WHAT EVEN IS JEWISH ART? MARC CHAGALL AND THE ÉCOLE DE PARIS AT mahJ (PART 2)

 Musings Abroad | Molly Gosewich

WHAT EVEN IS JEWISH ART? MARC CHAGALL AND THE ÉCOLE DE PARIS AT mahJ (PART 1)

Musings Abroad | Molly Gosewich

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How long has it been since the world effectively shut down? As restrictions loosen (and I say that loosely), jabs administered, and life begins to show some signs of normalcy, I cannot be the only one who has been plotting (more like pining for) their return across the Atlantic. 

For Musings Abroad, continuing this year, I’ll continue to spotlight the goings-on of international museums/galleries with a deeper dive into specific exhibition topics, and to hopefully provide some travel inspiration for when we can step foot inside international museums again.

To start us off, we have the mahJ – formally known as the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire du Judaïsme (Museum of the Art and History of Judaism) – which I was fortunate enough to visit back in 2019. 

Photo courtesy of the author (2019)

Located in the Marais District, once the Jewish hub of Paris, the mahJ is home to the largest collection of Jewish art and antiquity in France – documenting the rich history and culture of Jews across Europe and North Africa, from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. Among other stunning Judaic objects, archival manuscripts, and works of art, the mahJ’s collection includes pieces by the legendary Marc Chagall and Amedeo Modigliani, which are conveniently on display until October 31 in an exhibition focusing solely on Jewish artists within the “École de Paris” (School of Paris). The term coined sometime before 1925, was in fact tinged with antisemitism, due to the tendency to lump foreigners together in this way (Fayard, 2001). Many Jewish émigré artists from major European cities and the Russian Empire (plus Asia and Africa) belonged to the cosmopolitan generation of the School of Paris (or Paris School), one without a common style but with a shared desire for freedom amid pogroms and creative internment (see Entartete Kunst for how art was stifled under the Nazi regime). As we know, Paris was the artistic epicentre of Europe — from La Ruche (“The Hive”) building or on Cité Falguière, in the streets near the Boulevard Raspail to the cafés of Montparnasse. 

La Ruche et Montparnasse

                                                                        Marc Chagall

Sotheby’s posits that the School of Paris first appeared at the turn of the century and ended roughly after the conclusion of World War II. However, this “school” was completely abstract, including luminaries associated with several assorted avant-garde movements (such as les Nabis or Fauvism, Cubism, and Surrealism). Because of the diversity of abstract genres part of the School of Paris, it begs the question: what is Jewish art? 

Of course, there are many other Jewish artists within the Paris School (Jules Pascin, Otto Freundlich, and Chana Orloff to name a few) that are captivating in their own right. But, especially to me, as a student in the Jewish Studies Collaborative Specialization, Marc Chagall is of a particular interest to me. Why you may ask? His artistic archive and legacy is deeply imbued with Jewish signifiers and signals a certain collective memory.

A prominent figure in the School of Paris, the Jewish artist Marc Chagall had lived in the city from 1910 to 1914, and quickly absorbed many of the stylistic influences of the avant-garde working in the French capital. Chagall’s “Bride with Fan” of 1911 is simply enchanting and is indicative of the very delight and radiance typical of his work at this time. Naturally, he became a leading artist of the School of Paris during this time and after his exile from Russia in 1923. In the School of Paris, around 200 artists, most of them being foreigners, had occupied La Ruche at the beginning of the twentieth century. It was a legendary building in the Passage de Dantzig where Yiddish (the language of the Central and Eastern Ashkenazi Jews) reigned supreme. 

When Marc Chagall arrived in Paris, he settled there with sculptor Zadkine and artists Michel Kikoine and Chaïm Soutine. It is said that Soutine, the native of a small village in Belarus, knew only Yiddish and it was in La Ruche that he learned a few new words in Russian, perhaps in conversation with Chagall (Levin, 2021). Essentially, there was an obvious Jewish influence on a movement that encompassed many Jewish artists, though not calling itself outright a "Jewish" School of Art. Below you will be two of Chagall's paintings, one of a praying man and one of a shtetl, which both evoke a collective Jewish memory that would have been understood by the Yiddish speakers in the movement.

                                                                  Source: artsy.com

To understand the full extent of Chagall’s contribution and participation in the School of Paris scene, and his contribution to Jewish art — we have to look back into his earlier days, before he became (to many) one of the greats of art — that'll come in Part 2.

