50 | NOVEMBER 3 • 2022

T

wo shows fill the Janice
Charach Gallery until Dec.
7.
Out of the Narrows, on the first floor,
has some 35 images related to this
year’s Detroit Jewish Book Fair in
that it is based on contemporary
artistic reactions to the Haggadah.
It was produced by members of the
Jewish Artists Collective Chicago.
On the second floor, images
and videos pay tribute to the
mentors, in various artistic fields,
of photographer Todd Weinstein,
a graduate of Oak Park High
School who went on to build a
career in New York. The
photographer, who traveled
to other parts of the world
to build his portfolio, is
displaying Todd Weinstein
Stories of Influence: In Search of
One’s Own Voice.
“The idea for Out of the
Narrows was that the seder
is not really just the story
of history from a long time ago,”
said Beth Shadur, a contributor
in the Narrows display who defines
the artistry, placed separately in
the gallery, as interpretations, not
illustrations, of the text.
“It’s the idea that you can be
constricted by beliefs, but you
can broaden your beliefs, broaden
your inclusion so that the original
Haggadah becomes a metaphor for
so many things — social justice,
freedom, taking care of people,

taking care of the environment.”
Shadur’s piece, called Cleave,
relates to taking care of the
environment and is associated with
a series she painted about national
parks. It shows glacial ice cleaving
away from other ice as it falls away
and melts.
“When you look at this, it feels
that you’re coming out of a narrow
space into a wide-open space, which
is what’s happening as the glaciers
melt,” said Shadur, gallery director
at Prairie State College in Chicago
Heights and the person who
establishes places for the exhibit to
be shown.
Art has been at the center
of Shadur’s lifelong career,
and she has done numerous
solo and group exhibits,
including one at a Grosse
Pointe gallery in 2003. Her
schooling was at Brown
University.
The exhibit has been seen
at Jewish Community Centers in
Indianapolis and Memphis and is
going to the Dr. Bernard Heller
Museum in New York City.
“This Haggadah was a collective,
collaborative effort,” said Shadur,
who mentioned Carol Neiger as
doing the designs, Berit Engen as
doing the text placement and Susan
Dickman as doing the editing.
“Everyone is of equal importance
in this group. Each person
contributes something different,

ARTS&LIFE
ART

Janice Charach Gallery features Out of the
Narrows and Todd Weinstein Stories of
Influence: In Search of One’s Own Voice.

Two Shows,
Many Artists

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Shadur’s
Rhyolite
Rainbow

Shadur’s
Violado

Beth
Shadur’s
Cleave

Beth Shadur