Judaism, especially the mystical tradition, promotes the sanctification of the mundane. This sanctification applies to everything in life, not least to the world of art. In this piece by Michael Wise in Tablet, he discusses the artist Tobi Kahn and his talent for bringing sanctity to space. What's your space?
An old card catalogue stands in the Jewish Theological Seminary library—a behemoth from the pre-digital past. But with many of its drawers filled with abstract wooden forms by the artist Tobi Kahn, it has been transformed. Carved wooden reliefs evocative of ancient ruins are set within this tactile cabinet of knowledge, while other drawers overflow with their original yellowing cards typed in Hebrew, English, and a multitude of other tongues.
Kahn is the seminary’s first-ever artist-in-residence, and his embellishment of the now-antiquated card catalogue is one of an ever-growing series of works he has created at American Jewish institutions. The card catalogue is part of an exhibition of his works that will be on view at the library until January.
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