«In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth ...» These words from the book of Genesis ( «Genesis»), the first book the Torah, the Old Testament and the entire Bible. Creation of the world devoted to exhibition, which is now in the contemporary Jewish Museum of San Francisco. Especially for this exhibition, several contemporary artists have created works that are united by one - they are all inspired by the first lines of Genesis.

At the entrance to the hall of the visitors are greeted with eight silk-screen printing of outstanding African-American artist Jacob Lawrence (Jacob Lawrence). Lawrence grew up poor in New York's Harlem district, where attended Baptist church. He will remember, read the sermon as a local priest - Taking exalted positions and vozdevaya hands to the sky. At the artist's works, this priest is at the center of the composition. He tells his dazed flock to the creation of the world, and his words create images that can be seen in the church. When the pastor spoke about the department firmament from the waters outside the window - the stormy waves, which broadcasts on the establishment of God plants, there appear trees. At each work of a priest costume, different colors. Despite the fact that the figure in the works of Lawrence painted a very schematic way, a whirlwind of emotions, learning a pastor and his audience, the artist sends a very persuasive. It is easy to imagine these scenes in any film, removed the director-Surrealism.

artist Ben Rubin (Ben Rubin) presented a model of the antenna for the exhibition «Horn», with which astrophysicists Arno Penzias (Arno Penzias) and Robert Wilson (Robert Wilson) first heard the noise space, which were later found echoes of the Big Bang. So in theory the Big Bang was the first evidence for which Penzias and Wilson received the Nobel Prize. Rubin calls the noises you hear physicists, «breath of God». Antenna «Horn», which was originally designed to catch signals sent by satellites, similar to a huge megaphone, and if we put her ear to the model presented in the exhibition, you can hear an interview with Arno Penziasom and the same space noises. On the wall next to the installation hangs a large photo of the antenna «Horn», as well as the emblem of record company RCA Victor - picture dog ear turned to the phonograph. According to the artist, in a parallel universe, we just like this dog, listen to the voice in order to hear the sounds of creation of the world.

On the wall near the entrance to the room where Ben Rubin's installation, we can see ekranchik, which shows video of Ann Hamilton (Ann Hamilton). Her work is so hypnotizing: the video recording are printed the words «In the beginning was the beginning the beginning in the beginning ...» ( «In the beginning was the beginning of the beginning of the beginning ...»), and so ad infinitum. The work is a philosophical commentary on the first line of Genesis.

In the next room is a truly fantastic installation artist Matthew Ritchie (Matthew Ritchie). For the exhibition the artist created a drawing of the wall, parts of which are slightly round «mirror». They projected the video - the organic form or melancholic landscapes. Each «mirror» corresponds to one of the seven days of creation. The installation is accompanied by audio recordings of voices, reading the Book of Genesis.

artist Shirley Shor (Shirley Shor) has created no less than the original product - «Well», in spite of that, we can see the different phrases in English and in Hebrew, appearing from nowhere, and forming a spiral. In ancient times, the well was a place of meeting, which gathered the villagers and the city - now the main meeting place for people was the Internet. Phrases for the installation were collected automatically using Blog Search. They all begin with the words «In the beginning», or «you should not». Maybe because the work of Matthew Ritchie and Shirley Shor in neighboring rooms, it seems that they are connected with each other and their ideas «overlap» each other. The work shows Richie organic, dumb world, and installation Shore - world, the engine of which is communication. These two worlds separated, they are separate from each other, but the human soul has roots in both of them.

Most «massive» work at the exhibition - installation Trenton Doyle Hancock (Trenton Doyle Hancock), in which he tells us about the origin of coined his own universe. The last fifteen years, Hancock was writing epic about the fantastic creatures, combining vegetable and animal beginning - maundah and veganah. One can also see how the first representatives of the tribe maundov attacked their consanguineous brothers and sisters, who staged a terrible massacre. Some maundy still survive, and the aggressors have gone under ground, where the gave rise to a new race veganov. Hancock has created several paintings for the exhibition, a large panel, as well as «wallpaper» with bloody scenes of his epic.

