As a fashion photographer in NYC, Milan and Paris, Positive Exposure’s Rick Guidotti worked for a variety of clients including Yves St Laurent, Revlon, L’Oreal, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and GQ. But a chance encounter on a Manhattan street in 1997 changed everything. Rick explains: “I was always told who was beautiful, who the ‘model of the moment’ was and who I had to photograph. It was so frustrating to follow someone else’s idea of beauty. As an artist, I saw beauty everywhere. One afternoon I spotted a young woman waiting for a bus on Park Avenue. She was stunning. She didn’t have pigmentation in her eyes, hair or skin. She had ALBINISM. I had just come from this huge casting for a client where I saw every model in town but not one of them looked like this gorgeous kid. I had never met a model like this before. I knew that she was defnitely not included in the parameters of the beauty standard. I ran to a local bookstore to understand more about albinism, but found only negative images full of sadness, despair, loneliness, isolation and disease. I then found images of many other genetic conditions where kids in their underwear were up against walls in doctors’ offices, looking sick and scared with black bars across their eyes. Where was the humanity in any of these images? Where was this beautiful girl’s photograph?”

This exhibition celebrates 15 years of Positive Exposure. Founded by Rick Guidotti and Diane McLean, MD, PhD, MPH, Positive Exposure is a highly innovative arts organization working with individuals living with genetic, physical, cognitive and behavioral differences. Through vigorous cross-sector partnerships with health advocacy organizations, governmental agencies and educational institutions, Positive Exposure utilizes the visual arts to significantly impact the fields of genetics, mental health and human rights. To learn more, visit positiveexposure.org.

Through the faces and stories captured in Rick’s photographs, beauty is redefined, science is coupled with smiles and we can celebrate individuals whose uniqueness strengthens our community.

Positive Exposure: The Spirit of Difference is part of the ReelAbilities NY Disabilities Film Festival. Visit ny.reelabilities.org.

Michael Kovner is an Israeli painter renowned for his depictions of the raw landscape of his home country. The son of Abba Kovner—a resistance fighter, partisan, and poet— Michael was born in 1948 and raised on Kibbutz Ein Hachoresh. Kovner's affection for landscape runs deep; he writes, "As a young boy I was deeply attracted to the physical beauty of the world and wanted to give expression to that love through painting."

In the early 1970's, Kovner came to the US to study at the New York Studio School with Philip Guston, Jack Tworkow, and Mercedes Matte, and was heavily influenced by Abstract Expressionism. Upon his return to Israel in 1975, Kovner began his now long-celebrated career as a landscape painter. His works have been included in numerous exhibitions in museums and galleries all over the world.

Exteriors presents a selection of the artist's works made during prolonged stays at a studio he keeps in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood. Both Brooklyn and the Upper West Side play leading roles in Kovner's New York life. Though man-made structures have sometimes appeared in the horizons of his desert landscapes, the works exhibited in Exteriors fully demonstrate Kovner's understanding of urban terrain. As gallerist Gabi Bineth notes, "Michael Kovner's New York is not readily visible, and does not include the city's most famous icons.

Kovner's New York is much more intimate[…]it entices the viewer to seek out the city’s genuine heirlooms. From a barge crossing the river to tenement housing and an intimate visit to the artist's studio, Kovner shows us the view from his window into the bustling world of this magnificent city, with its skyline and its red brick buildings amid the changing seasons, from scorching summer to the cold, gray winter."

Danny Goldfield’s NYChildren is a growing exhibit of 169 portraits reflecting the acclaimed photographer’s quest to photograph one child from every country on earth, finding each child living in New York City. Each photograph tells its own uniquely compelling story; the exhibit, in total, encourages a communal effort to live more inclusive lives. A LIFE magazine cover story describes, “From Goldfield’s many images, a single, rich, complex—and beautiful—portrait emerges.”

Goldfield believes that “we live in a world with far too much fear and misunderstanding,” and his project aims to inspire the courage needed for strangers “to meet and get to know one another in order to build trust and friendship.” As urban populations grow increasingly multinational, NYChildren is not only reflective of the city’s current community, but it also helps us envision a more harmonious future. Through snapshots of childhood moments and expressions, NYChildren offers a uniquely hopeful perspective on our ever-increasingly interconnected world.

