A set of limited-edition lithographs by Spanish realist Salvador Dali will be exhibited at the Marcus Hillel Center at Emory University from its March 17 opening through June.
Entitled “Aliyah: The Rebirth of Israel,” the little-known suite portraying the epic history of the Jewish diaspora and the return to the homeland was a gift to Emory professor David Blumenthal from his wife, Ursula, commemorating their first date.
On that date in 1965, the couple went to see an exhibit of Dali’s paintings at the Huntington Hartford Museum in New York.
Blumenthal, the Jay and Leslie Cohen Professor of Judaic Studies in Emory’s Department of Religion, also curated the “Aliyah” exhibit.
The original “Aliyah” works took two years for Dali to complete, and were commissioned by Shorewood Publishers, a New York firm noted for art publications.
After its grand opening at the Huntington Hartford Museum’s Gallery of Modern Art in New York on April 1, 1968, 250 sets of 25 lithographs each were produced and then the stones were destroyed, ensuring that there would be no more reprints; the Blumenthal’s (No. 150) is the only known set in Atlanta.
For the Hillel exhibit, Blumenthal has organized the lithographs—all of which are signed and many of them dated—historically and thematically. A favorite section is the four iconic images of exile and hope: “A Voice is heard in Ramah,” “The Wailing Wall,” “For it is thy life and the length of thy days” and “Return, O virgin of Israel.”
“The Hebrew word ‘aliyah’ means ‘ascent.’ In later Hebrew, it was broadened to mean ‘to ascend to the land of Israel,’ ” says David Blumenthal. “After centuries of oppression in the exile, ‘aliyah’ is a commitment to the rebirth of the Jewish people, to the renaissance of the Jewish spirit, in its own space.”
The set of 25 colored prints was kept in its original box and stored safely under the couple’s piano for nearly 30 years, until Ursula Blumenthal had the idea of displaying the series in honor of Emory’s new Marcus Hillel Center, which opened last September.
“I am so glad it’s here where it can be seen and appreciated,” she says.
The exhibit is sponsored in part by the Consulate General of Israel to the Southeast, Emory University Office of the President, the Emory Center for Creativity and the Arts’ David Goldwasser Series in Religion and the Arts, the Blonder Family Foundation, Shirley Blaine, the Cohen Chair of Judaic Studies, and the Tam Institute of Jewish Studies.
An audio tour, narrated by Blumenthal, is available for free download via iTunes U on iPod Touch or iPhone. Visitors can check out iPods at the Marcus Hillel Center reception desk.
For more information visit Hillel at Emory.
-----
Community News You Can Use
Click to read MORE news:
www.GeorgiaFrontPage.com
Twitter: @gafrontpage & @TheGATable @HookedonHistory
www.ArtsAcrossGeorgia.com
Twitter: @artsacrossga, @softnblue, @RimbomboAAG @FayetteFP
Showing posts with label israel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label israel. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Monday, September 20, 2010
Apollo Discovery Tells a New Story
A University of Haifa/Hebrew University excavation team is taken by surprise as it discovers a ring revealing a Hellenistic elite lifestyle.
Newswise — A rare bronze signet ring with the impression of the face of the Greek sun god, Apollo, has been discovered at Tel Dor, in northern Israel, by University of Haifa diggers. "A piece of high-quality art such as this, doubtlessly created by a top-of-the-line artist, indicates that local elites developing a taste for fine art and the ability to afford it were also living in provincial towns, and not only in the capital cities of the Hellenistic kingdoms," explains Dr. Ayelet Gilboa, Head of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Haifa, who headed the excavations at Dor along with Dr. Ilan Sharon of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
When the ring was recovered from a waste pit near Hellenistic structures, it was covered with layers of earth and corrosion, and the archaeologists had no indication whatsoever that it would reveal the shape of a legendary figure. Only after the ring was cleaned up at the Restoration and Conservation laboratory at the Hebrew University's Institute of Archaeology, was the profile of a beardless young male with long hair, clean shaven and adorned with a laurel wreath, revealed. The ring was examined by Dr. Jessica Nitschke, professor of classical archaeology at Georgetown University in Washington DC, and by Dr. Rebecca Martin, assistant professor of art at Southeast Missouri State University, both of whom are partners in the Tel Dor excavations. Both confirmed that the image is that of Apollo – one of the most important of the Olympian gods in Greek mythology, god of the sun, of light, music and song.
The archaeological context and style of the signet ring date it back to the 4th or 3rd century B.C.E. This type of ring was used as a seal or was dedicated to the temple of the god imprinted on the ring. Since it was found in an urban context and at an orderly archaeological dig, the discovery is of great significance: Most of the small pieces of art originating in the Near East until now are of unknown origin, having been displaced through illegal antique trade, or purchased by museums and collectors before scientific archaeological research began.
The ring also testifies to the cosmopolitan character of this region as far back as 2,300 years ago. Despite the damage caused over the centuries, its high quality is easily recognizable. The precious object was found in the same area as a small gemstone with an engraved image of Alexander the Great and a rare, exquisite Hellenistic mosaic floor that were unearthed during earlier excavation seasons. All these discoveries are very likely to be linked to a nearby structure which is currently being excavated, the architectural features of which indicate that it is a grand elite structure.
