85: he taught at Cooper Union in New York City
He has exhibited at the MoMA in NY and the Venice Biennale

31. THE JOY OF HANUKAH-Michel Schwartz, 1986
Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah. New York: Hugh Lauter Levin
Calligraphic painting. Collection of the artist


2009 The Artof Hanukkah4website

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Was ist angesagt?

Was ist angesagt? (20)

Andere mochten auch

Andere mochten auch (9)

Ähnlich wie 2009 The Artof Hanukkah4website

Ähnlich wie 2009 The Artof Hanukkah4website (20)

Mehr von Myrna Teck

Mehr von Myrna Teck (20)

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

2009 The Artof Hanukkah4website