Art has the capacity to make someone think differently about events in the world around them. And some artworks can inspire viewers to take solace and to look ahead with confidence, despite the trials of the moment.
Abigail H. Meyer, an art historian, curator and museum educator, in conjunction with ATARA: The Arts and Torah Association, has assembled a remarkable art exhibition, “October 7: Terror, Faith, Hope,” that deeply engages viewers in the initial shock of the October 7, 2023 attacks, the communal fears that followed, and the wellsprings of Israeli-Jewish pride and conviction that flowed afterwards.
The exhibition is located at the Hadas Gallery in Brooklyn, with an exhibition opening reception held on Sunday evening, November 24. I attended the opening reception and marveled at the range, depth and inspiration of the artworks by 30 artists from various walks of Jewish life. Hadas Gallery is a project of Chabad Of Clinton Hill and Pratt University.
As Meyer explained: “I observed that the ‘faith’ aspect of the aftermath of the October 7 attacks was not well exposed, and this exhibit hopes to correct that balance. Because the October 7th tragedy affected all Jews, I wanted to include many types of Jewish artists in this exhibit. I’m so proud to see a wide range of artists’ ages, religious denominations and experience in this exhibition. It was very important to me that as long as an artwork spoke to our theme, that it be included here.”
The curator and a number of the artists were on hand at the November 24 reception to narrate the themes of the different artworks and how they related to the broader message of terror, faith and hope.
In the “Terror” section, Marc Provisor’s painting, with “Oct 7 2023” and the Hebrew word ‘Eicha’ in blood red text, next to an image of a parent hugging a child, compelling conveys (as he states in his artist’s message) “a visceral atmosphere of chaos, evoking fire, destruction, and intense emotions … This painting captures the raw, emotional aftermath of the attack …” Provisor shared with the Jewish Link that his son was at the Nova festival, and spoke with him as the terror attacks started, yet thankfully was able to escape unharmed.
“Beacon of Strength,” an artwork by Lakewood artist Talya Zahler, uses a limited palette of colors and a creative use of raised white outlines on a white canvas to represent the mother of the two young Bibas brothers holding her sons, the two youngest hostages who tragically still remain in captivity. She explained, in her artist’s statement: “The ethereal style reflects … the belief that, even in the darkest times, Hashem sustains us. The Bibas family serves as a powerful symbol of faith and strength, embodying the enduring spirit of the Jewish people through history.”
Judith Tantleff-Napoli, a New York-based art educator, contributed “October 7th (2024),” a handwoven fabric with mixed media elements. In her artist’s statement, she explained: “This work is a compilation of the images that I saw on the news from Israel and various online platforms. I was horrified and stunned that the violence that was perpetrated against Israelis was being glossed over by the media. I wanted to give a ‘voice’ to the unspeakable.”
Meyer explained that the artwork by Sarah Begun used as an illustration for the invitation to the exhibit, titled “1400 names,” is centered around representations of the Chanukah candles. The vast list of names that appears on parchment-like paper movingly communicate the scale of the loss of life.
Hitting much closer to home for this reporter was a triptych by Hannah Finkelshteyn, a senior at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. Entitled “A Walk Down College Ave,” the artwork bears witness to her experiences on that campus. As she explains in her artist’s statement: “Each drawing represents a different location in which a poster of the Israeli hostages had been ripped down, all on the same street. The drawings are made to be larger than life, emphasizing the mangled details of the posters. They were first made as a final for the artist’s drawing class, and meant as a way of forcing her uncaring and sometimes vitriolic fellow students to look at the sights that had consumed her walks to class in the past months.”
The Hadas Gallery is located at 110 Emerson Place, Brooklyn, NY 11205 (Clinton Hill) and the exhibition is scheduled to run until January 5, 2025.
For more information on the exhibition, and to view the catalog, see: www.artsandtorah.org/october7
For school, synagogue and private group tours, please contact: [email protected]
Harry Glazer is the Middlesex Community editor of The Jewish Link. He can be reached at [email protected] and he welcomes reader feedback. When he’s really fortunate, he gets to report on some of the interesting activities taking place in Brooklyn.
