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THE POLISH SOCIETY OF ORIENTAL ART – SECTION OF JEWISH AND ISRAELI ART
Polskie Stowarzyszenie Sztuki Orientu, ul. Warecka 4/6 – 10, 00-040 Warszawa

THE FIRST CONGRESS OF JEWISH ART IN POLAND
KAZIMIERZ ON VISTULA RIVER,

27-29 OCTOBER 2008/ 27-29 PAŹDZIERNIK 2008

Jewish Artists and Central-Eastern Europe
Art Centres - Identity- Heritage
19th Century until WWII

The First Congress of Jewish Art in Poland, organized on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the conference in Czernowitz (Černivci), will be devoted to Jewish artists (painters, sculptors, graphic artists, architects) who from the period of the Haskalah to WWII created art centres in Central-Eastern Europe or were connected with these centres, active in Western Europe, Russia, America and the Palestine.

The fundamental part of Central-Eastern Europe - according to the Congress organizers - consisted of the multi-ethnic territories of the ancient Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth – the state in which Jews had the religious and legal (The Parliament of Four Lands) autonomy. These territories were divided at the end of the 18th century between Austria, Prussia and Russia, and are today included in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus and Ukraine.

A subject for discussion will be also cities situated near borders of the ancient Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and strongly connected with this area: Breslau (Wroclaw), Koenigsberg (Kaliningrad), Riga (Rīga), Kiev (Kyïv), Odessa (Odesa) and Czernowitz.

Within this geographical area the organizers identified three areas crucial for the research on the problem of comprehending the Jewish artistic concepts; these are indicated in the subtitle of the Congress. They also constitute the names of three sections of papers to be presented:

ART CENTRES (historical approach):

Map of art centres; genesis and history of Jewish art centres in the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century – Warszawa, Lodz, Krakow/Krakau, Lwow/Lemberg (Lviv), Wilno/Vilna (Vilnius), Kiev and Breslau; artists of Jewish origin in art schools; Jewish art in the public exhibitions; Jewish groups, galleries and artistic institutions; the press and publications about the art; art criticism; participation in art centres in Western Europe, Russia and America (Munich, Rome, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Moscow and New York); Jewish artists in art colonies in Poland - Zakopane, Kazimierz on Vistula River, Druskieniki (Druskininkai), Krzemieniec (Kremenets); fates of Jewish artists before the outbreak of WWII, emigration of artists to USA, Great Britain, Palestine etc.; Jewish traditions of Central-Eastern Europe in the artistic work of American, West-European and Israeli artists.

IDENTITY (from the perspective of ‘history of the idea’ and ‘sociology of the art’):

Notion of Jewish art; the problem of the identity as the paradigm in research; Jewish artists attitude towards challenges of modernity; attitude to the orthodox tradition and Haskalah; artists and the assimilation; the reception of art by different circles within the Jewish society; Jewish topics and symbols from the interpretation of Jewish artists (Ghettobilder, national iconography); influence of Jewish thinking, religion, history and literature on the development of iconography; relations between Jewish and Polish, Russian, German etc. artistic circles; Christian iconography in the Jewish art; art and politics; contribution of artists to Zionist movements; participation of Jewish artists in political movements (anarchism, socialism, communism); Jewish artists attitudes towards anti-Semitism and fascism; programs of Jewish art; discussions on the programme of the Bezalel School; role of the conference in Czernowitz - the ideas of Yiddishism in the return to the local tradition in expressionist art; Jewish expressionism; attitudes of avant-garde artists towards Jewish art; relations between national identification and the avant-garde universalism; Jewish women artists.

HERITAGE

Documentation and preservation of the cultural heritage:
Genesis and history of Jewish museums in 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century; history of documentation of Jewish art; Jewish museums and institutions in Interwar Poland and Central-Eastern Europe; Jewish Scientific Institute (YiV0) in Wilno; role of the Jewish Historical Institute in Warszawa after WWII; collections of Jewish art from 19th and the beginning of the 20th century in museums of Central-Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Israel and the USA; the protection and the conservation of collections; documentation of artists' legacies; research on Jewish art - institutions, associations, publications, collection catalogues, exhibitions; conception of the “Bibliography of Jewish Art in Central-Eastern Europe” and book series.

Patrons and collectors:
Private collections of art and their presentation on the open forum; Judaica as an object of connoisseurs’ interest; Judaica and Jewish artists` work in private collections in the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century; role of Jewish patrons in propagating modern trends in art.

Supporting institutions: Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw; Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw; Museum in Kazimierz on Vistula River; Foundation “Polish Chair at the Jerusalem University”.
Chairman of the Congress: Prof. Dr. Jerzy Malinowski - President of the Society; Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Jewish Historical Institute: [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
Congress officer: Dr. Malgorzata Stolarska [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]

Deadline for sending the congress registration form including abstract (max. 150 words) is January 30, 2008
For more details please see: [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]