March 2016 Programs at the Jewish Museum Feature Albert Einstein, Artists Responding to Unorthodox, Artist Omer Fast, and More

New York, NY - The Jewish Museum continues its 2016 slate of lectures, discussions, and events in March with "Albert Einstein" as portrayed by theoretical physicist Sylvester James Gates, Jr, recipient of the National Medal of Science, in conversation with the Jewish Museum’s Jens Hoffmann; as well as Columbia University School of the Arts MFA candidates and recent alumni responding to the current exhibition, Unorthodox.  Other programs include the next event in the popular after-hours series, The Wind Up, and artist Omer Fast presenting his 2012 short film Continuity.

Further program and ticket information is available by calling 212.423.3337 or online at TheJewishMuseum.org/calendar.  All programs are at the Jewish Museum, Fifth Avenue and 92nd Street, Manhattan, unless otherwise indicated.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE – MARCH 2016

Wish You Were Here: Albert Einstein
Thursday, March 3, 6:30pm
Jens Hoffmann, Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Public Programs, will speak with "Albert Einstein" as portrayed by theoretical physicist Sylvester James Gates, Jr, recipient of the National Medal of Science. The evening will offer an interactive component, integrating questions and comments from Twitter and other social media platforms received in advance. Over a period of two years, Hoffmann is interviewing the subjects of Andy Warhol's Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century (1980), interpreted by prominent experts, as if each were coming to the Museum to have a conversation in the present day.

Sylvester James Gates, Jr. is currently a University System Regents Professor, the John S. Toll Professor of Physics at the University of Maryland, and Director of the String and Particle Theory Center; and serves on President Barack Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.  Gates has been featured extensively on several episodes of PBS’s NOVA, notably “The Elegant Universe” in 2003 and ‘‘The Fabric of the Cosmos’’ in 2011.  In 2013, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, becoming the first African-American physicist so recognized in its 150-year history; and was awarded the National Medal of Science, the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government upon scientists, engineers, and inventors. Prof. Gates can currently be seen in a national commercial for Turbo Tax.

Highly regarded curator Jens Hoffmann joined the Jewish Museum in a newly created position as Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Public Programs in November 2012. Hoffmann is conceptualizing ideas and strategies for exhibitions, acquisitions, publications, research, and public programs, drawing on his global perspective and deep knowledge of contemporary art and visual culture. Formerly Director of the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art in San Francisco from 2007 to 2012 and Director of Exhibitions and Chief Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art in London between 2003 and 2007, Hoffmann has organized more than 40 shows internationally since the late 1990s. Hoffmann is known for applying a multi-disciplinary approach to his curatorial practice.

This program has been funded by a donation from Lorraine and Martin Beitler who gifted Andy Warhol's Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century to the Jewish Museum in 2006.

Free with Pay-What-You-Wish Admission - RSVP Recommended


In Response: Unorthodox
Sunday, March 6, 6:30pm
Columbia University Visual Arts MFA candidates and recent alumni present new video, performance, and installation-based artworks in response to the exhibition Unorthodox. A large-scale exhibition of contemporary art from around the globe, Unorthodox proposes a nonconformist engagement with art as a means to disrupt the status quo.

Ten original works in time-based media such as video, performance, sound, and audience-interactive installation will be presented by emerging artists. These will include KOOEA DICTATOR IN PRISON, a multimedia performance by Juntae TeeJay Hwang that speaks to the artist's interest in rebellion, political regimes, and the queer diaspora; Wishing Well, an altar-like installation by Allison Janae Hamilton that investigates ritual and invites visitors to write down their wishes and "toss them into the well"; Forget-Me-Not, a video project by Patrice Helmar that documents the life and philosophy of a teenage boy living with his grandmother in Southeast Alaska; and Aphonic Ventriloquist (Artist/Works), a video and performance work by Joeun Aatchim that provokes queries about the authorship, disembodiment and the sincerity of an artist's voice in an institutional context.

Participating artists: Joeun Aatchim, Allison Janae Hamilton, Ilana Harris-Babou, Patrice Aphrodite Helmar, Brooke Holloway, Juntae TeeJay Hwang, Tali Keren, Peter LaBier, Adam Liam Rose, and Where (Lucy Hunter and R.A.F.)

Free - RSVP Recommended


A Closer Look Gallery Talk
Mondays, March 7 and 21, 1:30pm
A Jewish Museum educator engages visitors in a discussion about select works of art on view in Unorthodox.

Free with Museum Admission


AM at the JM: Taryn Simon
Tuesday, March 8, 8am at Think Coffee, Union Square, 123 Fourth Ave, NYC
Artist Taryn Simon will discuss her recent projects with Jens Hoffmann, Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Public Programs, the Jewish Museum.

