Tag Archives: object

Jewish Art (Numinous Objecthood) (~ Social Identity)

Posted on April 3, 2013 by zjb

It might be that Jewish art, of necessity, is dominated by “Jews,” namely by pictures of Jews, Jews, and Jews. But the social turn in modern Jewish Studies creates or constructs what often seems to be an almost automatic reduction … Continue reading →

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(Flow) I Am (Rilke) Sonnets to Orpheus

Posted on January 27, 2013 by zjb

Rilke is the poet of the Information Age, art nouveau its design culture. There’s no better articulation of the tensions between subjects, objecthood and mass. What is the status of the individual subjectivity in a world constituted as constant flux? … Continue reading →

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Workaday Jewish Visual Culture (Information) (Biology, Liturgy, Astronomy, Kabbalah)

Posted on January 10, 2013 by zjb

Enjoyed very much The People in the Books: Judaica Manuscripts, an exhibition of old Jewish manuscripts at the The Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Butler Library at Columbia University. (But can we please, please stop with the people of … Continue reading →

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Objects & Bodies (Jewish Art) (Harold Rosenberg) (Idolatry)

Posted on December 5, 2012 by zjb

More than the rabbis, I think, contemporary Jewish philosophy cares an awful lot about “idolatry.” I’m not sure why. Maybe what Harold Rosenberg, who actually understood something about the topic, maybe what he wanted to say was that the problem … Continue reading →

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Floating Display (Hebrew Illuminated Manuscripts at the Jewish Museum)

Posted on November 5, 2012 by zjb

Rows of open faced books encased, illuminated, and suspended in the dark –that’s what  you see before you look inside the books on display or as you approach doors leading into the galleries at the Crossing Borders exhibition of illuminated … Continue reading →

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World Chance De-personalization (Contemporary Art & Ancient Judaism)

Posted on October 19, 2012 by zjb

Finally finished reading Michael Swartz’s Signifying Creator: Non-Textual Sources of Meaning in Ancient Judaism. This is not exactly new territory for Swartz, who’s scholarship explores magical practice and mystical prayer in the ancient Jewish world. This is a neat little … Continue reading →

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Object Oriented Aesthetics (Another Tiny Old Groovy Car (New York)

Posted on August 24, 2012 by zjb

Another tiny old groovy car. This one immediately grabbed my eye, as if flashing out from nowhere. I saw it on a shady stretch of Morningside Drive near St. Luke’s Hospital. I like dimunitive things, and how they appeal to … Continue reading →

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Tiny Little Church (New York)

Posted on August 23, 2012 by zjb

I like the diminutive objecthood of this tiny church, on W. 109th St. between Amsterdam and Broadway. On the outside, this place is so nothing special as to call attention to itself, immediately. Not always, but sometimes, visually, less still … Continue reading →

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Old Design Technologies (VW Van) (Diminutive)

Posted on August 22, 2012 by zjb

I like old cars and vans, the simple chasis and dashboard. I like their diminutive object character. I think they look “groovy.” They don’t have that oversized, aggressive, pumped up and buff Terminator look that you see on streets today. … Continue reading →

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One World Trade Center (Contemporary Capitalism)

Posted on June 26, 2012 by zjb

Capitalism picks itself up. Not a bad looking building, this behemoth with tapering, triangular forms. I like this view which I took from the car waiting in traffic from street level. I think the big red color of the traffic … Continue reading →

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