ILLUMINATION INSPIRATION; MENORAHS CAST A GENTLE GLOW ON SPIRIT OF HANUKKAH.Byline: Carol Bidwell Daily News Staff Writer Hope takes many forms this time of year. A striking sculpture of green glass. A rustic collection of clay figures. A majestic stand of liberty statues. Each poised to carry eight flames symbolizing the hope, freedom and miracles celebrated during Hanukkah. It may be most familiar as a simple nine-branch candelabra, but collectors - who today pay anywhere from a few dollars to several thousand - long have been enjoying the menorah menorah Multibranched candelabra used by Jews during the festival of Hanukkah. It holds nine candles (or has nine receptacles for oil). Eight of the candles stand for the eight days of Hanukkah—one is lit the first day, two the second, and so on. as art. ``The Hanukkah lamp is truly artwork,'' said Nancy Berman, director of the Skirball Cultural Center  This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . ``There's no requirement that they all look the same way, only that they do what they're supposed to do. The need is to have something that provides light for eight nights.'' Artists from far and wide have personalized the meaningful display, creating a wealth of choices for admirers - no matter what their faith. ``In the weeks before Hanukkah, we've sold a lot,'' said Raquel Cervantes, a clerk at People's Pottery in The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. . ``Some people are interested in the pieces as artworks - they're handcrafted hand·craft n. Variant of handicraft. tr.v. hand·craft·ed, hand·craft·ing, hand·crafts To fashion or make by hand. hand·craft , and people can really see the art - but some people just buy a piece because they like the way it looks.'' Most early menorahs were traditional in design, fitted with candleholders or tiny lamps for oil. The annual celebration of Hanukkah re-enacts a tale from Maccabees I and II in the Apocrypha in which a group of Jewish guerrilla fighters overcame the reigning, oppressive Syrians in 167 B.C. Despite finding only a tiny vial of oil to sanctify sanc·ti·fy tr.v. sanc·ti·fied, sanc·ti·fy·ing, sanc·ti·fies 1. To set apart for sacred use; consecrate. 2. To make holy; purify. 3. the formerly Syrian-held temple for one day, that flame miraculously burned for eight. That is why Hanukkah, which is sometimes called the Festival of Lights, lasts for eight days - one branch in the traditional menorah for each day, with a ninth to hold a special candle called the shamas (servant) that is used to light the others. But artisans began centuries ago to make the religious objects more decorative. Unusual Hanukkah lamps (also called a hanukkiah) have been inspired by everything from an artist's own family history to the popular architecture of the period, said Berman, who's written a book on Hanukkah art. The moment German immigrant Manfred Anson saw Lady Liberty's face on that island in New York Harbor New York Harbor, a geographic term, refers collectively to the rivers, bays, and tidal estuaries near the mouth of the Hudson River in the vicinity of New York City. This is sometimes construed in the sense "the Ports of New York and New Jersey". , he fell in love. The jeweler and opal importer began collecting Statue of Liberty Statue of Liberty great symbolic structure in New York harbor. [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 284] See : America Statue of Liberty perhaps the most famous monument to independence. [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 284] See : Freedom souvenirs and, when he retired, used his jeweler's skills to create a grand tribute marrying his religion with his new homeland: He fashioned a Hanukkah lamp featuring nine miniatures of the welcoming statue, plus a stately American eagle. ``I thought it would be nice to combine the Statue of Liberty with a Hanukkah menorah because both are actually symbols of freedom,'' Anson, 76, said in a telephone interview from his New Jersey home. ``It would create something Jewish and something American at the same time.'' The candle-holding statues were each molded from a $1 souvenir originally sold between 1876 and 1883 to raise money to build a base to hold the Statue of Liberty, donated to America by the French. With the help of a New Jersey foundry, Anson - who came to the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. via Australia in 1963 - has created 31 similar nine-branched lamps, which he sells to collectors at $5,000 each - but he kept the 1985 original, which he'll light Sunday night Sunday Night, later named Michelob Presents Night Music, was an NBC late-night television show which aired for two seasons between 1988 and 1990 as a showcase for jazz and eclectic musical artists. as this year's observance of Hanukkah begins. Two of the duplicates Anson made are on display - one in the Statue of Liberty Museum in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , the other at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, where director Berman calls it ``our favorite menorah.'' Some Hanukkah lamps in the Skirball collection are priceless. Most were acquired by collectors before World War II, although wartime Judaica hidden from or captured by the Nazis is beginning to surface in Europe, and the museum hopes to acquire some of those pieces. In the museum's rotating exhibit, a traditional Hanukkah menorah, made of silver, bears the crest of the House of Rothschild, a wealthy European banking family in the mid-1800s. A German lamp, dating from 1813, features a massive silver tableau backdrop of a village scene, with open lions' mouths lions’ mouths Venetian receptacles for denunciations, character assassinations. [Ital. Hist.: Plumb, 259–260] See : Condemnation the vessels for