I didnt post this in time for yom yerushalayim, but here’s the project nevertheless. We made it on Yom Yerushalayim without the chug because I canceled the class so we could do Yom Yerushalayim activities. Continue reading »
In honor of Yom Yerushalayim I wanted to talk about some projects I have been working on that are Jerusalem based.
Given that the 9th of av is around the corner I wanted to write about a Jerusalem topic again. I’m going to draw on something I researched for a paper for my MA about depictions of Jerusalem in wedding invitations. At the time I looked at about 1000 wedding invitations in public and private collections from about the end of the 19th century through about 2000. This is a very brief incomplete synopsis of that work.
Jerusalem has long been a central icon to the Jewish people both as a spiritual and political symbol. With the destruction of the Temple(s), Jews followed the dictum in Psalms 137:6 and elevated Jerusalem above their chiefest joy. An example in the context of weddings is the custom of placing ashes on the head of the groom at weddings as well as some of the blessings recited at weddings.
Jerusalem can be found depicted on Italian ketubbot from the 17th century in the top center location. For examples of this from Italy and other countries see the online exhibition (in Hebrew) by the national library in Jerusalem.
Invitation to Jewish weddings appear to have begun with the popularization of printing in the 19th century. In Israel, the Israel and Jerusalem related decorations were depictions of holy sites that were commonly used by Yeshivot at the time on their documents and in folk art depictions, and Bezalel style borders which used plants and animals commonly found in the region. These plants and animals were intended by Bezalel artists to evoke a new “Hebrew” style. Another element used was the Star of David, usually in the top central location.
Today the Star of David is rarely found in the top central location but it may be incorporated into a monogram or cover illustration. At the turn of the century (19-20) the most used holy site in Israel was the Western wall, both on invitations and other media. Today the Western wall is less popular than general depictions of Jerusalem.
There are fewer examples from the late 19th-20th century from North America but from examples that do exist, it seems that invitations were probably quite formal and undecorated. Likely in English with perhaps one or two words in Hebrew.
During the period between World War I and II, wedding invitations in Israel were for the most part plain or might use depictions such as those used by printers at the turn of the century. This is likely due to the shortages that existed at the time. Some new decorations began to appear in the late 60’s but for the most part invitations were plain.
In the states, starting in the mid-50’s, some invitations begin to include Hebrew text although it is still fairly uncommon until the 60’s as part of the new Jewish and Israel pride which began to sprout. The use of Hebrew signified attachment to Israel or Judaism. Following the six day war World War II the growth in ethnic pride and nationalism likely led to the Ketubbah revival. The Ketubbah revival, started by artists such as David Moss and Jay Greenspan, who began illustrating Ketubbot again, probably influenced the use of illustrations on wedding invitations.
Hebrew monograms, the use of the Western Wall began to appear. Depictions of Jerusalem were not a large percentage of illustrations from this time. From the 80s onwards, depictions of Jerusalem make up about 10% of American Jewish cover illustrations cross denomination. In Israel the percentage is smaller as secular Jews do not use these representations. The interesting thing is that depictions of Jerusalem are largely nostalgic, with Arabic style houses and gate motifs, with fewer contemporary buildings included.
This is a very long incomplete summary, if you are interested in more information please contact me separately.
My research drew on lots of other peoples research including: Iris Fishoff, Grace Cohen Grossman, Shalom Sabar, Techia Sapir, Yigal Yzalmona, and Nurit Shilo Cohen. I would be happy to provide a bibliography.
I think I neglected to mention that this doll clothing making chug takes place in Jerusalem. I thought I would mention it now.
For the fourth week I originally thought we would do accessories because of the smaller amount of sewing required. in the end one girl decided she wanted to do a skirt and top (minimal sewing) and the others finished off their shorts. I on the other hand made slippers out of cardboard and electrical tape for my daughter’s doll.
I am getting more requests about the chug. I got a call from a mother who would like to bring two girls, a sister who wants to send her sister and the mother of two sisters. I think if I get all the extra girls, I will try to enforce a everyone working on the same sort of project at the same time rule so that i will be able to help everyone with the same sorts of problems at the same time. I think i will also enforce a clean up regime so i dont end up cleaning everything up.
I have been warning the girls who don’t have the patience to sew that some of their workarounds are not going to work in the long run. Gluing foam accents onto fabric with “Elmer’s glue” is not a long term solution.
The Hebrew date today is the 17th of Tamuz, a fast day which marks the traditional period of mourning for the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem (for more information see the OU’s resources about the three weeks.
To commemorate this, I am including two images I created for a non-profit organization in New York. They wanted to design a tile as a fundraiser. The idea was related to the concept that when building a home a Jew should leave a part unfinished to commemorate the destruction of the Temple, Beit Hamikdash. The Tile could be placed near the unfinished area or wherever. The final design was a variation of the green design but with a burnt look to commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem.
I wanted to talk about a recent design project I did, and also plug the project! I think that it would be useful to my customers.
This project was a logo design for a new website Fun in Jerusalem. This is a site which provides information about family friendly activities to do in and around Jerusalem. Extremely useful for tourists and residents alike.
My contribution is just the logo design and business cards, but I have been checking the site out quite frequently to find ideas of things to do with my family and friends.
Check it out and recommend it to people who might find it useful.
