Art and Music
By Joseph S. and Zac L.
In the music and arts section of our heritage fair this year there are four artifacts.
They were brought in by Alexa C., Jake W.,Tammy K., Rebecca Maze and Zac L. The artifacts include a painting of an old lady, a sculpture of a camel, a page of music notes, an artistic wooden flower and a picture of a lady selling pretzels.
All of these artifacts are alike in that they were all made or owned by our ancestors. They all have to do with art or music, and they all have great significance in our families. They are all unique, but they do show that our ancestors appreciated art and/or music. Each artifact is precious to the family who now owns it.
Painting of Great Great Great Grandma
Russia
Mom
This painting is of my Great Great Great Grandmother in Russia. It is important to my family because it represents how life was like in the 1800s, where we came from, and who we were.
This artifact is important to my Jewish heritage because it represents how the religious people looked back then, because the woman in this painting was religious.
Gold Wooden Flower
Brooklyn
Judith R.
The significance of this golden flower for my grandmother is that her grandpa loved her and made her a thoughtful, beautiful gift. For my aunt it is precious because it is a link to her great-grandfather.
My artifact is important to the Jewish people because many Jewish people were wood workers and craftsmen like my great great grandfather. My great great grandfather was a Jewish immigrant who took a skill that had been in his family for over one hundred years and used it in his new country to earn his living. He made this gift so his granddaughter could have a piece of his tradition. This flower allows us to remember the vanished shtetl culture, and the importance of Jewish history in Eastern Europe.
Sterling Silver Camel
Israel
Ronnie K.
My dad bought this silver camel for my grandfather, Isaac K., as a gift and it was really important to him but then my grandfather passed away. It was then put in my grandmother’s house then my grandmother went to a retirement home so now it is in my house. Every time I pass it I remember my grandfather, Isaac.
This is important to my Jewish heritage because my artifact is a camel and a camel represents the Jewish animals when the nation of Israel escaped Egypt.
Sheet of Music
Brooklyn, New York
Dennis Mosesman
This artifact is a sheet of music that my great grandfather, Harry Bassowitz, wrote. He was a choir leader who wrote music for his shul in Brooklyn. The music is the traditional Jewish wedding march of the time. It shows the tradition of music that was part of my Great grandmother, Eleanore Mosesman's,family.
My great grandfather was a a choir leader who wrote music for a shul. The music was played during Jewish weddings.
The Pretzel Lady
New York
My Grandma Debbie
This is an example of the artwork that was created by my grandfather Martin Rosenthal's brother, Seymour Rosenthal. My Great Uncle, Seymour Rosenthal, was a famous 20th Century Impressionist artist. His focus was on Judaic spirituality, culture, and life. He drew Jewish family life and the struggles he saw as a child growing up during the Great Depression. My grandfather, Martin, and my Great Uncle Seymour were born in the Bronx to Russian immigrant parents. He began his life as an artist when he was given paper by the peddlers to create signs for their pushcarts. His art is a result of his great passion and respect for the struggles of the 20th century immigrants, along with his love of his Jewish faith. The Pretzel Lady drawing began from a story that my uncle was telling my Grandma Debbie. A story about the old Russian woman with the babushka and slippers, who couldn't afford shoes, and would sell pretzels to earn money to help her family survive. “He drew her as he told me her story on the brown paper lunch bag. He later completed this story/picture into the great art known as the Pretzel Lady,” said my Grandma Debbie. Behind all of his art is a Jewish Heritage story, complete with symbols of his Jewish/Russian, American heritage. Today, about forty of his lithographs are in the permanent collection of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Our family has many pieces of his artwork hanging in our homes, which show a variety of the life and times of the Jewish people. His legacy reminds us to remember and appreciate our the heritage of our ancestors.
This artifact is important to our Jewish heritage because, it shows the importance of the struggle that Jews endured in that time period. Although they were so many struggles, they persevered to enhance their cultural and spiritual daily life. In some of his other pictures, he included many famous rabbis to show how much he reveres the rabbis in Judaic life.
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