CECIL ROTH: A MAN WITH A COLLECTION OF INFORMATION

Walk of Fame | Annabelle Kolomeisky

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In the field of Jewish history, it is difficult to explore the subject without referencing the work of Dr. Cecil Roth. Dr. Roth was a British Jewish historian who worked on a variety of projects which have strongly influenced the field of Jewish history to this day, and whose legacy lives on through his countless publications and his rich collection of artifacts.

Cecil Roth looking at a book | Source

Born in 1899 to immigrant parents, Cecil Roth grew up in a family that was very dedicated to education and Jewish life. Throughout his academic career he learned a variety of subjects, however he eventually seemed to find his way towards history. He picked up a variety of languages including Hebrew, Italian and Latin to help him research historical texts. His education took a pause during the world wars which he served in before he returned to Oxford to complete his undergraduate degree.

In his post-graduate work, Cecil found himself doing research in Italy, a country who he fell in love with, on the last Florentine Republic. However, it was not until he was working on his doctoral thesis in Italy that he began to engage with the local Jewish community. During this time, he began to realize the significance of studying Jewish reactions to environmental culture while becoming more interested in Jewish art. Roth's interest in Jewish history and art is seen in his various publications throughout his career such as Jews in the Renaissance, and the Short History of the Jewish People. These works were considered to be very important contributions in the field of Jewish studies.

 

Cecil Roth working in his office | Source

Being the avid learner that he was, Cecil Roth created a large collection of Jewish artifacts from his travels around the world throughout his 40-year career. This collection consisted of items from places like Italy, France, Egypt, and Israel and many more, providing a very diverse and unique look into Jewish life. Roth's collection included priceless artifacts that add incredible depth to stories of Jewish history such as a hand-illuminated Scroll of Esther from the Jewish community of China and over a hundred illuminated marriage contracts with the oldest one dating back to 1645 in Venice.

In 1962, Cecil Roth was retiring from his teaching position at Oxford University and his collection of Jewish historical artifacts was made available. Through a series of quick actions and a bit of luck, the Beth Tzedec Congregation in Toronto, Ontario was able to purchase the collection with the help of local members Samuel and Israel Shopsowtiz. Following the acquisition of the collection, Beth Tzedec created a museum within the walls of the synagogue called the Reuben & Helene Dennis Museum which can be visited today. 

ANTHONY MORDECHAI TZVI RUSSELL: THE MUSICALITY OF INTERSECTIONALITY

 Walk of Fame | Annabelle Kolomeisky

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The arts, whether it be the visual arts, music, or theatre, have a powerful way to influence the people who interact with it. This is part of the beauty of the arts, the ability it has to emotionally impact many. Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell explores this beauty in the arts through the intersectionality and exploration seen in his beautifully diverse music. Through Russell’s interesting take on music and the in-depth analysis of the Jewish texts from unique perspectives, one is almost invited to reflect on their own interaction with their Jewish identity and the ideas of intersectionality.

Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell | Source

Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell was born in the United States to a Christian family. Throughout his childhood, under the influence of his mother, he was strongly connected to music and found a passion in the art. As a young boy, Russell was very interested in the stories of the Bible, admiring the stories of the text. However, it wasn’t until Russell was 27 that he would begin exploring the traditions and look into the religion of Judaism. As Russell continued to discover Judaism, he continued to develop his craft and built a career as a professional opera singer in San Francisco.

Many of the projects that Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell has done throughout his career have explored the idea of intersectionality among traditional Ashkenazi Jewish and African American roots music. A few projects that Russell has worked on include Written in Breath, an enlightening comparison between classic Jewish texts and Yiddish texts are presented through song and performance; Tsvey Brider, a modern interpretation of music through a Yiddish lens; and Convergence, a unique album that explores the intersectionality of African American and Eastern European Jewish music.

Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell singing in a live performance | Source

The inspiration behind this unique take on traditional music is strongly influenced by Russell’s interest in expressing the “internal consonance between aspects of African-American and Jewish cultures.” This passion Russell has for looking into the combination of two such rich and unique musical styles is strongly rooted in the idea of telling stories about modern, ongoing struggles among these two distinctive yet connected diasporas.

