Avi Rose, Ph.D., is Senior Educator at Young Judea Year Course in Jerusalem.
Avi Rose describes the implementation and power of an arts-based for post-high school students in a gap year program in Israel.
Introduction
It’s a rainy Wednesday morning in Jerusalem. Huddled in a small classroom are a group of college freshmen taking part in a gap-year program of study and service. It is their midterm exam in a course entitled Jewish Art; but rather than essays or multiple choice questions, these students are explaining models for synagogues – synagogues that they themselves have envisioned and created.
Later the same day, a similar scene plays out, this time in Bat Yam (south of Tel Aviv). After a long day of volunteering, another group of students are spending a staggering three hours learning about Zionism. Tonight’s topic is women – the Zionist ideal of womanhood and her role in contemporary Israeli society. Students are presented with a myriad of images, sounds and literature, as well as biographies of famous women in Zionist history. Towards the end of the evening a series of videos are shown under the heading of ‘divas’ – Israeli singers whose music and style exemplify the diversity and complexity of contemporary culture and society.
What links these two experiences is the somewhat unique approach and the material presented. Rather than using conventional methods of teaching these important topics, both courses are entirely arts-based. Various forms of painting, sculpture, music, dance, photography and literature are explored as a means of allowing students to gain insight into their own identities and strengthen their connection to Judaism and Zionism. The result is an experience that both exposes students to a broad range of ideas and emotions and challenges them to express their relationship to the subject matter in a creative manner.
Two Subjects, One Approach
In 2002, following a transformative lecture by the Israeli Film Historian Amy Kronish, I decided to abandon my burgeoning career in Toronto as a clinical psychologist and focus my professional energies on Jewish cultural education in Israel. I spent the following year as a participant on the Jerusalem Fellows, delving into a range of Jewish and Zionist art. I did so from my perspective as a visual artist (the result can be seen in my work displayed at http://www.aviroseart.com) and as an educator, seeking a new and fresh approach to teaching ideas I considered to be relevant, though often presented in a manner that seemed stale and outdated.
A year later, I was offered an opportunity to work with Young Judaea Year Course, the largest and oldest of the so-called ‘gap’ programs for students transitioning from high school to college. Here, for well over fifty years, Jewish and Zionist histories have been successfully transmitted in an attempt to prepare young English-speaking Jews for adulthood and full participation in community. Notwithstanding this success, the program’s leaders gave me a free hand to experiment with my new approach. To date, hundreds of students have learned about Israel and Judaism (and their connection to these), utilizing art as both subject and product of the learning process.
Theoretically, my courses are founded on the belief that art and culture, presented through a variety of media, is the new ‘royal road’ to discourse on Jewish and Zionist identity development. With an ever-widening gap between Israel and Diaspora and a seemingly unstoppable rate of assimilation and separation of youth from community, this seems a way in which to create resonance and offer opportunity for connection. Both the content and format are suited to a generation that has always known the Internet, which thrives on multi-sensory learning and has become reliant upon information that is transmitted rapidly. As an artist, I instinctively felt that a bond could be formed between young people and their culture through various arts forms, since they are powerful, evocative and accessible. I decided to meet this generation with methods that seemed normative to them, encouraging them to reflect back to me what they perceived to be the message contained in the artistic media. Having been educated with Marshall McLuhan’s (1994) theories, I decided to give centre stage to media that would, I hoped, convey messages that were far older than YouTube and PowerPoint.
Zionism and the arts
The first course I created using this approach was a media-rich, historically sequenced course on Zionism. The course was meant to convey the narrative of Zionism, from its inception through to the creation and first five decades of the State. It relied primarily on photography, visual arts and music. After several successful years, I decided to take a slightly different approach, adopting a thematic, rather than historic approach. Thus, students now look at the so-called ‘old’ and ‘new’ Jew, war, women, love and sexuality in Zionist culture, as well as special classes devoted to the development of Israeli architecture, visual art and rock music.
Though the artistic content changes from class to class (at a generationally appropriate pace), the emergent messages and questions are remarkably consistent. Students are asked to consider how Jewish history and the Diaspora experience led to the idea that a Jewish state, language, culture and persona were necessary. They are exposed to the narrative of the collective Zionist experience, as well as key players (artists, political figures, etc.) in the creation of Israeli society. They are challenged to consider the ways in which the Zionist dream has been implemented, where growth and correction are necessary and where reality has fallen short of ideal.
Most importantly, however, students are repeatedly demanded (by the material and discussion) to find their personal connection to Israel and ‘Hebrew culture.’ By using art forms and media that span from early to contemporary, students develop a language for understanding and expressing their own Zionist ideals and history. Since the art reflects a broad continuum of political and cultural perspectives, there is ample space for personal connection and reflection. Students find a variety of entry points, be it a personal history (music they grew up with), a favored art form or a social/political agenda they support. The sheer breadth and depth of the art forms presented becomes a blank canvas on which they can create their own Zionist vision and a stage upon which to express their relationship to Israel.
The course culminates with the creation of a personal piece of art. Students are (purposely) given very little instruction as to the content or form of the project. The only guideline is that they are to express their feelings – positive or negative, critical or supportive – about Zionism and Israel in some form of art. Projects can reflect ideology, sociology or conflict and be historical or contemporary in focus. Each student is given the opportunity to present their work to the class, along with a formal “artist statement” explaining the choice of media and rationale for the project.
