EXHIBIT: Two Exhibitions at the Jewish Museum in New York City
The Jewish Museum in New York City recently premiered two exhibits that are of interest to REBEAT readers. The first, entitled Becoming Jewish: Warhol’s Liz and Marilyn, discusses the private, personal conversion of Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe to Judaism and juxtaposes it with both women as celebrity muses to pop artist Andy Warhol. The second, entitled The Television Project: Picturing a People, is the first in an ongoing exhibition series featuring selections from the National Jewish Archive of Broadcasting, part of the Jewish Museum’s collection, and the largest and most comprehensive collection of broadcast materials on 20th Century Jewish Culture in the United States.
The first exhibit, currently on display until February 7, 2016, explores two of the 20th Century’s most iconic actresses. Both women quietly converted to Judaism in the 1950s. Elizabeth Taylor began considering becoming Jewish prior to her marriage to producer Mike Todd, but did not begin to study the religion until after Todd’s death. In 1959, at the age of 27, she converted in a ceremony conducted by Rabbi Max Nussbaum at Temple Israel in Hollywood. Taylor remained Jewish for the remainder of her life, as well as a high-profile supporter of Jewish causes. Marilyn Monroe expressed an interest in converting to Judaism before she married playwright Arthur Miller and studied with Miller’s Rabbi, Robert Goldburg, culminating in a ceremony of conversion immediately before her marriage to Miller in 1956. Despite her divorce from Miller in 1961, Monroe continued to express commitment to Judaism until her death.
Both women were muses for pop artist Andy Warhol, who was fascinated by the nature their celebrity. The exhibit is broken down into three sections. The first, Celebrity, discusses the public persona of these women through newsreels, photographs and other ephemera. There are video clips and magazines, as well as audio that help to explain the public’s fascination with the actresses and their personal lives.
The second section, Conversion, covers the journey to Judaism for Monroe and Taylor. A showcase of rarely-seen conversion materials — including a facsimile of Marilyn Monroe’s Certificate of Conversion — as well as a very rare recording of Elizabeth Taylor’s conversion ceremony (in which she took the Hebrew name Elisheba Rachel), discuss their Jewish lives, which were very private and personal for both women. Also displayed are Monroe’s musical Hanukkah menorah, various letters from the actresses’ rabbis, and items documenting Taylor’s Jewish philanthropic activities.
The third and final section, Myth and Legend, takes a look at the legacies of Monroe and Taylor through Andy Warhol’s portraits of them, indicative of their complex identities. Four Warhol works are on display, variations on his famous series, Liz and Marilyn. Warhol was fascinated by their image and used repeated but slightly altered copies of the same picture to explore the ever-changing nature of celebrity. A detailed explanation of his process in creating these works is also presented.
The exhibit is housed in a single room, but is chock-full of fascinating information. Particularly moving is the recording of Elizabeth Taylor’s conversion, as visitors hear her making her commitment to Judaism in a strong, emotional voice. The letters from Monroe’s rabbi are also moving and affecting, outlining her commitment to her new faith.
The second exhibit is on display now through February 14, 2016, and is the first in an ongoing series of broadcast media devoted to showcasing the Jewish experience in the 20th Century. The current exhibit, Picturing a People, contains program excerpts from shows such as Barbra Streisand’s first television special, The Twilight Zone, The Simpsons, Northern Exposure, and ABC News coverage of the trial of Nazi Adolf Eichmann in 1961. Other relevant artwork is also displayed, including promotional playing cards from CBS featuring Jewish actors such as Jack Benny, George Burns and Danny Kaye, and a paper doll set featuring entertainer Dinah Shore at the height of her popularity.
This is just the first exhibit in what will be an ongoing series to be presented through 2018. The Jewish Museum is the holder of the National Jewish Archive of Broadcasting, established in the early 1980s to collect media programs related to the Jewish experience in America and preserve it as an important record of how Jews have not only been portrayed, but how they see themselves, from the 1930s to the present. Upcoming exhibitions in this series will include Some of My Best Friends, an exploration of the issue of anti-Semitism in media (March 18-August 14, 2016), Jews and the Advertising Revolution, containing print and video advertising that examines the way religion and identity appeared in modern advertising (September 16, 2016 – February 12, 2017), Jews and Comedy, showcasing the important place of Jews and Jewish humor in American television (opening March 2017), and two exhbiits about Jewish men and Jewish women on television that will open in September 2017 and March 2018, respectively.
With these exhibits, the Jewish Museum will present a comprehensive view of Jews in American media, from the earliest days of radio through the present day.
The Jewish Museum is located at 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street in New York City. Regular museum admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, $7.50 for students, and free for members and children under 18. The museum is free to all on Saturdays.
