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2009 The Artof Hanukah4 Website
- 1. The word חנוכה CHANUKAH OR HANUKAH is Hebrew for ‘dedication’
Hinweis der Redaktion
- 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
- JUDITH AND HOLOFERNES -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 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
- 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
- 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 19 th 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 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.19 th and e. 20 th centuries
- CHANUKAH CANDLES -Ze’ev Raban, Bezalel Academy, 1920s. Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah . China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc 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
- DREIDLS- Various Artists, American and Israeli. Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah . China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc 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 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
- MENORAH AND MAGNOLIAS -Bill Aron, 1993 Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah . China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc 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
- HANUKKAH LAMP -Avignon, c. 12 th 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
- LEHMAN/FIGDOR HANUKKAH LAMP -Italy (?), 14/16 th c Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah . China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc 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 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
- HANUKKAH LAMP -Fez, Morocco, 18 th 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
- 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
- HANUKKAH LAMP -Brody, 1787 Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah . China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc Mid-to late 18 th 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 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”
- HANUKKAH LAMP -Eastern Europe, late 19 th c Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah . China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc. 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 19 th 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
- HAMSA HANUKKAH LAMP -Iraq, 19 th c. Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah . China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc. 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
- HANUKKAH LAMP --Damascus, 19 th c. CITATION? No contextual information available 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 19 th c. This kind of work was usually done by Jews in Arabic lands
- BAAL SHEM TOV HANUKKAH LAMP --Germany, early 20 th c. 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
- HANUKAH CHAIRS LAMP --Germany, 20 th c. Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah . China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc. 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
- HANUKKAH LAMP -Eretz Yisrael or Yemen, e. 20 th 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
- JUDAH THE MACCABEE HANUKKAH LAMP --Benno Elkan, 1956 Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah . China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc 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” 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 500+0 year history of the Jewish people
- MASADA HANUKKAH LAMP -Moshe Zabari, 1967. Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah . China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc. 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
- HANUKKAH LAMP -Zelig Segal, Jerusalem, Israel, 1984 Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah . China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc 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 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
- HANDBUILT STONEWARE LAMP -Otto Natzler, 1985 Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah . China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc 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 20 th 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.
- STATUE OF LIBERTY HANUKAH LAMP ---Manfred Anson, 1986 Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah . China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc 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 19 th 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.
- LOS ANGELES HANUKKAH LAMP -Peter Shire, 1986. Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah . China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc. 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 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
- ARCHITECTURAL HANUKKAH LAMP -Richard Meier, 1990 Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah . China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc 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 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”
- TEMPLE HANUKKAH LAMP -Bella Feldman, 1993 Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah . China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc 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
- HANUKAH LAMP -Kerry Feldman, Breckenridge, Colorado, 1995 Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah . China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc Aluminum, hand-blown glass, and rose quartz. 12 x 20 x 3 in(30.5 x 7.6 cm) Collection of the artist 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 15 th 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!”
- THE LAMP THAT BURNED ON -Ginny Ruffner, Seattle, 1995. Berman, N. (1996). The Art of Hanukkah . China: Hugh Lauter Levin, Inc 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” 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
- HANUKAH LAMP , Arie Ophir, 1985 Gaon & Zipkin (1986). Nerot Mitzvah, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem Silver, anodized titanium, 7.5 x 4 x 4 cm Arie Ophir was born in Israel in 1939 He graduated from the Bezalel Academy of Art in Jerusalem 1972-1984: Director of the Gold and Silversmithing Department He exhibited at: The Hechal Shlomo Museum in Jerusalem the Spertus in Chicago The Jewish Museum in New York Ophir says that the elements for designing ceremonial objects are: Glorification of the commandment Tradition and form Thing and spirit Past and present
- 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