Genesis of the Project

In 2003, while driving across the United States, Danny Goldfield stopped at a gas station in Mesa, Arizona and met Rana Sodhi, a Sikh whose brother was shot and killed in a hate crime on September 15, 2001. Days after the 9/11 attacks, a neighbor shot Balbir because of his turban and beard. In 2002, Sukhpal, Rana’s second brother was killed under mysterious circumstances in San Francisco, California. Rana’s response to these violent acts against his brothers was to encourage understanding and peace. Rana said, “It is important for me to get out of my house and meet my neighbors.” Inspired by Rana’s simple prescription to make the world safer, Goldfield started the NYChildren project. What started as a grassroots effort on the streets of New York has grown enormously, reaching a global audience of over 250 million people.

Jacqueline Nicholls is a visual artist and Jewish educator based in London, England. She uses her art to explore and challenge traditional Jewish ideas in untraditional ways. Using a variety of different media and craft techniques she engages and responds to traditional Torah and Talmudic texts in her work, using her art process as a bringing together of the art studio and the beit midrash (traditional Jewish place of study and learning).

In her first solo show in New York, at The Laurie M Tisch Gallery, with the curatorial guidance of Tobi Kahn, presents three of Nicholls’ projects—The Kittel Collection, an exploration of clothing in Jewish Tradition; Ghosts & Shadows: The Women Who Haunt the Talmud; and Gather the Broken, a series of drawings corresponding to the Omer (the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot). Jacqueline would like to thank Tobi Kahn, Megan Whitman, Laura Kruger, Gabrielle Birkner, and Amichai Lau-Lavie for their support. She also thanks all her chavrutahs, past and present, for opening her mind to the infinite possibilities within the text.

Media sponsor: The Forward.

On View May 30–Aug 10

Viewfinding exhibits the work of two Israeli-born, New York-based photographers, Adam Cohen and Gil Lavi. The show is a portrait of two cities—Tel Aviv and New York—that explores the desire to find similarities in differing terrains. It reveals the unique character of both locales while also exploring the role of the artist to find his own perspective in an ever-shifting, increasingly globalized existence. Both Cohen and Lavi have worked extensively in Israel and the United States, developing their aesthetics within these cultural landscapes. This show aims to introduce the individual talents of Cohen and Lavi, allowing us to see the stylistic differences of these two biographically similar photographers. But Viewfinding also strives to create aesthetic moments in which we cease to compare and contrast cities and photographers, and instead embrace the ambiguity of our perception.

About Adam Cohen:
Inspired by light and composition, Adam Cohen began his foray into photography when he was a young child using an old SLR. He applied to photography school as a teenager to learn the essence of black and white and color hand printing, as well as studio light. After high school, Cohen spent a year working as a photography assistant. Afterward, Cohen attended 36 months of mandatory service in the Israeli Defense Force, followed by a year of traveling in East Asia and Australia. He then went back to Israel, assisting Yisrael Cohen, a commercial photographer in Tel Aviv. In 2004, Cohen moved to New York to expand the breadth of his work, and was employed as a commercial photographer while also exhibiting in galleries, community centers and pop-up exhibits throughout the city. In 2009, Cohen shot his first moving images video clip using stop motion technique. Excited by the new challenge of moving images, Cohen has since shot and produced videos, ranging from documentary and promotional clips for synagogues and local businesses to a music video for the Grammy-nominated singer Xiomara Laugart. Cohen currently resides in Brooklyn Heights where he works as a videographer and a photographer. Cohen’s works can be found in the homes of private collectors in New York and at the new Marquee club in Las Vegas.