Russell’s incredible work has brought him all around the world including Toronto. His performances include various fascinating venues including museums such as the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. Russell’s influence goes beyond his shows as he continues to be an active member of the Jewish community outside of his performances. Inspired by an exhibition displayed in Toronto’s FENTSTER window gallery, Kutlura Collective along with several other Canadian Jewish organizations held a panel event discussing “Art and Artists on Being Black and Jewish,” which featured Russell as a key speaker. If you want to learn more about Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell, you can check out his website and listen to his SoundCloud to hear some of the incredible music he has.

FRIEDA SCHIFF WARBURG: THE FEMALE VOICE OF THE JEWISH MUSEUM

 Walk of Fame | Annabelle Kolomeisky 

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The Jewish Museum in New York City is one of the oldest institutions in the world dedicated to the display of Jewish culture with its founding in 1904. Forty years later, in 1944, Frieda Schiff Warburg donated her family residence at 1109 Fifth Avenue to house the museum and allow for its expansion from the library of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Although this donation may seem like a small gift to the museum world, it definitely was not! Freida’s contribution to the Jewish Museum and how she lived her life as a strong Jewish woman strongly reflects the role and operation of the Jewish Museum today.

 

Frieda Schiff Warburg, 1936 | Source

Frieda Schiff Warburg was born on February 3rd, 1876 to a family that was quite prominent in the Jewish elite of New York City. Outside of her family’s success, Frieda herself was no stranger to greatness and in 1938 she became the first woman on the Jewish Theological Seminary’s board of directors. Her relationship with religion was slightly different from that of her family when it came to her experience with Judaism. Frieda's father was a significant religious leader among the Jewish community of New York, she did not have the same connection to religious observance as her father and instead decided to invest herself in her philanthropic work. However, this did not mean she was not a proud Jewish woman! Frieda Schiff Warburg was very active among the Jewish community beyond her donation to the young Jewish Museum in New York. She supported important organizations throughout her life as a philanthropist such as the American Jewish Join Distribution Committee, the 

Women’s Division of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, and the Jewish Welfare Board.

 

 

The Jewish Museum in New York City | Source

Frieda’s story of discovering her Jewish identity is a key part of what the Jewish Museum in New York strives towards today. The Jewish Museum is very focused on exploring the Jewish culture and identity from not only a religious perspective, but also an ethnic point of view, opening up space for a conversation about what it really means to be Jewish. For Frieda, although she was not a very observant Jew, she supported her cultural background through her donations to various Jewish charities while continuing to be an active member of the community.

This idea of Jewish culture and ethnicity on display in museums is not a new concept, but at the same time it is not very common. The Jewish Museum in New York is an amazing example of the intersection of Jewish culture and other important themes that appear in museums today such as social issues and engaging in activism. As illustrated by Frieda Schiff Warburg’s experience, the Jewish experience is not a straightforward concept but it encompasses multiple experiences, conversation, and community, and that is the importance and value of the Jewish Museum. The Jewish Museum helps harbor these experiences and is a safe space to hold conversations through exhibitions and displays that support the Jewish community and those interested in the question, “what does it mean to be Jewish?”

RUTH BADER GINSBURG: THE VOICE OF EQUALITY, REASON, AND CHANGE

Walk of Fame | Annabelle Kolomeisky 

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On September 18th, 2020, on Rosh Hashanah eve, the world lost one of America’s brightest voices of the feminist movement with the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Known by many by just her initials, RBG, was recognized for her many accomplishments throughout her celebrated legal career, but it was her strong advocacy for women’s rights and gender equality, as well as her fighting personality that gave her the nickname, Notorious RBG. 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg waving to a crowd | Source

Born on March 15th, 1933, Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg was raised in Brooklyn, New York by a middle-class Jewish family. Ginsburg broke many boundaries as a woman in law by becoming the first woman to be hired with tenure by the Columbia University School of Law, as well as co-creating the Women’s Rights Project with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), all while dealing with many medical issues both personally and within her family.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was best known for the role she played in the Supreme Court as an Associate Justice. Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court under President Bill Clinton in 1993 and remained a jurist until her passing in September 2020. Throughout her time in the Supreme Court, RBG played a key role in passing many landmark rulings such as United States v. Virginia, which allowed women to enter the Virginia Military Institute, as well as Ledbetter v Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, a case addressing gender discrimination which is a cause that Ginsburg has been fighting for her whole professional career. Her commitment towards gender equality and civil rights earned her the American Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall Award in 1999. 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg in her judicial robes | Source

In addition to being the 2nd woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States of America, Ruth Bader Ginsburg made history by becoming the first Jewish woman to enter the Supreme Court. Ginsburg was very proud of her Jewish heritage and often referred to her Jewish background when discussing her experience in academia and law. Studying law during the 1950’s, Ginsburg faced a lot of discrimination not only because she was a woman in a very male dominated field, but also as a Jew.

