Cherchez la femme

The visitors’ path through the exhibition began with the video installation Blicke (Gazes). At its center was the sculpture Chelgis I by the Iran-born artist Mandana Moghaddam; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Yves Sucksdorff.

With Chelgis I, the Iranian artist Mandana Moghaddam (b. 1962) presents the strength that can hardly be tamed, springing from long, dark hair, which is considered an ideal beauty in Arab countries. Inspired by the Persian folktale of the captive girl with forty braids, the figure is entirely covered with hair, symbolizing her beauty while her identity remains hidden behind this veil of hair.
Chelgis I by Mandana Moghaddam, 2002; courtesy of the artist, photo: Hossein Sehatlu

Covered, a self-portrait by Anna Shteynshleyger (b. 1977), is part of the City of Destiny series, named after the orthodox community in which Shteynshleyger and her family spent several years. She is wearing both of her wigs, one of which is covering her face.
Covered by Anna Shteynshleyger, 2009; courtesy of the artist

The exhibition included works from religious feminist circles that reconsider the role of women in traditional Judaism. Among the works were The Dress of the Unfaithful Wife by Andi LaVine Arnovitz (more about the piece of art in an article on our blog). On 9 May, the artist came to the museum to talk with Amy K. Milligan, Professor of Jewish Studies and Women’s Studies at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, about women and sexuality in Judaism (audio recording of the event).
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Yves Sucksdorff

Leora Laor’s (b. 1952) Wanderland series documents street life in Jerusalem’s ultra-orthodox Mea She’arim neighborhood. Photograph no. 128 shows two women engrossed in conversation, who are wearing shpitzel, a form of head covering worn by very devout women.
Wanderland #128 by Leora Laor, 2001; Jewish Museum Berlin

Marija Mihailova (b. 1988) documents the daily religious life of German minorities. In this Russian-Orthodox church in Berlin, women cover their heads according to the rites of the eastern church, a custom that has largely disappeared from Catholic and Protestant practice.
A Russian-Orthodox worship service in Berlin; photograph by Marija Mihailova, 2014; courtesy of the artist

In his artwork Shirin (Farsi for sweet), Rozbeh Asmani (b. 1983) evokes the tension of a woman’s veil: it hides women’s attributes, making the woman seem mysterious and provoking the viewer’s imagination.
Shirin by Rozbeh Asmani, 2009, chocolate, 4C print on aluminum; courtesy of the artist and Werner Klein gallery, Cologne

Head and body coverings are often under suspicion as signs of a reluctance to assimilate. Religious clothing can be taken as a provocation and sometimes inspires drastic reactions. Visitors were confronted with the question of how much visible religiosity today’s secular societies tolerate; Jewish Museum Berlin; photo: Yves Sucksdorff.

Jewish families at the beach
Photograph by Federica Valabrega (b. 1983)
Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, USA, 2011
Courtesy of the artist