Too Jewish or Not Jewish Enough: Ritual Objects and Avant-Garde Art at the Jewish Museum of New York: 17 (Museums and Collections)

Abt, Jeffrey

ISBN 10: 1805392778 ISBN 13: 9781805392774

Publisher: Berghahn Books, 2024

Synopsis

Displays of Jewish ritual objects in public, non-Jewish settings by Jews are a comparatively recent 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.

 

About this title

About the Author

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 Chicago’s 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.

Edition details

• Publisher: Berghahn Books
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1805392778
• ISBN 13: 9781805392774
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 352