These finds indicate that the circulation of fine art objects was not limited to the capital cities of the Hellenistic kingdoms in the east, such as Alexandria in Egypt or Antioch and Seleucia in Syria, where the main populations were Greek, but also spread to smaller centers, such as Dor, which was primarily populated by local Phoenician inhabitants.
The town of Dor was an important port on the Mediterranean shore from 2000 B.C.E. until 250 C.E. Pieces of Greek-style art, such as signet rings and miniature gems, began to appear in the east at the time of the Persian Empire (6th-4th centuries B.C.E.) and became more common after Alexander the Great conquered the region, passing through Dor on his journey from Tyre to Egypt in 332 B.C.E. Subsequently, the town of Dor became one of the centers of Greek culture in the land of Israel, and that culture left its mark even after Dor was conquered by Alexander Jannaeus, King of Judea, around 100 B.C.E. and its impact is evident well into the Roman era.
Tel Dor is located next to the Dor (Tantura) beach, between Haifa and Tel Aviv. It has been excavated continuously for some thirty years and is in the process of being declared a National Park by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. University of Haifa and Hebrew University teams collaborate in the excavations, along with a team headed by Prof. Sarah Stroup of the University of Washington in Seattle and a team directed by Dr. Elizabeth Bloch-Smith of St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia. Some 130 researchers, students and volunteers from Israel and the U.S.A. participated in the 2010 season of excavations. The ring was discovered in an excavation area directed by Yiftah Shalev and Hagar Ben-Best, a PhD candidate and a graduate student of the University of Haifa's Department of Archaeology. The Tel Dor excavations are supported by the Goldhirsh Foundation, USA, by the Berman Foundation for Biblical Archaeology and by the Israel Science Foundation.
-----
Community News You Can Use
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter: @GAFrontPage
Newswise — A rare bronze signet ring with the impression of the face of the Greek sun god, Apollo, has been discovered at Tel Dor, in northern Israel, by University of Haifa diggers. "A piece of high-quality art such as this, doubtlessly created by a top-of-the-line artist, indicates that local elites developing a taste for fine art and the ability to afford it were also living in provincial towns, and not only in the capital cities of the Hellenistic kingdoms," explains Dr. Ayelet Gilboa, Head of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Haifa, who headed the excavations at Dor along with Dr. Ilan Sharon of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
When the ring was recovered from a waste pit near Hellenistic structures, it was covered with layers of earth and corrosion, and the archaeologists had no indication whatsoever that it would reveal the shape of a legendary figure. Only after the ring was cleaned up at the Restoration and Conservation laboratory at the Hebrew University's Institute of Archaeology, was the profile of a beardless young male with long hair, clean shaven and adorned with a laurel wreath, revealed. The ring was examined by Dr. Jessica Nitschke, professor of classical archaeology at Georgetown University in Washington DC, and by Dr. Rebecca Martin, assistant professor of art at Southeast Missouri State University, both of whom are partners in the Tel Dor excavations. Both confirmed that the image is that of Apollo – one of the most important of the Olympian gods in Greek mythology, god of the sun, of light, music and song.
The archaeological context and style of the signet ring date it back to the 4th or 3rd century B.C.E. This type of ring was used as a seal or was dedicated to the temple of the god imprinted on the ring. Since it was found in an urban context and at an orderly archaeological dig, the discovery is of great significance: Most of the small pieces of art originating in the Near East until now are of unknown origin, having been displaced through illegal antique trade, or purchased by museums and collectors before scientific archaeological research began.
The ring also testifies to the cosmopolitan character of this region as far back as 2,300 years ago. Despite the damage caused over the centuries, its high quality is easily recognizable. The precious object was found in the same area as a small gemstone with an engraved image of Alexander the Great and a rare, exquisite Hellenistic mosaic floor that were unearthed during earlier excavation seasons. All these discoveries are very likely to be linked to a nearby structure which is currently being excavated, the architectural features of which indicate that it is a grand elite structure.
These finds indicate that the circulation of fine art objects was not limited to the capital cities of the Hellenistic kingdoms in the east, such as Alexandria in Egypt or Antioch and Seleucia in Syria, where the main populations were Greek, but also spread to smaller centers, such as Dor, which was primarily populated by local Phoenician inhabitants.
The town of Dor was an important port on the Mediterranean shore from 2000 B.C.E. until 250 C.E. Pieces of Greek-style art, such as signet rings and miniature gems, began to appear in the east at the time of the Persian Empire (6th-4th centuries B.C.E.) and became more common after Alexander the Great conquered the region, passing through Dor on his journey from Tyre to Egypt in 332 B.C.E. Subsequently, the town of Dor became one of the centers of Greek culture in the land of Israel, and that culture left its mark even after Dor was conquered by Alexander Jannaeus, King of Judea, around 100 B.C.E. and its impact is evident well into the Roman era.