Creation Hancock - still not very strange that there is in the exhibition devoted to the Book of Genesis. Designer Alan Berliner (Alan Berliner) has created a «Genesis» ... slot machine. His installation is a seven screens and the joystick. This - «slot», where you see the different words. Benefit those who «collate» quote from the Book of Genesis, or find the word «God». A resident of Moscow, fell on this exhibit, of course, immediately think: «And here" Jackpot "to enter».

artist Kay Rosen (Kay Rosen) has created for the exhibition of the composition of letters. She wrote on the wall of the phrase Do not disturb ( «Do not disturb») and It is so ( «This is so») in a way that the poles were formed from the letters D, I, S, O and T. «Do not disturb» - call the artist to stop the violence over land and «This is so» - Confirmation of its message. On the back side of the wall you can see the numbers 0, 1 and 2, which are in fact the letters S, I and O. If I 1, S - 2, and O - for 0, then by multiplying these figures by the number of corresponding letters in the columns, we get the numbers 3, 6 and 0. According to the artist, zero symbolizes emptiness, six - the number of days of creation, a trio - «reduction works twice». Оч-Chen conceptually.

The most «interactive» installation is Mierlo Laderman Ukeles (Mierle Laderman Ukeles). In one of the halls of the museum it hang a lot of mirrors. According to the artist, visitors who look at them, in fact, to examine the person of God - because God created man in His own image and likeness. But that's not all. Visitors are invited to give a written promise that they will commit any honest work, and hang this promise, instead of one of the mirrors.

In addition to works by contemporary artists to exhibit and other works on the creation of the world. Among them - the medieval miniatures, illustration Gustave Dore (Gustave Doré) to the Bible, and the figure of William Blake (William Blake) to the «lost paradise» John Milton (John Milton). Particular attention is attracted great sculptor Auguste Rodin (Auguste Rodin) «Hand of God» - an impressive dlan which vyleplyaet from formless mass merged in love couple embrace. In addition, the museum exhibits and prints great modernists - Chagall (Marc Chagall) and Franz Marc (Franz Marc), illustrating the different stages of creation world. At work, Shagal God created man, but to make the product - the animals. Mammals, drawn by Mark, struck by its beauty - the artist known as an outstanding animal. The exhibition can also see an abstract canvas of Barnett Newman (Barnett Newman) «Unity II», which depicts two color fields, separated by a vertical stripe. They say that in creating these paintings the artist inspired by primitive tribal totem, the teachings of Kabbala and the types of the New York skyline. According to organizers, the band also can be considered «Demarcation Line», which separates order from chaos, light from the darkness, the sky from the earth, the existence of nonexistence.

Contemporary Jewish Museum, where an exhibition opened in June this year. It is located in two buildings, one of which once was power, and the second was built only recently. In its form it resembles a diamond. But the architect Daniel Libeskind (Daniel Libeskind), designed the building, drew inspiration not in precious stones, and in Hebrew letters «Hat» and «iodine», which form the word «tea» - «life». Like the building of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, Libeskind is also built, it is decorated with many small windows. At first glance, the museum is similar to the impregnable fortress of the dark, but going into it, was surprised that it filled by sunlight. The museum is in the «museum quarter» San Francisco, two steps from the Museum of Modern Art (SF MOMA), the Center of Modern Art Yerba Buena, the Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts and the Museum of the African Diaspora (MOAD).

In today's Jewish Museum will be the permanent collection. There are exhibitions highlighting various aspects of Jewish culture. Now, in addition to «the Book of Genesis», there are two exhibitions: «The Jews of Andy Warhol», where you can see portraits of the great figures of Jewish origin, made by the founder of pop art, as well as the «sound project» a famous musician, avant-gardist John Zorn (John Zorn) under the name Aleph-Bet ( «Alphabet»). For him, several prominent musicians composed a play, inspired by the Jewish alphabet letters. The project involved Lou Reed (Lou Reed), Erik Friedlander (Erik Friedlander), Terry Riley (Terry Riley) and others.

Julia Maksimova

Sources: thecjm.org , artinvestment.ru