Tag Archives: object

War Torah (Kinetic Judaism)

Posted on August 5, 2014 by zjb

Any comment would really be superfluous, but I want to say that I’m suspending moral judgment. I should, however, say that as a scholar of religion and modern Judaism I’m caught between professional curiosity and personal incredulity. Thanks to Adam, Daniel, … Continue reading →

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(Objects, Dwelling, World) Greeks & Jews  (The Epistle to Diognetus)

Posted on June 19, 2014 by zjb

In the Epistle to Diognetus, both Greeks and Jews are arbitrary. The Greeks arbitrarily select, turn and shape some material object into a holy object worthy of veneration. The Jews are right to think “they adore the God of all … Continue reading →

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Nietzsche Art Nouveau (Birth of Tragedy & Apollinian Bodies)

Posted on February 19, 2014 by zjb

Art Nouveau reminds me of Nietzsche in The Birth of Tragedy. As an art movement, art nouveau belongs to that period at the fin de siècle very much under the influence of Lebensphilosophie and vitalism. The perfectly formed body stands … Continue reading →

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Crescent Moon & Morning Star Over Harlem (6 AM)

Posted on January 29, 2014 by zjb

Woke up to this Tuesday morning outside the window, getting up to go to Syracuse. Astronomical bodies suspended over the city.

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Iconic (Hats & Jackects) Ultra-Orthodox

Posted on January 23, 2014 by zjb

Iconic The ultra-orthodox will always define the Jewish imaginary. It’s object related –the distinctive costume and the control of the book.

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(Truth in the Image) Aesthetic Philosophy (An Object in A Hall of Mirrors) (Moses Mendelssohn)

Posted on January 3, 2014 by zjb

  “Picture if you will a room whose walls are all covered with mirrors, and an image of an object is repeated in every mirror according to its position. Let these mirrors enter into a dispute about whether the object … Continue reading →

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Techno Medieval Religion SoundSpace (The Forty Part Motets) (Janet Cardiff at the Cloisters)

Posted on December 24, 2013 by zjb

For Christmas: Before it closed a couple of week ago, I went to catch Janet Cardiff’s The Forty Part Motet, a 2001 sound installation of Thomas Tallis’ 40-part choral piece “Spem in alium” (1570), recorded by forty singers and then … Continue reading →

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Gift (Dirt Christ, Oil Christ) (Old City Jerusalem Souvenir)

Posted on August 11, 2013 by zjb

The metallic little body of Christ on a wooden cross surrounded by 4 small vials filled with dirt, with oil, with water, with frankincense. Signs of salvation and material elements are packaged in a cheap decorated box that you can … Continue reading →

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Martin Buber (Legacy) (Mossad Bialik 1963)

Posted on July 30, 2013 by zjb

Today at JPP-FB there were some sad comments about the bad state of things in Israel today and the sad legacy of Martin Buber here. As opposed to his legacy where? In China, Germany, and the United States? When we … Continue reading →

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Domestic Judaism, Objects and Memory (“As it were … So to speak: A Museum Collection in Dialogue With Barbara Bloom)

Posted on May 31, 2013 by zjb

An easy confluence of sacral and secular objects from the permanent collection and their reinstallation into reconfigured domestic interiors of the Warburg mansion, now site of the Jewish Museum in New York City. Wall texts serve as commentary, but at … Continue reading →

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