Saturday, November 6, 7:30 pm, Chrysler Museum’s Perry Glass Studio
The Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, Simon Family JCC, Embassy of Israel and Community Partners’ 11th Annual Israel Today, along with the Chrysler Museum of Art’s Perry Glass Studio present a visiting artist lecture with Dafna Kaffeman.
An Israeli born glass artist, Kaffeman has been challenging people’s ideas about the Israel-Palestinian conflict through her work throughout the world. Her current flame-worked glass is now on display at the Chrysler Museum of Art. If You Thirst for a Homeland is a continuation of that expression.
Inspired by the natural world, specifically the flora and fauna of Israel, Kaffeman’s glass pieces are replicas of plants and insects one might encounter in Israel. The exquisite flame-worked glass is combined with embroidered texts of Hebrew and Arabic writing onto handkerchiefs which serve as the backdrop for the glass artifacts.
Many of the quotations on the fabric and handkerchiefs are pulled from newspaper articles about current events taking place in Israel. Some of the text has also been taken from a field guide from the early years of Israel, including the line that inspired the title of the exhibit, “If you thirst for a homeland and seek shelter in its bosom, love it and live in its mountains and valleys, its flora and fauna.”
Kaffeman’s combination of fabric, glass, and text denote both the inherent beauty and fragility in life, along with the simplicity of languages to those who understand them, and the exotic distant feel to those who do not.
While the exhibit is a must see, this is an opportunity to witness Kaffeman’s process in creating the glass pieces, along with further exploring what inspired this mixed-media exhibition, If You Thirst for a Homeland. In-person seating is limited, though online reservations are unlimited. Free for Museum members / $5 for non-members.
See article on the Chrysler Museum’s discovery of Dafna Kaffeman on page 8.
To register or learn more, visit JewishVA.org/IsraelToday or Chrysler.org.