Samaritans: A Biblical People features my Tabernacles
My artwork Tabernacles is on view at the Samaritans exhibition at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC. The art, printed, painted and gilded on Venetian blinds, depicts Samaritan and Jewish depictions of the biblical tabernacle. It explores the relationships, the similarities and differences between Samaritans and Jews.
When one pulls the cord to rotate the blinds, the Samaritan version turns into the Jewish version (and vice versa).
While the Women at the Well and Good Samaritan are iconic Christian motifs, found antiquity to the present, there is almost no Jewish art depicting Samaritans.
To address this, the YU Center for Israel partnered with the Jewish Art Salon, of which I am the founding director, and created a forum for the artists to study Samaritans and create contemporary art informed by this study.
The exhibition was curated by Dr. Steven Fine, Y.U. Dean Pinkhos Churgin Chair in Jewish History, and Jesse Abelman, Curator of Judaica at The Museum of the Bible. Assistant curator: David Selis.
On view until April 12, 2023, daily 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Museum of the Bible
400 4th St. SW, Washington, DC 20024
1-866-430-6682
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The Samaritans have lived in the land of Israel, beside their sacred mountain, for
millennia. They trace their lineage back to the Israelite tribe of Ephraim. They are
mentioned in biblical and rabbinic texts, but few people know that this ancient people
still exists as a micro-community today in the modern world.
“Our exhibition is an extraordinary opportunity to encounter the Samaritans as real
people, from earliest biblical history to the present,” said Dr. Fine. “Fascinating artifacts and exquisite media create a truly memorable experience of the Samaritans and their relations with Jews, Christians and Muslims over millennia.”
“The Samaritans are a unique people whose story also reflects universal questions about identity, belonging and tradition,” said Dr. Jesse Abelman.
More on the Jewish Art Salon’s contribution “Jewish Artists Encounter Samaritan Culture” can be found here.