About Gil Lavi:
Gil Lavi is an internationally-acclaimed and awarded photographer whose vision is informed by his diverse cultural and personal experience. Lavi’s images are recognizable for their unique cinematic style. Born in Jerusalem, Lavi was raised in a family dedicated to art. His father was an enthusiastic photographer and his mother was an art therapist. At the age of 7, Lavi was already attached to his camera and could always be found inside a darkroom. By his teenage years, Lavi had exhibited his photographs and was working for the daily newspaper Maariv. During his compulsory military service with the Israeli Defense Force, Lavi served as a chief photographer for the Ground Forces Command. In 2006, he established his own commercial photography and brand imagery consulting studio in Tel Aviv. In 2008, Lavi began working on commercial projects across Europe and the United States and created 3 exhibitions of his work. Lavi was chosen by Forbes magazine as one of the 300 most successful and promising Israelis under 40. The Israeli government hired Lavi to create the concept and imagery for Israel’s brand book for the worldwide rebranding process of the state. That same year, Lavi also produced and edited a photo essay about the murders of gay teenagers in Tel Aviv, published in International Time Out. Engaging people through photography has progressively played a major role in Lavi’s career. His work has been featured in numerous magazines, and he has worked commercially for Delta Airlines, Knorr, AIDS Task Force, WIRED magazine, Michael Bloomberg, Technology Review, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Siemens, leading politicians, and in conjunction with ad agencies including Publicis, Y&R, and IPG. Lavi holds the 2011 IAA Silver award for excellence in Commercial, Advertising & Fashion photography.

On view may 1-25

Over a year ago, a challenge was presented to the teachers of the nursery school: What could our school do to honor and celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the JCC and our school, while simultaneously making the remarkable work of our children visible to a larger audience? The answer seemed simple: create an art show to be held in The Laurie M. Tisch Gallery. The actual process of planning and implementing this show proved to be complex and arduous, but the work that you see before you is truly a labor of love, reflecting our strongly held belief in the capabilities and potential of all children.

The work that we have chosen to include in this show celebrates the creative energy and inspired imagination of every child in our program. Each piece is collaborative in nature, reflecting the unique voice of each child within the larger context of our classroom communities. They are small pieces of larger studies which evolved over a period of time, and were the outgrowth of the children’s interests and investigations. While listening to the children, and encouraging them to listen to each other, the teachers were able to scaffold their interests and support their process of discovery and creation. In addition, by providing interesting and thought-provoking materials, and allowing the children extended periods of time to explore them, the children were able to develop specific skills and competencies. The children also developed many problem solving skills and social strategies, as they fused their individual ideas into a joint artistic vision.

The works in this show represent a diverse mosaic. When you stand close to them you can see the unique gifts of each child. When you step a little further back you can see that each small part contributes to a greater whole. It is only by looking at each work from both perspectives that one can fully understand and appreciate our school community.

It is with great pride and respect that we present the work of the children of The Saul and Carole Zabar Nursery School.

Gallery exhibitions made possible in part with a generous grant from the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund.

On view mar 6 - apr 27

Presented by Moving Traditions and the National Museum of American Jewish History, this exhibition shows how in 90 years, bat mitzvah evolved from a radical innovation into a nearly universal American tradition. A fascinating story of how individuals shape and change ritual, Bat Mitzvah Comes of Age offers a unique lens into the dynamism of Jewish life.

On view jan 9–mar 1

The Laurie M. Tisch Gallery invited street artist Gabriel Specter to create a portrait of The JCC in Manhattan. In order to do this, Gabriel spent countless hours within our 14 floors, going to programs, watching, listening and talking with staff and members of all ages. From the stories Gabriel heard and the people he met and photographed, a portrait of our community came into focus.

Gabriel Specter is an artist whose work has appeared on city streets all over the world. He approaches his subject with an anthropological mindset, paying as much attention to environment and movement as he does to facial expressions and texture.

On view Nov 18–Jan 5, 2012

An exploration of the dispersal of a single family—originally from western Lithuania—throughout the world, Distant Relations tells the story of diaspora through the stunning works of acclaimed photographer Lori Grinker. Combined with interviews, archival material, and text written by cultural anthropologist Roy Richard Grinker, this very intimate, yet ultimately universal work reflects the key aspects of diaspora as experienced by many families of differing origins and histories, the complex relationship between immigrants and their homelands, religious change, and multiculturalism.

presented by alma—home for hebrew culture
on view sept 19–nov 8

From Origin to Originality presents eighteen prominent, contemporary Israeli artists who have participated in or are associated with Alma’s Beit Midrash Yotzrim: a convening of the country’s top artists to study classic Jewish texts. Founded in 1996 by Talmud scholar Dr. Ruth Calderon, Beit Alma in Tel Aviv is an educational center for adults that offers a novel approach to the study of Jewish sources and the exploration of ideas and dilemmas that impact Israeli and Jewish identity. Alma engages this community of artists in a pluralistic and dialogue-based approach to classic Jewish sources, such as the Torah and the Talmud, while also incorporating literature, poetry, and philosophy.

