Around the world in 333 days

New exhibit documents artist's pursuit of a minyan

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of March 20, 2009 / 24 Adar 5769

If you're looking for an interesting detour to make while visiting

Manhattan, an hour or two of your time would be well spent exploring the Yeshiva University Museum.

Located in an unassuming building on W. 16th St., within the Center for

Jewish History, the YU Museum now has several new exhibits on display,

providing a fascinating glimpse into different areas of Jewish life. For

those who make the effort to stop in (the Union Square subway stop is just a few blocks away) and have no objection to showing themselves around the virtually deserted galleries, there is much to see there.

"Final Mourner's Kaddish: 333 Days in Paintings" by Max Miller documents the artist's physical and spiritual 11-month journey as he recites the Kaddish prayer for his deceased father, Murray A. Miller, in different synagogues across the country.

"Because the saying of Kaddish every day was such an important part of

my life, I felt compelled to create images capturing this experience," the

artist explains in a narrative posted by the exhibit.

"I created a watercolor of each place where I said Kaddish -- as a historic record and for personal reasons."

At the front of the gallery, a portrait of Miller's father against a silver background sets a powerful tone for the rest of the display. Each of the 50 paintings depicts one shul and every image is a vibrant watercolor done on paper, identical in its rectangular dimensions -- but the similarities end there. What is striking about the exhibit is the diversity displayed in the paintings, both from an aesthetic, artistic perspective as well in the variety of shuls being portrayed.

Some shuls are painted from a bird's eye view, as if Miller is standing in a balcony looking down into the main sanctuary. These pictures are often abstract, and allow the viewer to get a general sense of what the entire shul looked like, from an architectural angle. Other paintings are more detailed and concentrate specifically on one aspect of the synagogue.

For example, in the picture of Temple Judea in Gables, FL, Miller focuses in on the intricately designed stained-glass windows, using a

kaleidoscope of vivid colors to portray that aspect of the shul. The same detail is applied to Miller's painting of The Young Israel of Flatbush, a shul that held extra significance since his late father celebrated his Bar Mitzvah there in the 1930s.

In other paintings, Miller chooses to focus on various other components

of the shul, including the parochet (curtain) covering the aron kodesh

(Torah ark), the ark itself, the bima, rows of pews, hanging chandeliers, or

a unique skylight featuring a Magen David (star of David), as is the case in

The Shul at Bal Harbour, Florida.

Some paintings depict the shul from the outside, providing an exterior

view of the building itself, and, even more interesting, the surrounding

landscape and scenery. The Beth Israel shul in Miami Beach looks right at

home against its balmy Florida backdrop, replete with palm trees and rays of

sunshine lighting up the building. However, not every shul in Miami is

located so strategically; Temple Menorah is based on a regular Florida

street, as evidenced by the traffic lights and wires depicted in the

foreground.

Also of note is the wide variety of shuls that Miller visited throughout

his travels. Large majestic synagogues and smaller temples, spanning across

the religious spectrum; places all across the United States, as well as

several shuls in England are all part of the exhibit. Well-known, more

established shuls, such as the Bialystoker synagogue on Manhattan's Lower

East Side are painted alongside more obscure venues such as Agudas Achim of Ohio and Havura in Vermont. A few paintings even depict people praying

inside the shuls, both men and women -- though their faces are not

discernible -- with some men wearing a tallis or yarmulke as well.

The exhibit also showcases Miller¹s written observations and thoughts on

each of the shuls he visited. Some selections are descriptive analyses, as

Miller admires the architecture of specific buildings, while others are

anecdotal, with the artist offering entertaining commentary on the eclectic

group of people he encountered along the way.

"Aside from his family, the two things that were most important to him

were Judaism and architecture," Miller says, describing his late father and

explaining his motivation to create the exhibit.

"Presenting this project to the public provides an opportunity for those within the Jewish community and for those in other communities, of all ages, to witness and honor the tradition of the Mourner's Kaddish, and to reflect on their own humanity and spiritual journeys."

A second exhibit, "Testimony and Memory," features a collection of

contemporary Torah mantles (covers) designed by Carole Smollan. Smollan

worked out of studios in London and Portugal to design a series of ornately

decorated miniature mantles from textile remnants of chuppahs (wedding

canopies) she created for couples around the world, using silk, velvet,

paint and stitching. The mantles have Jewish themes such as creation and the Ten Commandments, incorporating Hebrew and English verses from the Bible related to different stages of the life cycle.

The third new exhibit on display, "Joseph, the Bull, and the Rose" uses the theme of the bull (shor) and relates it to the biblical character of Joseph. Through a series of paintings, Mexican artist Anette Pier uses the image of the bull as a metaphor for Joseph, demonstrating how bullfighting is a dance and power play with the matador, paralleling Joseph's relationship with his brothers.

The YU Museum is open Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 11:00 a.m., until 5:00 p.m. and Mondays, when admission is free, from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. For holders of a Yeshiva University ID card, admission is free at all times. For more information, please call (212) 294-8330 or visit www.yumuseum.org.