In her pursuit for justice, Ginsburg often referred to Jewish values and her roots for inspiration. This can be most clearly seen in her former office where the phrase from the Book of Deuteronomy was seen on the wall saying “Justice, justice you shall pursue.” As a person who was raised in the United States of America during the Holocaust, Ginsburg faced many issues of discrimination and intolerance. Ginsburg herself told people that her 

experiences helped her empathize with other minority groups. Ruth Bader Ginsburg had an incredible understanding of the Jewish values as she continued to apply the teachings in her work to help as many people as she could. 

Book titled Notorious RBG about Ruther Bader Ginsburg's life | Source

Inspired by the book by the same name, the exhibition, Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, discusses just that; the story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life and her accomplishments in an interactive and fun way. This travelling exhibition looks at the historical cases in which Ginsburg played a key role and her important legal achievements, while also exploring the unique position she holds in pop culture as the Notorious RBG. Shown through archival video and photos along with artifacts, the exhibit displays not only Ginsburg’s astonishing and eventful life, but also the impact her work and ideas have had on society. The exhibition is currently showing in the United States, but the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Centre is hosting virtual tours that allow visitors to explore the exhibit from anywhere around the world. 

Regardless of her role as a Justice on the Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been a role model for many girls from all around the world, as an example of a woman that can make a difference. Despite her remarkably average childhood, from a very average family, Ginsburg managed to make an extraordinary difference simply by using her voice to help society grow. To learn more about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, feel free to explore the articles written about her in the New York Times.

LEONARD COHEN: THE MAN WHO RAISED HIS VOICE THROUGH SONGS

 Walk of Fame | Annabelle Kolomeisky

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When you think of Canada’s most well-known artists throughout history, the name Leonard Cohen often comes to mind. It is hard to ignore the impact Cohen left on not only the music industry with masterpieces such as “Suzanne” and “Hallelujah”, but also the influential words and poems he wrote that resonated with a generation that was forced to face tragedies of violence and war. 

Profile image of Leonard Cohen | Source

Leonard Norman Cohen, born in September of 1934 in Westmount, Quebec, demonstrated his talents for music and poetry as a child, learning how to play the guitar at the age of 15 which continued throughout his music career. As a young adult, Cohen attended McGill University where he became further immersed in the poetry scene, impacted by the teaching of Louis Dudek, Hugh MacLennan, and his friend and mentor, Irving Layton.

Leonard Cohen was not afraid to engage with difficult issues and concepts through his music such as war and peace (There Is a War), his battle with depression (Darkness), and the need for change (Democracy). In addition to his music career, Cohen had a fairly extensive literary career, publishing two novels, The Favorite Game and Beautiful Losers, as well as several collections of his poetry.

Aside from his moving work as an artist, Leonard Cohen was a very proud and active member of the Jewish community. His strong connection to his Jewish identity was heavily influenced by his family’s role in the Jewish community. Cohen’s grandfather, Lyon Cohen was a very important and influential person among Montreal’s Jewish community. Lyon Cohen was one of the founders of The Jewish Times, the first English Jewish newspaper in Canada, and was the first President of the Canadian Jewish Congress. 

Leonard Cohen singing at a concert | Source

Following in his family’s footsteps, Leonard Cohen often incorporated aspects of his Jewish identity into his work. He took inspiration from all aspects of Jewish life and history, from the prayers told on Yom Kippur in “Who by Fire”, as well as the series of poems and songs reflecting on the impact of the Holocaust on the Jewish people.

In 2017, as a part of Montreal’s 375th anniversary, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MACM) displayed the exhibition Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything in collaboration with the Jewish Museum in New York. The exhibition presented the impact Cohen’s lyrics and art has on artists both locally and internationally, commemorating Leonard Cohen’s achievements.

