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On View: All the Jewish Art You Need to See This Week, December 8th Edition

Hannukah mayhem in Austin, the Coen brothers in New York, screens in San Francisco

by
Alexandra Pucciarelli
December 08, 2017
Gary Sexton Photography
Kutiman: offgrid offline at San Francisco's Contemporary Jewish MuseumGary Sexton Photography
Gary Sexton Photography
Kutiman: offgrid offline at San Francisco's Contemporary Jewish MuseumGary Sexton Photography

Each week, the Scroll highlights upcoming exhibits, performances, and cultural events around the country.

Austin, TX

Austin Jewish Repertory Theater presents an original project, Meshganukah, which they call “your one-stop holiday shop for music, mishegas, and more.” (Through Dec. 17; adult admission $10.)

Berkeley, CA

The Magnes Collection for Jewish Art and Life’s exhibit, The Power of Attention: Magic & Meditation in Hebrew “shiviti” Manuscript Art, closes next week. Shiviti manuscripts from the early modern period to present day are on display, focusing on the graphic representation of God’s ineffable four-letter Hebrew name, the Tetragrammaton, through mystic imagery. (Through Dec. 15; free admission.)

Cincinnati, OH

Hebrew Union College’s Cincinnati Campus’ exhibit, Re-Art the Many Faces of Israel, is midway through its run. Works by artists from Netanya, Israel, and Cincinnati, Ohio that reflect on the state of Israel and the artist’s connection to it are on display. The artists were then asked to change each other’s work, which resulted in 70 collaborative works of art. (Through Jan. 7, 2018; free admission.)

Jerusalem

Ronit Agassi: The New Tenant opened at the Israel Museum in October. For this installation the Israeli-born Agassi used collage, incision, painting, and found objects to make works that invoke her childhood and home. (Through March, 2018; admission is ‪₪‬54.00.)

New York

The Museum of Jewish Heritage’s exhibit Operation Finale: The Capture & Trial Of Adolf Eichmann is nearing its final week. This exhibit tells the story of the capture of Adolf Eichmann and his eventual trial through objects and video. One of the most powerful elements of the exhibit is the actual prosecution box where Eichmann sat during the trial, onto which video of him from the trial is projected. Video testimony from the trial is projected onto the wall around him. (Through Dec. 22; adult admission $12.)

The latest in MOMA’s Modern Matinee film series is focused on the works of the Coen Brothers. Joel and Ethan Coen are famous for subverting classic cinematic genres and historical events with eccentric and ethically questionable characters. Their work spans almost every genre from drama to comedy to crime to western. Some highlights include Barton Fink on December 14 and The Hudsucker Proxy on December 15. (Through Dec. 29; adult admission $12.)

Philadelphia

The National Museum of American Jewish History presents Power of Protest: The Movement to Free Soviet Jews, on view through early next year. This exhibit features the personal stories of American Jewish activists and Soviet Jews known as refuseniks. It relies on graphics rather than physical artifacts to convey this tumultuous time in Jewish history. (Through Jan. 15, 2018; adult admission $13.)

San Francisco

Kutiman: offgrid offline is midway through its run at the Contemporary Jewish Museum. Kutiman, an Israeli musician and composer, uses found audio and the internet to create his installations. In this one, 12 monitors play a 38-minute video and music composition made up of short snippets of internet videos of solo musicians performing, edited together in a mash-up style. (Through July 8, 2018; adult admission $12.)

Washington, DC

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s exhibit, A Dangerous Lie: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, centers on the history and continued influence of one of the most widely distributed anti-Semitic hoaxes, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. First published in Russia in 1905, the book describes the alleged “secret plans” of Jews to rule the world. (Through 2018; free admission.)

Is there an event or exhibit in your area we should know about? Email [email protected] with the details and a link.

Alexandra Pucciarelli is an editorial intern at Tablet.