RECORDING OF "Can the Aesthetic be Immoral?: Art, Idolatry and the Second Commandment" with Dr Elliott Malamet
Tue 23 May 2023 7:00 PM - Fri 21 May 2027 8:00 PM BST
Online, Zoom
Description
We will examine one of the least understood of the Ten Commandments, the prohibition against worshipping other gods, which is followed by a specific warning not to fashion graven images, not only of the divine, but also of human beings and other creatures. Why is the aesthetic representation of reality--apart from the written word--seemingly so dangerous from a Jewish point of view? Was this stricture against artistic rendering actually upheld in Jewish history or did Jews find ways around it even in traditional communities? In this vein, we will examine examples of ancient synagogue art as well as medieval Haggadot and modern paintings. We will also explore the Maimonidean interpretation of idolatry, which has less to do with "other gods" and pertains more to the incorrect apprehension of Hashem. Why does Maimonides see this as the crucial problem of the Second Commandment? And finally, we will examine, through postmodern literary theory, both the impulse to create representations of God--and in fact anything that is "absent"--and the deep paradox of how these signs are actually a guarantee of the absence of that which is being signified, as opposed to a gateway to presence.
Photo by Ilia Zolas on Unsplash