The Television Project: You Don’t Have to Be Jewish
The third installment in The Television Project exhibition series, You Don’t Have to Be Jewish, explores advertising produced for Jewish audiences or with Jewish content, and examines the way religion, ethnicity, and identity play out on American television.
Television commercials have been fertile ground for aesthetic invention, with sponsors and advertising agencies turning to modern art and graphic design for ideas. The “new advertising” revolution of the 1950s and 1960s brought innovative elements into the ad format, often characterized by humor, candor and irony. This resulted in one of the medium’s most creative periods in the United States. Commercials were also often on the front line of identity politics as well, targeting (and celebrating) various racial and ethnic demographic markets well before TV programming.
Culled from the over 4,000 holdings of the Jewish Museum’s National Jewish Archive of Broadcasting, this focused exhibition features a compilation of commercials and related clips, paired with print advertising campaigns, works of art, and related ephemera. A number of the commercials employ humor to attract a wide customer base, Jewish and non-Jewish, and remain iconic examples of campaigns that are still referenced today, including 1960s commercials for Manischewitz wine and a well-known ad for Hebrew National beef frankfurters featuring Uncle Sam. The exhibition will also feature art and artifacts from the collection of the Jewish Museum relating to advertising and consumer culture, from a photorealistic painting by artist Audrey Flack depicting a selection of pre-packaged foods including three boxes with the Manischewitz label, to the well-known “You Don’t Have to Be Jewish to Love Levy’s” rye bread print ad.
The Television Project was originated by Maurice Berger. You Don’t Have to Be Jewish was organized by Jaron Gandelman.
The National Jewish Archive of Broadcasting (NJAB) is the largest and most comprehensive body of broadcast materials on twentieth-century Jewish culture in the United States. The Jewish Museum established the archive in 1981 to collect, preserve, and exhibit television and radio programs related to the Jewish experience. The collection comprises more than four thousand radio and television recordings, dating from the 1930s to the early 2000s.
About The Television Project: Highlights from the National Jewish Archive of Broadcasting
Premiering September 25, 2015, The Television Project introduces Jewish Museum visitors to a dynamic part of its collection: the National Jewish Archive of Broadcasting (NJAB), the largest and most comprehensive body of broadcast materials on 20th century Jewish culture in the United States.
The Television Project is series of exhibitions featuring a video compilation of clips from the NJAB, examining issues of Jewish identity and culture as depicted on American television. Segments of this series investigate themes ranging from anti-Semitism, to Jewish advertising, to representations of racial and cultural diversity, all through the lens of American television.
With more than 4,000 holdings, the National Jewish Archive of Broadcasting at the Jewish Museum was established in 1981 to collect, preserve, and exhibit television and radio programs related to the Jewish experience. The programs in the NJAB constitute an important record of how Jews have been portrayed and portray themselves from the 1930s to the present, and how mass media has addressed issues of diversity, ethnicity, and religion.
The Television Project is made possible by The Knapp Family Foundation and the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation.
Installation view of the exhibition The Television Project: You Don't Have To Be Jewish. September 16, 2016 – February 12, 2017. The Jewish Museum, NY. Photo by: David Heald.
Exhibition highlights
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“Dark Shadows,” Mad Men, season five, 2012. AMC
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Hebrew National advertisement, 1972. Scali, McCabe, Sloves, Inc.
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Israel Ministry of Tourism advertisement, 1992. Needham, Harper & Steers and Issues and Images
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“Jewess Jeans,” Saturday Night Live, season five, 1980. NBC
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“Babylon,” Mad Men, season one, 2007. AMC
