Contemporary synagogue art; developments in the United States, 1945-1965.

Bibliography: p. 261-263.

WAR, NEWBERY,

The Synagogue: A house of prayer, study and assembly – Synagogue and ancient temple – A house of the people instead of a house of God – Worship by prayer and not sacrifice – Instruction and debate replace magical elements – New relation of individual to service – The origin of the synagogue -- Löw's Theory – From city gate to people's house to synagogue – The view of S. W. Baron – conditions for growth of self government in ancient Israel – The synagogue as institution adapted to survival of religious-ethnic group in many lands – The synagogue as house of instruction – Prayer as instruction – Psychological consequences of daily prayer – The synagogue as house of assembly – Community functions of the synagogue –Philo on the synagogue – The Interpretation of the Second Commandment: Strict and liberal interpretations of the second commandment – General retarding effect on development of plastic arts – Sculptures in the biblical temple – David Kaufmann revises historical view of Jewish attitude toward arts – The work of Leopold Löw -- Abraham Geiger's Responsum -- View of contemporary scholarship – The archeological evidence of an ancient Jewish art – Liberal and conservative talmudic views – Jewish craftsmen as makers of idols – The view of Maimonides – Art among the Jews of Italy and Poland – Philosophic considerations – Judaism's preference for the spoken word – Views of Grätz and Herman Cohen – The Jewish concept of God – Attitude toward images reflecting religious situations in the ancient world – Pervasiveness of a moral view of life – The American Synagogue Today: The return to the synagogue – The rise of the synagogue center – Jewish survival under conditions of freedom – The quest for Jewish identity – The expansion of synagogue activities – The quest for decorum – Demand for art coming from tradtional sources and new conditions – The view of Dr. M. M. Kaplan – The idea of the Holy – The adoption of modern architecture – What should a synagogue look like? -- The view of Lewis Mumford – The need for reconciliation of function and expression in synagogue architecture – The failure of functional planning to satisfy psychological needs – The need for the work of art – relationship of art and modern architecture – the solutions to the problem of art in architecture by Sullivan, Wright, the International Style and the Bauhaus – Leaders in architecture build synagogues – The function of art in today's architecture – Percival Goodman's contribution to the problem – Collaboration among the arts – Aft for Today's Synagogue: The expression of the Jewish ethos – The communal art of a seventeenth-century synagogue – The breakdown of the traditional Jewish world view – Jewish theology today – The function of art in the reestablishment of Jewish communal and religious values – The artist vis-à-vis the community – The position of the architect – The role of the rabbi – The need for his education in the arts – art as an avenue of religious experience – Modern art for the synagogue – The expansion of the repertoire of Hebrew art – A monumental scale for Jewish Analytic, expressive, and decorative tendencies of contemporary art in the synagogue – The problem of communication in modern synagogue art – The Hebrew letter – Didactic art – Synthesis of the abstract and the concrete in synagogue art – synagogue art and the freedom of the artist – Existence of Jewish motives in contemporary art of which the synagogue is unaware – A genuine religious art for which the synagogue is a natural home – Younger American artist and their Jewish subjects – The place of the isolated work of art in the synagogue – Relation of Jewish community to Jewish artists – The case of Ben-Zion – Congregation B'nai Israel in Millburn, New Jersey: Contemporary artists in the service of the synagogue – Artwork integrated into exterior – Sculpture aiding architecture in expressing the building's purpose – The burning bush – Use of new materials and new techniques – A mural on the theme of the temple wall – Inscriptions on the walls of the prayer hall – A congregation remembers – Stones from destroyed synagogues – Torah curtains designed by artist and executed by women of congregation – The signs of the curtain – The reaction of the congregation – The aims and achievements of the artist – Artwork on Synagogue Exteriors – The pillar of fire in hammered bronze – The creation of the world and the liberation from bondage in sgraffito, terrazzo and metal – Eight relief sculptures on persistent ideas of Judaism -- "Not by might but by my spirit..." -- The use of Hebrew mythology for representation of spirit and might -- "On three things the world is founded" -- A bronze sculpture of Moses and the burning bush – A menorah designed in brick – The pillar of fire and pillar of smoke in concrete, and a menorah resembling a chariot – Five tile murals on Jewish ideas from the Bible – A sculptural metaphor on theme of the menorah -- Sculpture in wrought iron – The ladder, the Torah and the crowns – A sculpture in metal and glass – Artwork in the Vestibule: House of prayer, house of study , house of assembly, a mosaic mural on the contemporary synagogue – the burning bush and the Messianic hope – The yoke of Torah, a ladder to heaven – Jacob's dream – The Messianic theme, another version of a mosaic mural – The Miracle – Artwork in the Prayer Hall—Part I: The ark as receptacle for the Torah scrolls – Ark and bimah, two centers competing for attention – The bimah, from a small platform to an imposing structure – The representation of the ark in ancient Hebrew art – The enlargement of the ark's frame – The Torah curtains and the Eternal Light -- The menorah, a cosmic tree transformed as symbol of Judaism – The memorial light – The Torah ornaments – The commanding position of the ark today – The prayer hall embodying tensions within Judaism--the point of view of a Jewish theologian – The functions of the synagogue are indivisible – The need to evoke the numinous – The use of stained-glass windows – Different artistic conceptions of the prayer hall – The wall which shelters the ark – The ark, free standing and recessed – The impact of contemporary design and materials on the ark – The menorah today, search for depth and asymmetry – A variety of Eternal Light lamps – The memorial tables – The use of electricity questioned – Artwork in the Prayer Hall—Part II: Interiors designed by Erich Mendelsohn – The evocation of the Holy by darkness and emptiness – The bimah of Temple B'nai Israel in Bridgeport, Conn. -- The Beth El, Springfield, Mass. -- The primitive invades a modern synagogue – Evocation of time and mobility in the arks of the Hebrew Congregation in Indianapolis, Ind. -- Silver ark doors narrate the biblical story in Temple Beth El in Great Neck, N.Y. -- Sculptured lead doors which recall the Holocaust -- Human figures and artist's self portrait carved on ark doors – A modern carving of an old Hebrew fold motif – The winged ark at Brandeis University – The meeting of man with God – The bronze ark of Temple B'rith Kodesh in Rochester, N.Y. -- Stained-Glass Windows: Stained-glass windows – Man and community – The windows in Temple B'nai Aaron, St. Paul, Minn. -- Stained-glass walls at the Milton Steinberg House in New York City and at Temple Shalom in Newton, Mass. -- Jewish history in stained glass at Har Zion in Philadelphia, Pa. -- Aspects of American Jewish history at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh – Stained-glass windows as backdrop for the ark in New York City – Fragments of old stained-glass windows worked into a modern design -- the unity of man, god, and the universe – Abraham Rattner bases the design of a window on the cabala – Bibliography – Notes – Index.