Tel Dor is located next to the Dor (Tantura) beach, between Haifa and Tel Aviv. It has been excavated continuously for some thirty years and is in the process of being declared a National Park by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. University of Haifa and Hebrew University teams collaborate in the excavations, along with a team headed by Prof. Sarah Stroup of the University of Washington in Seattle and a team directed by Dr. Elizabeth Bloch-Smith of St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia. Some 130 researchers, students and volunteers from Israel and the U.S.A. participated in the 2010 season of excavations. The ring was discovered in an excavation area directed by Yiftah Shalev and Hagar Ben-Best, a PhD candidate and a graduate student of the University of Haifa's Department of Archaeology. The Tel Dor excavations are supported by the Goldhirsh Foundation, USA, by the Berman Foundation for Biblical Archaeology and by the Israel Science Foundation.
-----
Community News You Can Use
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter: @GAFrontPage
Friday, December 4, 2009
'Dig Night' at Emory's Carlos Museum Explores Active Archaeological Sites
Emory University and Carlos Museum faculty and curators will discuss their work in active archaeological sites in Greece, Israel and Egypt at a public program at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec 8, at the museum.
Bonna Wescoat, associate professor of art history; Oded Borowski, professor of Hebrew and biblical archaeology; and Peter Lacovara, curator of Egyptian art at the Carlos Museum, will discuss their work at Samothrace in Greece, Tell Halif in Israel, and Malkata, the boyhood home of Tutankhamen, in Egypt. The Carlos Museum will also introduce the new iSITE blogs that will allow the public to follow these digs each season.
Attendees will hear of the ancient Greek Sanctuary of the Great Gods on Samothrace from Wescoat. Home of one of the premier ancient Greek mystery cults, Samothrace offers a unique view of the ancient Greek world. Wescoat has worked at the site for more than 30 years, and Emory students have played an important role in exploring the sanctuary.
In 2008, Carlos Museum's Lacovara and the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Diana Patch, associate curator of Egyptian art, began excavations at the site of Malqata, the palace-city of Amenhotep III (1390-1353 B.C.) and later a residence of the young king Tutankhamen.
Excavations at Tell Halif, under the direction of Borowski, continue to uncover remains from the end of the eighth century B.C., when the city - possibly biblical Rimmon - was destroyed by the Assyrian king Sennacherib in 701 B.C. in response to the revolt of King Hezekiah of Judah. Among the remains discovered were substantial elements of the fortification system, a pillared house with a large assemblage of storage jars, and a kitchen that included an oven and grinding implements.
Location: 571 South Kilgo Circle, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, U.S.A.
Telephone: 404.727.4282 Fax: 404.727.4292
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sunday 12noon - 4 p.m. (Closed on Mondays and university holidays)
Admission:$8. Free for Carlos Museum members and Emory University faculty, students, and staff. Students, seniors, and children ages 6-17: $6 (Children ages 5 and under: Free).
Public Tours: Advanced booking required for weekday or weekend groups of ten or more. For reservations call 404-727-0519. Docent-led tours of the Museum depart from the Rotunda on Level One every Sunday at 2:30p.m. during the Emory academic year (call 404.727.4282 to confirm).
-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Bonna Wescoat, associate professor of art history; Oded Borowski, professor of Hebrew and biblical archaeology; and Peter Lacovara, curator of Egyptian art at the Carlos Museum, will discuss their work at Samothrace in Greece, Tell Halif in Israel, and Malkata, the boyhood home of Tutankhamen, in Egypt. The Carlos Museum will also introduce the new iSITE blogs that will allow the public to follow these digs each season.
Attendees will hear of the ancient Greek Sanctuary of the Great Gods on Samothrace from Wescoat. Home of one of the premier ancient Greek mystery cults, Samothrace offers a unique view of the ancient Greek world. Wescoat has worked at the site for more than 30 years, and Emory students have played an important role in exploring the sanctuary.
In 2008, Carlos Museum's Lacovara and the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Diana Patch, associate curator of Egyptian art, began excavations at the site of Malqata, the palace-city of Amenhotep III (1390-1353 B.C.) and later a residence of the young king Tutankhamen.
Excavations at Tell Halif, under the direction of Borowski, continue to uncover remains from the end of the eighth century B.C., when the city - possibly biblical Rimmon - was destroyed by the Assyrian king Sennacherib in 701 B.C. in response to the revolt of King Hezekiah of Judah. Among the remains discovered were substantial elements of the fortification system, a pillared house with a large assemblage of storage jars, and a kitchen that included an oven and grinding implements.
Location: 571 South Kilgo Circle, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, U.S.A.
Telephone: 404.727.4282 Fax: 404.727.4292
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sunday 12noon - 4 p.m. (Closed on Mondays and university holidays)
Admission:$8. Free for Carlos Museum members and Emory University faculty, students, and staff. Students, seniors, and children ages 6-17: $6 (Children ages 5 and under: Free).
Public Tours: Advanced booking required for weekday or weekend groups of ten or more. For reservations call 404-727-0519. Docent-led tours of the Museum depart from the Rotunda on Level One every Sunday at 2:30p.m. during the Emory academic year (call 404.727.4282 to confirm).
-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