Silo #5 illuminated with Leonard Cohen’s lyrics as a part of the Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything exhibition | Source

As part of the exhibition, there were various performances that took place in the gallery, around Montreal, and even online. There was a choreographed piece titled When Even The by Clara Furey inspired by Cohen’s poem of the same name, as well as a series of light projections by Jenny Holzer on Silo #5, an iconic building in Montreal, displaying the lyrics from Cohen’s songs as well as phrases from his poetry. There were also concerts inspired by Cohen’s most iconic albums and an emotional auditory experience called I Heard There Was a Secret Chord that was a room in the exhibition as well as a web experience you could visit here. 

Despite the overall exhibition not discussing Cohen’s history and career as an artist, the exhibition paints a very beautiful image of Cohen’s lasting impact on the world through his touching music and thought-provoking words. Leonard Cohen's work inspired many and spoke on difficult subjects that resonated with many generations in the past and those to come. The works of Leonard Cohen are timeless and will continue to be shared and cherished. 

If you would like to learn more about Leonard Cohen or listen to more of his music, you can visit Leonard Cohen’s official website, check out his Spotify page, or read his profile on the Canadian Encyclopedia.

FINDING FOODWAYS, PART II.

Research Column | Casarina Hocevar

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In my last post, I introduced my upcoming exhibition project, Storefront Stories, and shared a bit about my research into the historical Jewish foodways of Kensington Market. In today’s post, we shall delve into a small tidbit from the research.

Communal Ovens

Perhaps one of my favourite things I have learned in researching Kensington’s Jewish history is a small anecdote about the use of communal ovens. Throughout the 19th and early 20th century, it was common practice in the shtetlekh - villages - of Eastern Europe to use communal ovens to prepare meals for Sabbath. One of my favourite historians of Jewish foodways, Hasia Diner, writes eloquently about the importance of food and food preparation in Jewish life, especially celebratory meals:

The Jewish calendar moved from holiday to holiday, from Sabbath to the six days of the work week, from one life cycle to another, along a food trajectory … The Sabbath meals, three of them…stood out from the weekly food cycle for their richness and elaborateness. …Memoirs of Jewish life in eastern Europe recalled chicken soup, roasted meat, gefillte fish, tcholent (a mixture of beans, meats, potatoes, other vegetables) cooked long and slow, usually in communal ovens, and cakes and fruits, as the embodiment of Jewish family and communal life. - Hasia Diner, Hungering for America, 155 - 156.

As noted in Diner’s quote, meals like tcholent were cooked in a communal oven. Tcholent, similar to a slow-simmering stew, often was cooked overnight to be ready for the lunch/midday meal during Sabbath.

While searching for photographs and information about family businesses in Kensington Market for the exhibition, our team came across the accession file to the Lottman family who ran a bakery at 172 Baldwin St from the 1920s to '40s (and later at 181 Baldwin St. until 1984). In this file there is a note that reads, “[the bakery] had a brick oven and on Friday nights women would bring their pots to keep the chollent warm for the Sa[b]bath.” This short and sweet note indicates to us continuity in Jewish foodways from Eastern Europe shtetlekh to the little Jewish Market in early Toronto: the community followed a weekly routine of observing Sabbath, and to facilitate this, one of the neighbourhood bakeries shared their oven for communal cooking.

Unfortunately, at this stage of our research, we have little evidence or information about whether other bakeries in the market also participated in this practice or which women (and families) would have visited the Lottman bakery to leave their chollent overnight. Nonetheless, small moments like this help illustrate to us some aspect of the market’s foodways: weekly routines (preparing for the Sabbath meals), types of food (tcholent/chollent), division of labour (communal and gendered) and the geography (Lottman’s as a site of communal food production).

A glimpse into the past

Below are two family images of the Lottman's bakery at 172 Baldwin St. In the first: the three women are identified as Sandy Shabinsky, Katie Lottman Grossman, Ruth Berman, in the second: Bella Tichberg and her cousin Henry. Katie Lottman Grossman was Sam Lottman's daughter, who was one of the founders and owners of the bakery, and Bella Tichberg is one of his granddaughters. Later family photos include interior shots from the Lottman bakery and their more industrial kitchen; unfortunately, though, we have no known existing photographs of the original Lottman oven used for communal cooking.

The Lottman family's bakery is one of the businesses to be featured in Storefront Stories.

Permission to use from the Ontario Jewish Archives: “Lottman family,” Ontario Jewish Archives, North York, ON. Accession number: 2013-11-2.

Permission to use from the Ontario Jewish Archives: “Lottman family,” Ontario Jewish Archives, North York, ON. Accession number: 2013-11-2.