Taryn Simon (b. 1975) is a multidisciplinary artist who has worked in photography, text, sculpture and performance. Her exhibition Paperwork and the Will of Capital is on view now at Gagosian Gallery New York through March 26, and Birds of the West Indies I and II (2013–14) is on view at the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York through May 15. Simon is also currently working on her first performative work, jointly commissioned by Park Avenue Armory, New York and Artangel, London to premier in September 2016.

Free

Unorthodox: On Philosophy
Tuesday, March 22, 7pm at 92Y, 1395 Lexington Avenue, NYC
A conversation between Mark Edmundson and Michael Roth on the legacy of Sigmund Freud's The Future of an Illusion, the polemical text that cautions against disillusionment derived from putting too much faith in ideals often associated with monotheism. Mark Edmundson is Professor in the Department of English, University of Virginia, and Michael Roth is President of Wesleyan University.

Tickets: $32 General; $22 Members


The Wind Up
Thursday, March 24, 8pm – 10:30pm
The Jewish Museum will present a special presentation of the popular after-hours series, The Wind Up, a musical comedy review featuring a diverse lineup of comedians. Organized by Josh Gondelman, writer for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and co-author of You Blew It, the lineup includes sets by Ted Alexandro (Comedy Central Presents), Sean Patton (Comedy Central Half Hour), Michelle Wolf (Late Night with Seth Meyers, and 2 Dope Queens (Phoebe Robinson and The Daily Show’s Jessica Williams) with a performance by musical guest Anya Marina. The evening also includes an open bar with beer and wine and exhibition gallery tours.

Tickets: $13 in advance; $18 day of event


The Jewish Book Council Presents Unpacking the Book
Gefilte Fish on Fleek: The New Jewish Cuisine
Tuesday, March 29, 6:00pm
Three cutting-edge writers/chefs will discuss their work in revolutionizing American Jewish cuisine.

As the owner and executive chef of The Raging Skillet, Chef Rossi has earned a reputation as the one to call when it's time to do things differently. The Raging Skillet has been described as a “rebel anti-caterer" by The New York Times and "the wildest thing this side of the Mason-Dixon line" by Zagat, and has been named one of The Knot’s Best Wedding Caterers for the past five years. She is the host of a long-running radio show called “Bite This,” and has been featured on The Food Network and NPR.

A 2011 James Beard Award winner for “Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic,” Chef Michael Solomonov is the co-owner and executive chef of Zahav, Philadelphia’s renowned modern Israeli restaurant. He also owns Percy Street Barbecue, Federal Donuts, and the recently opened Dizengoff (hummus and small salads) and Abe Fisher (small plates of Jewish food inspired by countries outside Israel), all in Philadelphia.

Food writer Michael W. Twitty focuses on preparing, preserving, and promoting African American foodways, from its parent traditions in Africa to its legacy in the food culture of the American South. His book project, The Cooking Gene, is being published by HarperCollins in 2016.

The Jewish Book Council invites the general public to join the event. Select galleries will be open for attendees from 6:00pm to 7:00pm, and guided tours of a featured exhibition will be offered from 6:15pm to 6:45pm. The conversation with the authors will begin at 7:00pm and will be followed by a reception, book sale, and signing.

The program is free but space is limited and advance RSVP is required for entry. Reservations can be made at jewishbookcouncil.org/events/unpacking-the-book.


New York Jewish Film Festival Presents
Artist Focus: Omer Fast
Thursday, March 31, 6:30pm
Artist Omer Fast will present a screening of his 2012 short film, Continuity, followed by a conversation with Jens Hoffmann, Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Public Programs. Continuity (2012. digital film, 40 min) is an intriguing view on the psychological process of mourning that boldly defies the conventional narrative coherence. What seems like a young soldier’s return home from Afghanistan proves to be a ritual staged by his parents, who hire a series of male escorts to play the part of their son – who had actually died in combat – in a painful attempt to keep alive the memory of their deceased child.

Omer Fast has participated in over 200 international exhibitions, including solo shows at the Jeu de Paume in Paris, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and the Museum of Modern Art in Vienna. Group exhibitions include dOCUMENTA13 and the 54th Venice Biennale. Fast received the Bucksbaum Award at the Whitney Biennial in 2008 and the National Galerie’s Prize for Young Art in Berlin in 2009. His work is in several international collections including Tate Modern, the Guggenheim Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Centre Pompidou.

Free with Pay-What-You-Wish Admission; RSVP Recommended


Support
Public programs are made possible by endowment support from the William Petschek Family, the Trustees of the Salo W. and Jeannette M. Baron Foundation, Barbara and Benjamin Zucker, the late William W. Hallo, the late Susanne Hallo Kalem, the late Ruth Hallo Landman, the Marshall M. Weinberg Fund, with additional support from Marshall M. Weinberg, the Rita J. and Stanley H. Kaplan Foundation, the Saul and Harriet M. Rothkopf Family Foundation, and Ellen Liman.  Additional support is provided by Lorraine and Martin Beitler, the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations, Genesis Philanthropy Group, and through public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.