the oil. In contrast, a modern lamp commissioned by the Skirball is all lines and angles and triangles, pink and green and chrome, with the candleholders all but hidden at the top of the architectural creation. Another recent acquisition features Mickey and Minnie Mouse Noun 1. Minnie Mouse - the partner of Mickey Mouse spinning a dreidel, a top used in a game played during Hanukkah, before a fireplace, with places in front of the scene for nine candles. Modern menorahs sold in retail stores run the gamut of design, from traditional to modern to futuristic - made of clay, pewter, wood, glass, chrome and welded metals as well as the traditional silver, gold and brass. ``Menorahs vary so much, you're limited only by your own creativity in what you buy. You can have whatever you like, whatever fits in your home, in your life,'' said Robert Goldstein, owner of House of Judaica gift shop in Woodland Hills. Goldstein sells everything from children's wooden menorahs for less than $10 to $2,500 lamps handcrafted out of clay by Al Greenberg, a Marina del Rey Del Rey may refer to:
The clay menorahs - which depict traditional Old World Jews, some at Jerusalem's Wailing Wall Wailing Wall Western wall where Jews lament the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem. [Judaism: EB, X: 627] See : Grief , others holding the Torah or wearing prayer shawls - are the result of a sculpting sculpting Cosmetic surgery The surgical reshaping of a tissue. See Deep tissue sculpting, Facial sculpting. class he took at West Los Angeles College WLAC is a part of the California Community Colleges system, within the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), and fully accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges[1]. several years ago, said 73-year-old Greenberg, a retired motion-picture cameraman and tire dealer. ``I fell in love with clay,'' the artist said. ``I made masks, I made vases, and nobody was much interested in them. Then I remembered my grandfather, who was a Jewish pioneer in Los Angeles, and I began to make Judaic art.'' The first piece he made was a Hanukkah lamp, fashioned after a photograph his late wife took of him and their son in front of the Wailing Wall. ``That's an icon for Jews everywhere,'' Greenberg said. He showed his completed work to a gallery owner, and a new career as a sculptor was born. He's since sold dozens of pieces and has others on display at galleries throughout Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . No two are alike. But then that's exactly what collectors want - a unique display to add to the mix, says Bilha Talmi of Agoura Hills, who works at People's Pottery, where you'll find menorahs selling for $65 to more than $300. ``Every year, you buy one, through time, through life,'' Talmi said. ``Most people get to have at least a dozen. It's kind of nice to find different kinds.'' Hanukkah Events at the Skirball The Skirball Cultural Center will celebrate the first night of Hanukkah - and culminate a daylong Hanukkah Family Festival - with a sing-along and the lighting of a ceremonial menorah from 4 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday at the center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., just off the San Diego Freeway The San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405, and the part of Interstate 5 south of the El Toro Y[1]) is one of the principal north-south highways in Southern California, and the major beltway of I-5 running through Southern California. (405) at Skirball Drive. The festival begins at 11 a.m. with a kids' sing-along. Other events include a special Hanukkah play, art workshops with seasonal crafts and games, and performances (at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m.) of the Golden State Klezmer klezmer (klĕz`mər), form of instrumental folk music developed in the Eastern European Jewish community. The style had its beginnings in the Middle Ages; its name is a Yiddishized version of the Hebrew klei zemir Band, made up of musicians from the United States, Russia, Rumania, Israel and Hungary. Festival admission is $8 for adults, $6 for students and children, free for children younger than 12 and Skirball members. For tickets, call (323) 660-8587. At 6:30 p.m. Sunday, public radio station KCRW KCRW Kansas City Roller Warriors (women's roller derby league; Kansas City, Missouri) (89.9 FM) presents Leonard Nimoy, Elliot Gould and other actors at the Skirball in a live performance and broadcast of selections from the station's new series, ``Jewish Stories From the Old World to the New.'' Admission is $15. For more information on the Skirball programs, call (310) 440-4500. CAPTION(S): 9 Photos, Box PHOTO (1 -- color) Johann Heinrich Philip Schott and sons made this menorah, on display at the Skirball Cultural Center, for Europe's famed Rothschild family in 1850. (2 -- color) This German lamp, dating from 1813 and featuring a village scene in silver, is also at the Skirball. (3 -- color) The Skirball commissioned this menorah from artist Peter Shire. (4 -- color) This German chair menorah, from the late 19th or early 20th century, is made of pewter cast in brass. (5 -- color) Skirball Cultural Center director Nancy Berman has written a book on Hanukkah art. David Sprague/Daily News (6 -- color) This menorah is available at the People's Pottery store in the Oaks mall. David Sprague/Daily News (7 -- color) A handcrafted menorah at People's Pottery. David Sprague/Daily News (8 -- color) Robert Goldstein of the House of Judaica admires one of Al Greenberg's menorahs depicting Old World Jews in clay. David Sprague/Daily News (9 -- color -- cover) Let there be lights BOX: Hanukkah Events at the Skirball (see text) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion