Too Jewish or Not Jewish Enough

Jeffrey Abt is Professor Emeritus at Wayne State University. Prior to that he worked at the Wichita Art Museum; the Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago; and Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art. An artist and writer, his artwork is in several museum and corporate collections. His books include American Egyptologist: The Life of James Henry Breasted and the Creation of His Oriental Institute and Valuing Detroit's Art Museum: A History of Fiscal Abandonment and Rescue. He co-edited and is on the editorial board of the Museum History Journal.

“…an important and timely read for all scholars, practitioners, and critics of Jewish museums.” • Religious Studies Review“The Jewish Museum in New York is undoubtedly the premier Jewish museum in the United States… A scholar and an artist, Abt shows superbly the intricacies of creating the museum, the tensions and conflicts over definitions, the role of philanthropists, religious figures, curators, and scholars, and the impact of the site on the Museum Mile of New York. As such, this volume is engaging and important reading for all attracted to the world of museums.” Richard I. Cohen, Hebrew University of Jerusalem“This is a cleanly written and well-organized history of the Jewish Museum in New York that clearly articulates how it came into being as well as that history’s significance for the larger field of (Jewish) museum studies. This is a book that anyone involved in Jewish museums or Jewish material culture will want to read. The book fills a real gap in the field.” • Laura Leibman, Princeton University

• PrologueMuseum CultureThe Contours of SecularizationSecularizing Sacred ObjectsRitual Objects and ArtChapter 1. Entering the Contact ZoneFrom Ritual Objects to Cultural ArtifactsExpositions, Subalterns, and the Public SpherePlacing Judaism on DisplayChapter 2. Seeding a Seminary Museum“Jewish Ecclesiastical Art”Judaica for a National MuseumThe Museum of Jewish Ceremonial and Historical ObjectsFinding an AudienceChapter 3. A New Venue, a New PurposeReimagining the Museum: Interfaith DialogueReimagining the Museum: Cultural HistoryReimagining the Museum: Modern Jewish ArtArt’s Usefulness for JewsAbstraction, Renunciation, FaithChapter 4. Creating a Way and Space for Contemporary ArtThe Premise of UniversalityReshaping the MuseumThe Art World’s 92nd Street Y, New School, and CommentaryInaugurating the List AdditionChapter 5. The Avant-Garde or Judaica?The Nature of a Real ExplosionPursuing a Greater BalanceThe Museum, the Seminary, and Conservative JudaismEthnography, History, or ArtChapter 6. Secular Paths Through the Avant-Garde, the Lower East Side, and Ancient IsraeReaffirming the Avant-GardeHeritage Rather Than ReligionThe Lower East Side and MasadaVictim of Confusion | An Institution AdriftChapter 7. The Jewish Jewish MuseumThe Soul MuseumPushing Boundaries: Ethical, Social, FinancialDenouementCultural History, Ethnicity, and Jewish ExperienceEpilogueAcknowledgmentsEndnotesBibliographyIndex