Vox Tablet

Back to Babylon

Jewlia Eisenberg and her band channel the fears and desires of ancient Jewish women

July 12, 2010
Jewlia Eisenberg, with other members of Charming Hostess(Robin Hultgren)
Jewlia Eisenberg, with other members of Charming Hostess(Robin Hultgren)

The Bowls Project is an unusual sound and architectural installation now on display at the Yerba Buena Center for Arts in San Francisco. A combination of a song cycle, a double-vaulted masonry dome, strangers’ secrets, and inscriptions found in Babylonian Jewish amulets known as “demon bowls,” the Bowls Project is the creation of the composer and performer Jewlia Eisenberg, together with her band, Charming Hostess, and a gang of volunteer architects, masons, and engineers. Tablet Magazine contributor Hadara Graubart spoke to Eisenberg about the project shortly before its opening on July 6. It runs through August 22, and it includes an opportunity to shed some demons of your own. (If you’re abstaining from music during the Three Weeks that precede Tisha B’Av, you’ll want to wait until July 21 to listen.)

Your browser does not support the audio element.

Vox Tablet is Tablet Magazine’s weekly podcast, hosted by Sara Ivry and produced by Julie Subrin. You can listen to individual episodes here or subscribe on iTunes.

More Vox Tablet
See all
→︎