what makes art jewish?
The fact that the artist is Jewish? The fact, that the theme is Jewish? What does Jewish mean in this context? Jewish history? Jewish religion? Or even Israeli history or culture?
Certainly, there is no one answer to this question, so the question is: what does it mean to me? And I think this question is the raison d’être behind a lot of the art that I create — by exploring new ways of religious, spiritually inspired art.
What can Jewish art of the 21st century appear like? And how relevant is it outside the Jewish world?
The Binding of Yitzhak or the Parting of the Red Sea, Dancing Chassidim or a Jewish Woman Lighting Shabbos Candles — so many wonderful artists have told these stories before, and — being somewhat pragmatic about it — I do not feel the urge to add to this collection.
As a person and artist I am strongly influenced by my synesthetic perception of the world – as a graphic designer in the 21st century, I am lead by design thinking, by concepts of abstract reductions, shapes, color and textures, and working out their innate strengths and creative depths — the ongoing creation of metaphor. Finally, as a Jew, I am connected to centuries and millenniums of Jewish history, thought and philosophy. And it is precisely this fusion, excitement, and tension between the past and the present, the old and the new that determines a lot of my work.
Yehudis Jacobowitz
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