Women of the Book: Jewish Artists, Jewish Themes

March 10, 2003 through April 27, 2003
Robert L. Ringel Gallery, Purdue Memorial Union

Women of the Book is sponsored by the Ben and Louise Klatch Jewish Arts Series, with additional support from the Department of Jewish Studies.

Judith Hoffberg, a professional book artist and an accomplished curator, developed this exhibition of women artists who have created bookworks of unusual beauty and significance. The themes of this traveling show deal with Jewish ritual and liturgy, personal history including family tales, the Holocaust, Jewish traditions, journals and travels to other parts of the world, Biblical tales, Jewish guilt and Jewish mothers, dream books, Hebrew calligraphy, Jewish mysticism, the Diaspora as well as the dilemma of being a woman and a Jewish woman artist at the end of the millennium.

Many of the books have been made especially for this exhibition, while others are printed in large editions and will be available for "reading" at the viewer's pace at a reading table placed in the gallery. These are NOT books about art, but are works of art in themselves. Some of the bookworks will be available for handling with gloves, while others can be easily viewed in the round without touching. Many of the books are emotionally moving, some humorous, and all are superbly executed.