‘Psalms Beyond Boundaries’ exhibition pairs American and Israeli artists
The Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga has opened an exhibition of works that pairs artists from the American South, including three from Chattanooga, with their contemporaries from the Hadera region in Israel. All used the Book of Psalms as the content, no matter the discipline.
As Federation spokeswoman Ann Treadwell explains, the Book of Psalms is a collection of lyrics that deal with a broad range of subjects concerning the feelings and inner whisperings of people and their community. It is the first book of the Ketuvim, the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament.
The Psalms, she adds, are composed in a language that fuses with the prayers recited by Jews throughout the ages, who viewed Psalms as a portal to hope, consolation and salvation offering encouragement and security.
“One sees that despite the differences between the artist pairs, their cultures and their artistic media, a common denominator unites them, inspired by the Book of Psalms,” says curator Shlomit Hepher of Hadera.
“In preparing their works for the exhibition, the artists were asked to engage in an ongoing artistic dialogue with their overseas counterparts to create works that express the connection between them as well as their link with Jewish sources,” Hepher says. “The artists met in virtual online meetings, enabling them to get to know one another and mutually expose their works. Faced with the need to find a common narrative between two artistic creations and to span across geographical distances, different time zones and differences in language and mentality, the artists grappled with a challenge that taught them a lesson in tolerance and openness.”
The three artists from Chattanooga contributed a mixed-media piece (Austin Center), a ceramic platter (Mark Issenberg) and an oil on canvas painting (Roslynne Steinberg).
The exhibition is taking place under the auspice of the Partnership2Gether Hadera-Eiron and the U.S. Southeast region consortia, which includes Chattanooga, Nashville and Knoxville, as well as cities in Florida and South Carolina. Partnership2Gether is a Jewish Agency for Israel model for generating ongoing, direct and meaningful partnerships between Jewish world communities and Israeli communities.
The exhibition was presented in Israel in April 2016. Chattanooga is its first stop before traveling through the Southeast. All of the works were created especially for the exhibition and donated by the artists to Partnership2Gether. Proceeds from sales of the pieces will go to the Partnership’s continued development and strengthened activity in Israel.