Over the half-decade of teaching the course in its two forms, I have been blessed (a word carefully chosen) to witness an abundance of profound, moving and personal pieces of art to emerge from this process. Students have chosen to write, compose, film, paint, photograph, and dance; digitally alter, sing, act, animate, play and sculpt. Their works have focused on Zionist history, contemporary Israeli society and the links between them. They have expressed a profound love of, confusion by, disappointment in and connection to the Land, the People and the Idea of Israel. For some, the vagaries of the assignment give license to explore ideas previously unknown even to them. Others prefer the relative safety of concepts and art presented throughout the course and use this as a springboard for their personal dialogue with Zionism. My greatest joy in this veritable cacophony of creation is the knowledge that despite what the sociologists might be telling us, these young American Jews are engaging with Israel on a personal ideological level. It hopefully sets a platform for a lifelong connection to the State, no matter where they might choose to live and what their politics or religious affiliation may be.
Jewish art
Following the success of the Zionism and the Arts, I decided to develop a similar Judaic studies focused course. Jewish Art is a ten-week survey course whose purpose is to expose students to images and concepts relating to the Jewish experience of visual expression. On a deeper level, it is a means by which students can learn a variety of issues related to Jewish life through art and be allowed to express their own Jewish values by creating art.
The course begins with the Second Commandment and branches into two subjects: the way in which other religious traditions (most notably other Monotheisms) relate to visual art; and how Jewish (mostly Israeli) artists respond to notions of God, iconoclasm and law. This creates the framework for all other subjects that emerge and allows for an ongoing discussion around the place of art in Jewish history/community and how this balances with a modernist understanding of visual art and its role in western society.
Thereafter the subject matter varies topically, allowing for exposure to a variety of art and to a series of discussions on Jewish life and identity. Classes on graves and memorials for example, allow for an overview of how death is treated in Jewish tradition. Sessions dealing with 19th and 20th century Jewish art in Europe and America (including comic book art), deal extensively with issues of assimilation, anti-Semitism, immigration and identity formation. Holocaust art reviews a range of topics, including propaganda, life in ghettos or camps and the psychology of survivors and their descendants.
At the mid-point of the course, students are asked to create their ‘fantasy’ synagogue. Lectures and classroom discussion form the groundwork for this exercise, as students become familiar with the basic structure and traditions of synagogue construction, along with differences arising from geography, ethnicity and denomination. The project itself has two components, an artistic creation and a statement of core principles that guide the material and communal structure of their synagogue. Thus, students do more than simply offer a physical or computer generated model, they are challenged to have this flow from their beliefs and values, along with their hopes for creating a Jewish communal space.
Surprisingly – and in stark contrast to what I believed to be the trend in this age group (Cohen & Kelman, 2007) – my students consistently express a passion for and an interest in being part of synagogue life. Their ideas may at times be unconventional, their plans extravagant and their expectations exaggerated, but overall, they evidence continued investment in Jewish communal participation. Giving voice to their needs and asking them to take responsibility for their Jewish life, students rarely fail to rise to the challenge. Their work is often creative, sometimes innovative and almost always reassuring. It seems that asking them – perhaps for the first time in their lives—to seriously consider their place in the Jewish world, resonates and sparks in them a sense of belonging and creativity.
The final assignment for the course is what I call a ‘riff’ – students are asked to take a piece of art that they have seen in the course and create from it a new work in order to make a personal statement. Working within the confines of an existing idea or creation has proven to be both safe space and a launching pad. Technically, students have crafted a variety of works; some using Photoshop, others photography and still others hand-made works that echo, mimic or depart entirely from their origins. Several students have used paintings as inspirations for poems, plays or songs.
Emotionally and intellectually, this project seems to resonate deeply with many students. It allows them to respond to ideas that challenged, unsettled or excited them. It allows me to see their thought process and to understand which images and concepts touched a nerve, or sparked imagination. For the group, it is a chance to see peers doing work and speaking in ways that shed new light on existing friendships, often deepening understanding and communication. Overall, it is a means by which to take the pulse of this generation, to test its commitment and interest in things Jewish. Time after time I leave the experience with a sense of hope and satisfaction that this next generation – though burdened with challenges and obstacles—will, in fact, have the capacity to one day lead the Jewish world.
Conclusion
Admittedly, an arts-based curriculum is a tricky business, not suited to all educators. Moving away from a text-based learning approach may for some be seen as an abandonment of a vitally ‘Jewish’ educational value and technique. It demands a high level of preparation and almost constant fine-tuning. It presents a technical challenge as much as a contextual one, since the educator must always be looking for new content and media formats. Most importantly though, it requires a certain leap of faith. One must rely on art and artists – perhaps the most critical, unpredictable and least conventional of all. Equally difficult is to believe in a generation of young people generally considered impatient, unskilled, unfocused and over-coddled. To trust that this apparently disaffected group has a voice and the skills necessary to use it in a meaningful manner, often feels like a gamble. My experience, though, tells me that the return is well worth the investment and that trust is well placed. Implied in the process is a commitment to creating a new generation of Jewish leaders and charging them with the responsibility of taking our community into the future.
References
Cohen, S.M. & Kelman, A.Y. (2007). Beyond distancing: Young adult American Jews and their alienation from Israel. Jewish Identity Project of Reboot, 2007. www.bjpa.org/Publications/details.cfm?PublicationID=326
Cohen, S.M. & Kelman, A.Y. (2007). The Continuity of discontinuity: How young Jews are connecting, creating, and organizing their own Jewish lives. 21/64, 2007. www.bjpa.org/Publications/details.cfm?PublicationID=327
Kronish, A (1996). World cinema: Israel. Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.
Mcluhan, M. & Lapham, L.H. (1994). Understanding media: The extensions of man. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.