The Magnes | Exhibitions & Public Programs

Spring 2017

Spring 2017 Exhibitions

January 24 - June 23, 2017
Gallery Hours: Tuesday- Friday 11 a.m.- 4 p.m.

From the Photographers Archive: Roman Vishniac

Beginning with his venture into studio portraiture in New York in the 1940s, taking photographs of renowned
Jewish artists and public figures, transitioning to his commissioned series of pre-war Eastern European Jewry,
onto post-war Jewish life in Displaced Persons camps, and finally his experimentation with modernist street
photography in pre-and-post-war Berlin, From the Photographers Archive, celebrates the expansive range
of subjects and visual motifs that are exemplary of Roman Vishniacs photography.
Read more at bit.ly/magnesvishniac.

Image Mara Vishniac Kohn, courtesy International

Center of Photography.

The Power of Attention: Magic & Meditation in Hebrew shiviti Manuscript Art
Created from the early-modern period and into the present, shiviti manuscripts are found in Hebrew prayer books,
ritual textiles, and on the walls of synagogues and homes throughout the Jewish diaspora. Wrestling with ways to
externalize the presence of God in Jewish life, these documents center upon the graphic representation of Gods
ineffable four-letter Hebrew name, the Tetragrammaton, and associate it with words and imageries that evoke
mystical powers, protective energy, and angels, as well as key places and characters in Biblical and Jewish history.
Read more at bit.ly/powerofattention.

I-Tal-Yah: An Island of Divine Dew. Italian Crossroads in Jewish Culture

Never before the creation of the State of Israel did Jews of so many origins live together, and in such a
stimulating environment, as they did in the land they soon started calling in Hebrew i-tal-yah, an Island of
Divine Dew." A crossroad of world cultures, Italy has been for over two millennia a haven for Italian,
Sephardic, and Ashkenazi Jews, in the heartland of Christianity. The Italian-Jewish symbiosis flourished
with the Modern Era, in the Renaissance ghettos, continuing through the 19th-century Emancipation,
and up to the present. Read more at bit.ly/italyah.

The Jewish World | A Book Installation

The Jewish World: 100 Treasures of Art and Culture, published by Skir-Rizzoli in the Fall of 2014, is
the first comprehensive catalog featuring the holdings of The Magnes. With Art and material culture hailing
from India, Spain, Yemen, Germany, Tunisia, Turkey, Morocco, China, Russia, the United States, and
other regions where Jews once lived or continue to live. The Jewish World gives insights into the richness
and variety of Jewish cultures. Select pages from this lavishly illustrated volume populate an installation in
the Auditorium. Read more at bit.ly/thejewishworld.

THE MAGNES COLLECTION OF JEWISH ART AND LIFE

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
2121 ALLSTON WAY, BERKELEY, CA 94720
510.643.2526 MAGNES.BERKELEY.EDU
 Spring 2017 Public Programs
Spring 2017 Opening Night Reception
Tuesday, February 7, 2017, 5-7 p.m.

Opening reception for two new exhibitions From the Photographers Archive: Roman Vishniac and The Power of Attention: Magic &
Meditation in Hebrew "shiviti" Manuscript Art. The program will feature Mara Vishniac Kohn, collector, donor, and daughter of photographer
Roman Vishniac in conversation with Magnes curators Francesco Spagnolo and Zoe Lewin. Remarks also by Moses Libitzky, a leader in the
Jewish community and Magnes supporter, and George Breslauer, Faculty Director of The Magnes. RSVP at bit.ly/magnesspring17.

Film Screenings and Musical Performances

Israeli musician Yair Dalal Israeli singer/songwriter David Broza

Film screening of East Jerusalem/West Jerusalem, conversation &

performance with musicians David Broza and Ali Paris, moderated
by Ramzi Salti, Stanford Lecturer in Arabic.

Monday, February 27, 6 p.m.

Cosponsored by the Berkeley Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies, the Center for Jewish Studies,
and the Department of Music

Patrizia Guarnieri | The Racial Laws in Fascist Italy: Enzo Bonaventura From Florence to Jerusalem
Wednesday, March 8, 6 p.m.
Cosponsored by the Berkeley Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies

Patrizia Guarnieri, Professor of Cultural and Social History in the S.A.G.A.S. Department at the University
of Florence, Italy, will give a talk on her book Italian Psychology and Jewish Emigration under Fascism: From
Florence to Jerusalem and New York (Palgrave Macmillan US 2016). The book focuses on how the field of
psychology was affected by the racism and racial laws of 1938, which dramatically changed the scientific
research and academic community. The book follows scholars who emigrated to the United States, such as
psychologist Renata Calabresi, and to Palestine, such as Enzo Bonaventura. Guarnieri traces their journey and the
help they received from antifascist and Zionist networks and by international organizations. Some succeeded, some
did not, and very few went back.

Spring 2017 PopUp Exhibitions

Wednesdays, noon-1 p.m.
February 15, 22; March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; April 5, 19, 26 *

Each week, UC Berkeley faculty and graduate students, visiting artists, and other notable guests will present
brief lectures focused on selected treasures from The Magnes Collection. Bring your own lunch, enjoy
complimentary refreshments, and take part in an exciting learning program. Lectures start at 12:15 p.m.
in The Magnes Auditorium. Check The Magnes Calendar and Facebook page for schedule.
*No lecture on April 12 (Passover)

THE MAGNES COLLECTION OF JEWISH ART AND LIFE . UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
2121 ALLSTON WAY, BERKELEY, CA 94720
510.643.2526 MAGNES.BERKELEY.EDU