Jewseum

Artist and tattoo master Don Ed Hardy discusses the history and meaning of Amy Winehouse’s tattoos.

Scholar Shaina Hammerman discusses British Jews in pop culture, from Amy Winehouse to Downton Abbey.

French artist Laurent Grasso talks about creating Soleil Noir, included in "Night Begins the Day: Rethinking Space, Time, and Beauty." Photo by Johnna Arnold.

Poet and performer Brandon Brown responds to Katie Patterson’s "Dying Star Letters" from the exhibition "Night Begins the Day: Rethinking Space, Time, and Beauty." [Photo by Johnna Arnold.]

Rock critic Greil Marcus discusses Amy Winehouse’s unique interpretation of rock classics, drawing from his recent book The History of Rock ‘N’ Roll in Ten Songs. Listen to Amy sing The Teddy Bear's catchy record "To Know Him is to Love Him" from 1958. → thecjm.me/1HU7CX8. Marcus says: "I want you to hear what she does with this...the way she makes deep soul music out of this corny, little teenage...

A gallery chat by CJM Chief Curator Renny Pritikin—discussing the concept of beauty in art and inspirations for the exhibition "Night Begins the Day: Rethinking Space, Time, and Beauty."

Gallery chats associated with "Night Begins the Day: Rethinking Space, Time, and Beauty" are short lunchtime talks with notable speakers about the art in the exhibition. In this talk, Associate Curator Lily Siegel speaks about the paintings of Moira Dryer.

As part of San Francisco Design Week (SFDW), former CJM Design Studio designer (and founder) Brad Aldridge gave a design talk in The Museum on designing The Museum—everything from identity graphics to exhibitions.

Michelle Tea, Eileen Myles, and Jill Soloway talk literature, pop culture, making it in Hollywood, and more. Hilarity ensues. "In conjunction with "Bound to be Held: A Book Show," all authors have contributed books to "Read by Famous." Introduced by Josh Greene and moderated by Matt Sussman. Recorded on May 7, 2015.

"Dance—in particularly ballet—is not customarily thought of as dangerous or a place for civic disobedience, or political bravery. But this evening, I would like to challenge that." An excerpt from the public program Disobedient Dances: A Jewish Choreographer in Soviet Russia, featuring Janice Ross' lecture on legendary dancer and choreographer Leonid Yakobson who was a Jew persecuted in Stalinist...

A powerful recording of Jessica Prentice—food activist and social entrepreneur—reading her recipe for "Grief Soup." Inspired by Fluxus scores, Prentice reinterprets the recipe format to capture the depth of food—the ingredients themselves and the invisible forces within. Prentice collaborated with artist Helena Keeffe on "A Menu for Recognizing Invisible Forces," an exhibition in our ongoing serie...

In this public program, The Klezmatics’ bandleader and "Letters to Afar" collaborator, Frank London, considers the creation of the exhibition’s music and his own Jewish and musical journey. Recorded on March 6, 2015.

Péter Forgács (Letters to Afar) and Rick Prelinger (Lost Landscapes of San Francisco) use film archives to assemble new films. They discuss their approaches to looking at archival work and provide anecdotes of some of the images they’ve encountered. Recorded on February 26, 2015. This program is in conjunction with "Letters to Afar," on view through May 24, 2015. Learn more → thecjm.me/letterstoaf...

To accompany her customizable mah jongg set, artist Imin Yeh has generously captured the sounds of the tiles being shuffled, which is arguably one of the best parts of the game. Lean more about this piece → http://www.iminyeh.info/paper-mahjong Learn more about the exhibition Project Mah Jongg → thecjm.org/mahjongg

Interview with Donald Albrecht, Curator of Designing Home: Jews and Midcentury Modernism. On view at The Contemporary Jewish Museum through Oct 6, 2014. Learn more → thecjm.org/designinghome Image: George Nelson & Associates, Irving Harper, Vitra Marshmallow Sofa, 1956. Metal, upholstery, and paint. 31 ¼ in. x 52 ½ in. x 31 ¼ in.

Interview with Donald Albrecht, Curator of "Designing Home: Jews and Midcentury Modernism. On view at The Contemporary Jewish Museum through Oct 6, 2014. Learn more → thecjm.org/designinghome

Interview with Donald Albrecht, curator of Designing Home: Jews and Midcentury Modernism. On view at The Contemporary Jewish Museum through Oct 6, 2014. Learn more → thecjm.org/designinghome Image: Pond Farm entrance sign and barn/studio. Photo by Anthony Veerkamp. Courtesy National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Interview with Donald Albrecht, Curator of "Designing Home: Jews and Midcentury Modernism. On view at The Contemporary Jewish Museum through Oct 6, 2014. Learn more → thecjm.org/designinghome Image: Ruth Adler Schnee with Slits and Slats, 1947. Photograph, 8 x 10 in. Courtesy Cranbrook Archives, The Edward and Ruth Adler Schnee Papers.

"Jewish Jersey Italian prom night, Cadillac." Inspired by Ernest Hemingway's legendary shortest of short stories, "For sale: baby shoes, never worn," SMITH Magazine founder Larry Smith challenged readers to describe their lives in six words. In a special event at The Contemporary Jewish Museum, Director Lori Starr presents her Six-Word Memoir on Jewish Life. For more Six-Word Memoirs—in words, ima...

"Bad news, but it's not cancer." Inspired by Ernest Hemingway's legendary shortest of short stories, "For sale: baby shoes, never worn," SMITH Magazine founder Larry Smith challenged readers to describe their lives in six words. In a special event at The Contemporary Jewish Museum, Piper Kerman (Orange Is the New Black) presents her Six-Word Memoir on Jewish Life. For more Six-Word Memoirs—in word...

"Work in Progress: Considering Utopia" was an exhibition about the pursuit of ideal ways of life, and artist Elisheva Biernoff was asked to create work reflecting this theme. She discusses her research on the subject and how it led to "The Tools Are In Your Hands," a highly interactive piece that allowed visitors to create their own utopia with clever magnets in an idyllic landscape.

Pakistani-American artist Shahzia Sikander’s drawings are informed by the intricately detailed miniature painting of the Mughal and Persian traditions. Discussing her work included in the exhibition "Beyond Belief: 100 Years of the Spiritual in Modern Art," As she reveals in her conversation with art historian John Zarobell, her work evokes language in order to complicate, not clarify, the narrati...

The Beats inspired not only the counterculture's message but its media too, from underground comix and counterculture newspapers to the 'zine revolution and blogs. This lively panel discussion moderated by David Pescovitz (Boing Boing) includes Ron Turner (Last Gasp), RU Sirius (Mondo 2000), V.Vale (ReSearch), and Layla Gibbon (Maximum RocknRoll). Recorded at the Contemporary Jewish Museum.

Francesco Spagnolo, Curator at the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at UC Berkeley, suggests a role for archives and ritual as our culture re-imagines the idea of memory for a digital age. A podcast from the Contemporary Jewish Museum.

To celebrate the Jewish New Year, Rabbi Menachem Creditor puts a spiritual lens on the upcoming exhibition, The Radical Camera: New York's Photo League, 1936–1951.