Re: Ben Shahn and sheytls????

[Ari Davidow <ari...>]

How about the beam in my memory's eye. Sheesh. I was thinking about his
later Alphabet of Creation and more general social/religious themes, and
of, as Wolf notes, his amazing pictures of common people. Although, this
is not your entirely traditional imagery, even here.

No excuse.

At 10:27 AM 12/9/99 -0500, you wrote:
>How about his Haggadah?
>
>Bob
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Ari Davidow <ari (at) IVRITYPE(dot)COM>
>To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
>Date: Thursday, December 09, 1999 9:36 AM
>Subject: Re: Ben Shahn and shtetls????
>
>
>>>For Jewish and Yiddish musical culture to matter and flourish, the
>traditional
>>>must be balanced out by the contemporary.  The musical creations of
>people
>>>living today --whose art is an expression of their actual life, not
>some Ben
>>>Shahn <shtetl- cum -Lower East -Side> fantasy world of benign, wise
>rabbis and
>>>kindly, old <bubbes> -- should be given more opportunity to be
>heard.
>>
>>I guess this returns to what several people have said about
>>knowing something before doing a meaningful riff. I would be
>>most curious to know how or where Ben Shahn became associated
>>with the shtetl in any sense, or, for that matter, the Lower
>>East side. In thinking over his significant drawings--his labor
>>images, the pictures of poverty he created during the Depression,
>>his Sacco and Venzetti, and even his later, post-WWII works where
>>he became more involved with more universal themes, I cannot
>>picture anything he did about either shtetls, small towns in
>>particular (not that no images he did could have been set in
>>small towns) or the Lower East Side, nor can I recall anything
>>written (in the limited canon that I have read), by him or
>>about him, that recalls even the Lower East Side as a source
>>for him. I have to confess that I cannot even place a Ben Shahn
>>image of a rabbi or of Jews engaged in anything discernably
>>Jewish (this, not necessarily to his credit), although I do
>>recall a powerful image (not necessarily prayerful) of women
>>attending church.
>>
>>Not that Shahn was perfect, but you seem to have associated his
>>name with a place and a style not represented or referenced by
>>his work. I think that most would have instead placed him with
>>that other "shtetl" artist (and friend), Diego Rivera, if so :-).
>>
>>ari
>>
>>
>>Ari Davidow
>>ari (at) ivritype(dot)com
>>list owner, jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org
>>the klezmer shack: http://www.klezmershack.com/
>>
>>----------------------
>jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+
>>