The Harry G. Friedman Society and Heller Museum, cordially invite you to a special viewing and artists talk.
10am: Bagel brunch
10:30am-Noon: Program
Out of the Narrows, the haggadah produced in 2021 by the Jewish Artists Collective Chicago (JACC), is highlighted in this exhibition of contemporary art interpreting the text recited at the Passover seder (festive meal). Referencing the Hebrew word for Egypt, mitzrayim, which means “the narrow place,” Out of the Narrows was motivated by the artists’ responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, in full force during Passover 2020. They asked, “How does art make sense of the Passover story? How can art reflect on the plagues of disease, death, and injustice that still exist? How do we praise God when the world is broken, and millions continue to suffer?”
The exhibition features three paintings by Archie Rand from his Had Gadya series, depicting the song that recounts how one little goat is the catalyst for a chain of events whose ripples extend to heaven. It also presents several examples of 20th- and 21st-century American haggadot, ranging in styles from modern illuminated manuscript, Israeli folk art, graphic novel, to contemporary abstraction and incorporating Holocaust remembrance, Jewish feminist expression, and human rights activism.
For questions for additional information, please contact us at 212-824-2218 or hellermuseum@huc.edu
