Displays of Jewish ritual objects in public, non-Jewish settings by Jews are a comparatively re-cent phenomenon. So too is the establishment of Jewish museums. This volume explores the origins of the Jewish Museum of New York and its evolution from collecting and displaying Jewish ritual objects, to Jewish art, to exhibiting avant-garde art devoid of Jewish content, created by non-Jews. Established within a rabbinic seminary, the museum’s formation and development reflect changes in Jewish society over the twentieth century as it grappled with choices between religion and secularism, particularism and universalism, and ethnic pride and assimilation.
Arvustused
The Jewish Museum in New York is undoubtedly the premier Jewish museum in the United States A scholar and an artist, Abt shows superbly the intricacies of creating the museum, the tensions and conflicts over definitions, the role of philanthropists, religious figures, curators, and scholars, and the impact of the site on the Museum Mile of New York. As such, this volume is engaging and important reading for all attracted to the world of museums. Richard I. Cohen, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
This is a cleanly written and well-organized history of the Jewish Museum in New York that clearly articulates how it came into being as well as that historys significance for the larger field of (Jewish) museum studies. This is a book that anyone involved in Jewish museums or Jewish material culture will want to read. The book fills a real gap in the field. Laura Leibman, Princeton University
Prologue
Museum Culture
The Contours of Secularization
Secularizing Sacred Objects
Ritual Objects and Art
Chapter
1. Entering the Contact Zone
From Ritual Objects to Cultural Artifacts
Expositions, Subalterns, and the Public Sphere
Placing Judaism on Display
Chapter
2. Seeding a Seminary Museum
Jewish Ecclesiastical Art
Judaica for a National Museum
The Museum of Jewish Ceremonial and Historical Objects
Finding an Audience
Chapter
3. A New Venue, a New Purpose
Reimagining the Museum: Interfaith Dialogue
Reimagining the Museum: Cultural History
Reimagining the Museum: Modern Jewish Art
Arts Usefulness for Jews
Abstraction, Renunciation, Faith
Chapter
4. Creating a Way and Space for Contemporary Art
The Premise of Universality
Reshaping the Museum
The Art Worlds 92nd Street Y, New School, and Commentary
Inaugurating the List Addition
Chapter
5. The Avant-Garde or Judaica?
The Nature of a Real Explosion
Pursuing a Greater Balance
The Museum, the Seminary, and Conservative Judaism
Ethnography, History, or Art
Chapter
6. Secular Paths Through the Avant-Garde, the Lower East Side, and
Ancient Israe
Reaffirming the Avant-Garde
Heritage Rather Than Religion
The Lower East Side and Masada
Victim of Confusion | An Institution Adrift
Chapter
7. The Jewish Jewish Museum
The Soul Museum
Pushing Boundaries: Ethical, Social, Financial
Denouement
Cultural History, Ethnicity, and Jewish Experience
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index
Jeffrey Abt is Professor Emeritus at Wayne State University. Prior to that he worked at the Wichita Art Museum; the Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago; and Chicagos Smart Museum of Art. An artist and writer, his artwork is in several museum and corporate collections. His books include American Egyptologist: The Life of James Henry Breasted and the Creation of His Oriental Institute and Valuing Detroit's Art Museum: A History of Fiscal Abandonment and Rescue. He co-edited and is on the editorial board of the Museum History Journal.
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