The Magnes | Fall 2015 Exhibitions & Public Programs

Fall ExhibitionsAugust 27-December 18, 2015Gallery Hours:Tuesday-Friday 11am-4pm

The Magnes ColleCTion of Jewish arT and lifeUniversity of California, Berkeley2121 allston Way, Berkeley, Ca 94720510.643.2526 Magnes.berkeley.edu

The Future of Memory: Jewish Culture in the Digital AgeAn innovative project that includes an installation, a museum exhibition, and a digital research lab in which museum professionals, scholars, students, and the public, discuss the meaning of memory, the many facets of digital history, and the ways in which we use computers and the Internet to enhance our global understanding of Jewish cultural heritage.More at bit.ly/futureofmemory.

Larger Than Life: Jonah and the Fish Maftir Yonah by M. Beck & D. Moss | Translation and Commentary by R. AlterThe Book of Jonah is the only prophetic book of the Hebrew Bible read in its entirety in the synagogue. Recited during the Afternoon Service on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Jonahs story addresses the relationship between man and God, destiny and free will, prayer and salvation. Maftir Yonah (1992), an artist book by Mordechai Beck and David Moss, reinterprets this narrative with etchings, aquatints, a wooden box, a fish net, and a representation of the giant fish that is equally comforting and uncanny. More at bit.ly/largerlife.

The Jewish World | A Book InstallationThe Jewish World: 100 Treasures of Art and Culture, published by Skir-Rizzoli in the Fall of 2014, is the first comprehensive catalog featuring the holdings of The Magnes. With art and material culture hailing from India, Spain, Yemen, Germany, Tunisia, Turkey, Morocco, China, Russia, the United States, and other regions where Jews once lived or continue to live, The Jewish World gives insights into the richness and variety of Jewish cultures. Select pages from this lavishly illustrated volume populate an installation in the Auditorium. More at bit.ly/thejewishworld.

Living by the Book: The Jewish Bible and the Everyday Power of TextThe Bible is a constant in Jewish life, in all the varied forms it has taken around the world and across history. Biblical texts stand at the center of the Jewish experienceJews keep biblical time, cultivate biblical bodies, and build and imagine biblical spaces. Living by The Book brings together scrolls, ritual objects, clothing, furniture, and tourist memorabilia from The Magnes Collection that express culture in biblical terms with remarkable diversity and creativity, showcasing the ways text can serve as an archive of possibilities and a powerful platform for shaping everyday life. More at bit.ly/livebythebook.

Film Series | Depth of Field: Sephardic Identities on Screen First Tuesday of the Month, 7pm A film seminar presented by the Townsend Center for the Humanities and The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life University of California, Berkeley 2015-2016. All screenings at The Magnes.

The term Sephardic indicates the descendants of the Iberian Jews who were expelled from Spain and Portugal (in Hebrew, sepharad) after 1492, and came into contact with cultures and languages from Northern and Southern Europe, the Balkans, and especially the Ottoman Empirein North Africa and the Eastern Mediterraneanwhere their communities flourished for centuries. The complex identities of the Sephardic Jews are represented on screen through documentaries and feature films about the Spanish Inquisition and its aftermaths, the encounters between Ottoman, Arab-Andalusian, and European cultures, the Holocaust as a global phenomenon, and the perseverance of culture the Judeo-Spanish (or Ladino) language.

Exhibition opening | Living by the Book: The Jewish Bible and the Everyday Power of Text September 9, 5-8 pm Opening reception for Living by The Book: The Jewish Bible and the Everyday Power of Text, with remarks by George Breslauer, Faculty Director, The Magnes, Robert Alter, Emeritus Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature, on Writing the Bible, Peachy Levy, Collector, on Collecting Biblical Objects, and Francesco Spagnolo, Curator, with Daniel Fisher, Magnes Graduate Fellow, on Living by The Book. RSVP at bit.ly/magnesopening2015.

PopUp Exhibition SeriesWednesdays Noon-1 pm

Each week, UC Berkeley faculty and students, visiting artists and other notable guests present brief lectures focused on selected treasures from the The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life. One speaker and one object at the time, these flash exhibitions include the opportunity to view the art and artifacts discussed intimately and up close.

Bring your own lunch, enjoy complimentary refreshments, and take part in an exciting learning program, free and open to the public. Close-up view of collections included.

FALL SCHEDULE 2015September 2, October 7, 14, 21, 28; November 4, 18; December 2, 9

No lecture on November 11th (Veterans Day) and November 28th (Thanksgiving).

Fall 2015 Public Programs

Book Talk | Simon Goodman,The Orpheus ClockOctober 27, 7-9 pm The passionate, gripping, true story of one mans single-minded quest to reclaim what the Nazis stole from his family, their beloved art collection, and to restore their legacy.

Simon Goodmans grandparents came from German-Jewish banking dynasties and perished in concentration camps. And thats almost all he knew about themhis father rarely spoke of their family history or heritage. But when he passed away, and Simon received his fathers old papers, a story began to emerge.

February 2, 2016: The Governess, UK, 1998. 115 min.

The life of Rosina da Silva, the eldest daughter of a wealthy Jewish Italian family living in a small enclave of Sephardic Jews in London

in the 1830s.

March 1, 2016: The Wedding Song, France-Tunisia, 2008.100 min.

The Nazi occupation of Tunisia strains the bonds of friendship between a Muslim and a Sephardic woman who are both preparing

for their marriages.

April 5, 2016: Turn Left at the End of the World, France-Israel, 2004. 110 min.

In Israel in the late-1960s, Jewish immigrants from India are confronted with a community of Moroccan Jews.

SCREENING SCHEDULE 2015 & 2016

October 6, 2015: El Gusto, UK, 2011. 88 min.

The story of an orchestra of Algerian Jewish and Muslim musicians torn apart by war 50 years ago, and recently reunited for an exceptional concert.

November 3, 2015: Saved by Language, USA, 2014. 53 min.

How a Sephardic Jew from Sarajevo spoke Ladino (Judeo-Spanish), his mother tongue, to survive the Holocaust.

December 1, 2015: Toledo: El Secreto Oculto, Israel, 2008. 90 min.

Three descendants of the Marranos recall the stories of their families in a meeting of past and present.