STEPHEN SHORTRIDGE
One Man Show
Friday, May 30th, 6-9 pm
Saturday, May 31st, 1-4 pm
Champagne Reception for the Artist
West Coast Connection
California artists show metalwork
and textiles at Temple Israel.
SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to the Jewish News
A
replica of Barbed Wire
Mezuzah, the religious
object that traveled with
Israeli astronaut Ilan
Ramon aboard the ill-fated Columbia
space shuttle, will be on display
through Aug. 31 at Temple Israel. The
religious piece has a centrally placed
Jewish star bordered with wire.
The mezuzah is part of a
larger exhibit shared by metal
artist Aimee Golant and fabric
artist Mary Ann Newman,
both of California. The two,
who have shown their work
together on the West Coast,
are represented for the first
time in Michigan as their
pieces fill the Temple Israel
Judaic and Archival Museum.
"It's very exciting for me to
show my work in the Detroit
area," says Golant, 29, who has
sent menorot as well as mezuzot
for temple viewing. "It was a huge
honor for me to have my work
chosen for the space mission, and
I felt very sad about the tragedy."
Golant traces her interest in
metal to her Polish grandfather,
who was a die maker. She traces
her interest in Judaica to both
Polish grandparents, who were
Holocaust survivors.
"Ilan heard about my work
through an organization of sur-
vivors that includes my grand-
parents as members," Golant
explains. "His mother is a survivor, so
he wanted a piece that related to the
Holocaust. Survival is at the heart of
my Jewish work."
Golant works in silver, copper,
bronze, gold and pewter. Her
approach is to combine standard fab-
rication techniques with adaptive ways
of using the hydraulic press.
"I would like to bring some of the
Jewish culture into pop culture as a
way to foster understanding among
people," says Golant, whose work is in
the permanent collection of the Jewish
Museum in New York City and sold
by more than 250 retailers.
Offering a contrast to the metal are
four woven pieces shown by Newman.
Three are wall hangings, and one is a
tallit (prayer shawl).
"I did paintings before I started weav-
ing," says Newman, 78, whose husband,
Richard, graduated from the University
of Michigan. "After taking weaving
classes in the late 1970s, I began to like
the feel of the materials and became
serious about this kind of work."
Newman, who converted to Judaism,
is showing wall hangings that illustrate
passages from the Bible. Let There Be
Danielle Peleg Gallery
4301 Orchard Lake Road
West Bloomfield Crosswinds Mall
Phone: 248.626.5810
Hours: Mon 12-5, Tues-Sat 10-6
Above: A tapestry by
Mary Ann Newman:
(And out of the ground
God made to grow
every tree that is
pleasant to the sight,"
from Genesis 2:9.
Left: Aimee Golant
with the mezuzah Ilan
Ramon took into space.
Light, for example, combines dark blue
and golden tones and shows an inlay
technique to give a painterly effect.
"I have made 43 tallit, and I also do
shawls, scarves and jackets," says the
textile artist, who has made religious
pieces for children of friends at the
time of b'nai mitzvah.
Originally from South Dakota,
Newman has lived in Switzerland and
Norway and has traveled extensively. ❑
The work of Aimee Golant and
Mary Ann Newman will be on
exhibit through Aug. 31 at
Temple Israel in West
Bloomfield. (248) 661-5700.
Sunday Brunch
12 pm until 3:00 pm
Sewing Quiche & Frittata Daily
• Shrimp Benedict • Egg Sardou
• Fettuccine Florentine
Bottomless Bloody Mary
& Mimosa Bar
Saturday Nights
Music by Kathy Kosins
.
Hours:
Tuesday-Thursday 5:30 - 10:00
Friday & Saturday 5:30 - 11:00
Sunday Brunch 12:00 noon - 3:00
Sunday Dinner 5:30 - 10:00
17546 Woodward Ave. (2 blocks north of McNichols) Detroit
313-865-0331
Closed Monday • Enter rear * Valet parking
5/30
2003
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