Museum gotta see ‘um

“CONTRAPTION: REDISCOVERING CALIFORNIA JEWISH ARTISTS,” AT THE CONTEMPORARY JEWISH MUSEUM IN SAN FRANCISCO THROUGH JULY 29. “Contraption: Rediscovering California Jewish Artists” presents the work of 16 artists of Jewish descent who have lived in California over the last 150 years — living and not, well known and under recognized. Among the hundreds of Jewish artists who have called the Golden State home, a surprisingly significant number were inspired by the notion of the machine, especially the improvised do-it-yourself machine. The CJM’s Executive Director Lori Starr said: “It has long been a topic of conversation among the leadership of The CJM that we might someday mount an exhibition looking at Jewish artistic contributions to California art history. Rather than an encyclopedic representation, this exhibition selects sixteen for consideration on a fascinating premise, and we were delighted to work with San Francisco State students and faculty to realize it. How exciting to partner with a local university to kick off this first in a series of exhibitions celebrating 10 years of The CJM in our jewel of a building, a former PG&E power station reinvented by architect Daniel Libeskind in 2008. In a sense, the building itself is a symbol of the fascination with the “contraption” that proves to be so prevalent in California’s Jewish art history.” Artists included in Contraption are Judith Belzer, Carol Bernard, Edward Biberman, Boris Deutsch, Miriam Dym, Bella Feldman, Howard Fried, Rube Goldberg, John Gutmann, Bruce Handelsman, Ned Kahn, Richard Kamler, Bernie Lubell, Irving Norman, Annabeth Rosen and Sheri Simons. The exhibition includes large-scale mechanical installations, drawings, paintings, sculpture and photography. The exhibition is organized by The Museum’s Chief Curator Renny Pritikin and guest curator Mark Dean Johnson, Professor of Art at San Francisco State University, in association with the Fine Arts and Jewish Studies Departments of San Francisco State University. The museum is open daily (except Wednesday) 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and Thursday 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Museum admission is $14 for adults, $12 for students and senior citizens with a valid ID, and $5 on Thursdays after 5 p.m. Youth 18 and under always get in free. For general information on The Contemporary Jewish Museum visit thecjm.org or call (415) 655-7800. The Contemporary Jewish Museum is located at 736 Mission St. (between Third and Fourth streets) in San Francisco.

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