We recently returned from Los Angeles where we spent time in two very special museums and thoroughly enjoyed three very exciting exhibitions.
First we went to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures which is the largest museum in the United States devoted to the arts and sciences and artists of movie making. The museum is simultaneously immersive, experimental, educational and entertaining.
Besides the section which features recent as well as years gone by winners of Oscars or Academy Awards and numerous galleries of film memorabilia and the history of film was an exhibition, "Hollywoodland: Jewish Founders and Making of the Movie Capital.”In the exhibition was an incredible and informative film.
Why did Los Angeles, California become the movie capital of the world? The exhibition traces the city's film making history from its origins, highlights of the founding of eight studios considered the original major ones and explores the experiences of Jewish immigrants and first generation Jewish Americans who were primarily responsible for building the Hollywood studio system.
As film technology developed at the turn of the 20th century, American production centered around American investors such as Thomas Edison. Edison's east coast studio became a monopoly and controlled the motion picture patent company, a powerful trust which stifled creativity and competition.
Meanwhile an influx of Jewish immigrants fleeing persecution in Eastern Europe had settled primarily on the East Coast. Anti-Semitism barred them from pursuing professions of the upper classes, but cinema was considered low-brow and it was relatively open to Jewish entrepreneurs, presenting a singular opportunity for upward mobility.
To this end, independent Jewish producers such as Carl Laemmle, William Fox and Adolph Zukor became visionaries with both higher aspirations for both movies and themselves and they defied Edison's restrictions. They moved to Los Angeles to do their own thing.
These and other Jewish producers soon laid the groundwork for a new studio system transforming Los Angeles in to a mythological concept of Hollywood as it prevails today.
We then travelled to the Skirball Cultural Center which is a vibrant cultural institution celebrating Jewish heritage and American democratic ideals. Opened in 1996, it features one of the world's largest collections of Jewish ceremonial art, ritual objects and material culture with about 25,000 pieces. There is a museum with several galleries within the center.
There were two special exhibitions that we thoroughly enjoyed. The first was entitled "Frank Stella: Had Gadya." This exhibition explores the power of traditional Jewish storytelling as a constant source of inspiration for creative expression. It centers on the beloved traditional song, "Had Gadya", sung around the world for centuries at the Jewish Holiday of Passover. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a striking series of twelve large prints by renowned American artist Frank Stella (1936-2024).These dramatic pieces are presented in dialogue with a colorful series of lithographs by Russian Jewish modern artist El Lissitzky(1890-1941) that illustrate the verses of "Had Gadya", created over a half a century earlier.
Although Stella was a Catholic, he was inspired by the history of the Jewish people, particularly that of the Holocaust, during which time he was a child in the U.S. During a trip to Tel Aviv Museum in 1981, Stella became fascinated by a series of prints by Lissitzky illustrating the classic Passover song and was inspired to create a series of prints that captured the action and emotion that he perceived in Lissitzky's visual interpretation.
In another gallery at the Skirball was an exhibition entitled "Wild Things are Happening: The Art of Maurice Sendak." This display of Sendak's work is the largest and most complete exhibition of Jewish artist Maurice Senkak's 60-year career. Comprised of over 150 works including original paintings, drawings, videos and objects, this landmark exhibition showcases the depth and breadth of his creativity.
Sendak was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1928 to Jewish immigrant parents. He was largely self-taught and illustrated over 150 books over his entire career. His most famous book was "Where the Wild Things Are" that was completed in 1963.
He felt that only with “Wild Things” he had found his true voice. The book has earned enormous and continued popularity, To date it has sold more than 50 million copies world-wide and has been translated into more than 40 languages. The wild things themselves , particularly the bearded figure he called Moishe, (the nickname his family gave him) cropped up in his poster design like old friends almost to the end of his career.
Although Sendak was not religious, he felt a strong connection to his ethnicity and to what he called a Jewish sense of purposefulness. Sendak's father Philip told stories rooted in Jewish legend and "shtetl" life. Sendak incorporated aspects of this Jewish heritage in many of his works. According to Sendak, the title of his most famous book, "Where the Wild Things Are", comes from the Yiddish phrase "vilde chaya" or wild beasts. It's what almost every Jewish mother or father in his day said to their offspring," You’re acting like a vilde chaya. Stop it."
Among his many awards was the Caldecot Medal which was awarded yearly to the best illustrator of children's books and The National Medal of Arts in recognition of his contribution to arts in America which was presented to him by President Clinton.
I can never get my fill of the arts, whether I'm in our great art filled St. Louis or travelling to other exciting cities both large and small.
Nancy Kranzberg has been involved in the arts community for more than forty years on numerous arts related boards.