Towards a Visual Midrash: The 42-Letter Name and Related Work

Aug. 25, 2011 - PRLog -- Trinity College Professor Robert Kirschbaum will lead a discussion about his art on Saturday, September 24, 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Beth Israel. His talk will be a part of a program on Selichot, a communal gathering for reflection and meditation held in preparation for the Jewish High Holy Days. The evening will also include music by Natasha Ulyanovsky on piano, Peter Dzialo on cello, and Sandy Rosenberg on flute, as well as Cheshbon HaNefesh, a one-half hour service with meditative prayers for forgiveness.

The focus of Professor Kirschbaum’s talk will be on his recently published artist’s book/print folio, the 42- Letter Name. He explains, “For more than thirty years, my art has been a means for me to reconcile the existence of tangible sanctified architectural elements in the home and in the synagogue with the broader significance of the Temple, its destruction and its mythic re-creation. Recognizing that this work of architecture is the single most potent image in a religion that eschews representation, I have, in my art, undertaken to explore the symbol of the Temple and the consanguineous impetus toward abstraction. My talk will address the mix of reason, imagination, and memory—both personal and collective—that informs my art. I will emphasize work of the last five years, particularly “The 42-Letter Name.” Throughout, I will emphasize my focus on the Temple—its history, and its meta-history, from Creation to a projected aspirational vision of a perfected world.”

Robert Kirschbaum received his MFA degree from Yale University in 1974, and undergraduate degrees from the University of Rochester and the Boston Museum School. The recipient of numerous grants and awards, including three Fulbright awards and an Artist’s Fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts, he has exhibited and lectured throughout the United States and abroad. His artwork is in permanent collections, including the New Britain Museum of American Art, William Benton Museum of Art at the University of Connecticut, Yale University Art Gallery, the U.S. State Department, and the Pennell Print Collection of the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. A native of New York, where he maintains a studio, Kirschbaum is currently Professor of Fine Arts at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.

The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. RSVP adulted@cbict.org, 860-233-8215 x427. Congregation Beth Israel is located on 701 Farmington Ave., West Hartford.  For more information, contact Jane Zande, jzande@cbict.org, 860-233-8215 x230, or visit www.cbict.org.

# # #

A Reform synagogue for participation in worship, Jewish education, and social and spiritual rejuvenation.