On Thursday February 16th, San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum presents its newest exhibition. It is titled Do Not Destroy: Trees, Art, and Jewish Thought, and each of the featured works are an exploration of the subject of the tree through Jewish tradition, through the eyes of contemporary artists, all of which will enable visitors to see the tree as a universally potent symbol.
This exhibition features over fifty artists across the United States, all of which have created works of art from reclaimed and salvaged wood, and expressed through nearly every artistic method including photography, sculpture, and painting. These contemporary artists include Yves Behar, Rodney Graham, Rona Pondick, and Yuken Teruka.
Do Not Destroy, the title to this exhibition, is taken from a commandment in the Torah (Deuteronomy 20:19), forbidding the wanton destruction of trees during wartime. Its concept was broadened during the rabbinical period, in order to encompass humanity’s responsibility in shielding all of nature from unnecessary harm. And with this exhibition, visitors will truly have an opportunity to visualize the tree as a symbol of longevity, transformative powers, and an encouragement of deeper thinking about the history, environment, and one’s place in the world.
Log on to www.thecjm.org for more information.
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