Complex Identities
Jewish Conscousness and Modern Art

Focusing on 19th- and 20th-century European, American and Israeli artists, this work explores the ways in which Jewish artists have responded to their Jewishness and to the societies in which they lived (or live). How these factors have influenced their art, and their subject choice is discussed.

Focusing on 19th-and 20th-century European, American and Israeli artists, the contributors explore the ways in which Jewish artists have responded to their Jewishness and to the societies in which they lived (or live), and how these factors have influenced their art, their choice of subject matter, and presentation of their work. The contributors reflect the broad range of contemporary art criticism, with a variety of perspectives by art, cultural and even literary historians. Among the essays are Donald Kuspit's and Avigdor Poseq's perspectives on Chaim Soutine, Sander Gilman on R.B. Kitaj and the body, and Ziva Amishan-Maisels on the origins of the Jewish Jesus. By analyzing how Jewish experiences have been depicted and have shaped art, the collection begins to answer how art, in its turn, depicts and shapes the Jewish experience.