The artworks in this exhibit, created across genres and mediums, address an array of themes such as social and political identity, nature vs technology, the banal and the poetic. Included in this exhibit are Israel’s most highly regarded artists; some are on the verge of international recognition, while others, like Larry Abramson, have enjoyed long-established careers in the global art scene. For all the artists, the ancient sources examined at Alma inform the creative process and become inspiration for artistic innovation.

Participating artists: Larry Abramson, Elad Armon, Tirzah Bassel, Anat Betzer, Ben Bezerano, Yuval Caspi, Shoshana’h Ciechanowski, Ofri Cnaani, Tsibi Geva, Leor Grady, Yehudit Gueta, Liz Hagag, Michal Heiman, Elad Kopler, Aviv Naveh, Hillah Nevo, Khen Shish, Tal Shochat.

Exhibit Curator: Tsibi Geva; Gallery Director: Megan Whitman; Coordinators for Alma: Dana Abta and Elad Armon.

All works are for sale. Proceeds benefit Alma and The JCC in Manhattan. For more information on Alma, please visit www.alma.org.il.

on view may 18–july 29

In the vibrant world created by Indian Jewish artist Siona Benjamin (originally from Bombay, now living in the US), Biblical characters appear as blue angels faced with problems and dilemmas of the contemporary world. Her artwork embodies the many cultural and artistic influences embedded in her biography, such as Indian miniature paintings and Sephardic icons, as well as the contemporary styles of pop art and multi-media installations. Find out more about Siona Benjamin.

The themes and energy in Finding Home have inspired a wide array of programs here at the JCC, and we're thrilled to have you get to know Siona and her multi-faceted work.

We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of The Flomenhaft Gallery

on view February 3–April 28

Fountain Gallery, the premier venue for artists with mental illness, and VSA, the international organization on arts and disability, present four artists who are navigating the relationship between disability and their own creative expressions. Jacks Ashley McNamara and Martin Cohen use their mental illness as a source of inspiration. Emily Eifler examines biological forms to exert control over a complex neurological disorder, and in his digital art, Scott Ligon investigates the connection between Attention Deficit Disorder and creativity. Their personal approaches provide a multi-faceted perspective on disability and the creative process.

on view november 4, 2010–january 27, 2011

See the exciting development of the Israel's film industry with movie posters from the pre-state era up through contemporary blockbusters! These images from the early days of emerging Israeli cinema, up through the growth of the 1970's and the boom of the last decade create a vibrant visual display of one of Israel's most popular cultural exports.

Growing Up at the Movies: Israeli Cinema 1930's–2000's is co-sponsored by The Israel Film Center, The Other Israel Film Festival and The Farkash Gallery, Israel.

on view august 25–october 28, 2010

In sixteen massive paintings accompanied by his own text, New York artist Richard McBee explores the Biblical narrative of Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael and Isaac from the perspective of Sarah, the Jewish Matriarch. His eight diptychs frame this story of complex family dynamics and female interactions within a modern landscape punctuated with architectural details and filled with vibrant blues and oranges. McBee is a painter and a writer on Jewish Art whose work has been exhibited across the New York Metropolitan area.

On view May–July 2010

A graphic artwork series, All the Rest Is Commentary, celebrates the universality of the Golden Rule, "Love Your Neighbor as Yourself," in world religions. This site-specific project created for The Laurie M. Tisch Gallery by San Francisco-based artist Beth Grossman examines how this test plays out in Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Sikhism, Jainism, Native American Spirituality, Yoruba African traditional religion, Unitarianism and the Baha'i Faith, using tablecloths as the motif—since all religions have rituals where they break bread together. At this critical moment in history, it seems opportune to explore this time-honored universal tenet through this visually striking exhibition.
bethgrossman.com

On view February–April 2010

What unites Jewish communities from Marrakesh to Mumbai has been the unique interplay between cultures, religions, and histories that has been at the heart of the Jewish diaspora experience for thousands of years. This stunning photographic journey through the fresh eyes of college students from the Kivunim program brings to light what it means to be a 'world-conscious' Jew. Curated by Tobi Kahn.