Whoa, That's Not Kosher!

Hunter exhibit redefines "taboo"

By: Jonathan Jordan

Posted: 5/1/09

The eleventh of Hunter North is usually a ghost town at night, but on March 26 and 27, it had a MOMA-esque, SoHo gallery feel. Light chatter, a hint of background music, and studio lighting pervaded the gallery. Every one of the 40 well-dressed attendees sipped Alfasi wine, while taking in the portraits and the atmosphere of the "Taboo Jew" exhibit.

The exhibit was curated and conceptualized by Hunter College Junior and Art History Major, Gregory Grobstin, with photography by Melissa Wener, and sponsered by Hunter Hillel in collaboration with AVODA Arts and Arts on the Move. The event aimed to create a dialogue about what constitutes being "less Jewish" on campus. It featured portraits of Jewish Hunter College students eating pork, displaying tattoos and piercings, and engaging in other activities or lifestyles not quite in adherence with Jewish tradition. Short bios written by each model accompanied their respective portraits.

"This was essential because I wanted everyone who saw the exhibit not just to see the pictures, but the stories behind them," Grobstin said. "If you get to know something about them, then maybe you'll walk away with a more open mind about what they're doing."

While the stories deepened your understanding of the model, it was the photography that remained with you, whether it was a portrait of a Messianic Jew reading the New Testament or the exhibit's unquestioned centerpiece: a woman taking a big bite of a greasy baby back rib.

Jewish photographer Melissa Wener, who was brought into the project by Grobstin and Arts on the Move, took the photos. Jackie Miller, Program Manager of the Arts on the Move Initiative-now on six campuses across the state-helped to facilitate the project.

"Arts on the Move always does projects that feature professional Jewish artists, like Melissa, and Jewish themes as the center of the project. And with our funding it also helps to give Jewish artists a decent living," she said.

As for this specific exhibit, Miller added, "we want to create a dialogue within the Jewish community about who is a valid and eligible member." She thought the exhibit would facilitate a point of connection amongst "all religious and non-religious communities and embrace all shades of gray. Arts on the Move is about using the arts as a lens and a conduit for conversation about what it means to be Jewish."

Grobstin wants that understanding to expand even beyond the walls of Hunter College and hopes to have another showing in another venue, citing both a desire for wider exposure of the topic as well as a desire to display more provocative portraits that could not be included in the college setting.

"At the end of the day, we want to offend enough to incite dialogue, but not to disrespect," he emphasized.