Mel Bochner: Enough Said from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation
Mel Bochner (b.1940) consistently probes the conventions of painting and language. Bochner’s text-based works will be on view.
From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundations, this body of recent works, 2007-2018, challenge audiences to reflect on the nature and structure of everyday language. Curated by Bruce Guenther, adjunct curator for special exhibitions, the exhibition explores language as image and idea through Bochner’s long-held interest in complex printmaking techniques.
“Bochner’s historic use of language and words as both a linguistic system of inquiry and as a formal visual vocabulary of his painting practice has found new focus in the last decade through the artist’s intense engagement with printmaking and his exploration of the relationships of words as image, text, voice and thinking,” says Guenther. “He plumbs English and Yiddish for language’s power to establish identity, to command respect, or to attack in works of unpredictable emotionality and humor.”
“Mel Bochner is one of the most important conceptual artists of our time. His word art makes us smile, laugh, frown and jeer – but always forces us to think,” says Jordan D. Schnitzer. “He seduces us with emotions, words and phrases that we all have used. Whether we laugh or frown experiencing his art, we are forever moved.”
Born in 1940 to an Orthodox family in Pittsburgh, the artist attended Hebrew school and was exposed to art early through his father, who was a sign painter with a workshop in the family’s basement. Displaying an early talent for drawing, Bochner participated in the Carnegie Museum of Art’s innovative children’s art classes, eventually winning a scholarship to Carnegie Melon University.
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Film Club: Fig Tree
Sunday, December 8, 4:00-7:00pm
Join the Feldstein Library Film Club for a special screening of the film Fig Tree.
About the film: During the Ethiopian civil war, a Jewish teenager hatches a scheme to keep her Christian boyfriend from being drafted, as she and her family prepare to flee the country and go to Israel.
Please note: Programs are subject to change; please contact the office for more information: 503.246.8831 or visit the website at: www.nevehshalom.org.
Film Club: A Fortunate Man
Sunday, April 12, 4:00pm
Watch and discuss interesting films with Congregation Neveh Shalom members and other. This film is about a gifted engineer who flees his austere roots to pursue wealth and success among Copenhagen’s elite, but the pride propelling him threatens to be his ruin.
Please note: Programs are subject to change; please contact the office for more information: 503.246.8831 or visit the website at: www.nevehshalom.org.