Librarians for Fairness recently received notice of the publication of the following book:
The Golem of Church Street An Artist's Reflection on the New Anti-Semitism 2008 by David Sokol ISBN: 0-9771397-3-5 In the tradition of Honor? Daumier and Francisco Goya, Sokol uses printmaking as a means of reflection and comment on a new and emerging anti-Semitism. American Jews find themselves in a difficult place: On the one hand, years of dialogue, cooperation, and cultural exchange have produced an America where overt anti-Semitism is publicly intolerable and Jews enjoy a great deal of freedom and acceptance. On the other hand, as David Sokol writes in the introduction to his book, "A Jew who speaks out loudly against anti-Semitism walks a narrow line between offense and defense. In the past, Jews who have stood up to anti-Semitism, or Dhimmitude, have been smacked down to a hard defeat." The new anti-Semitism is not personal. It's not about the company of Jews. It's cultural and political. People can honestly say some of their best friends are Jewish or claim Jewish identity, while the same time engage in a political rhetoric that perpetuates anti-Semitism. Surprisingly, this new anti-Semitism is coming from the left side of the political spectrum. It is coming from the very people who engaged Jews in a cultural dialogue, who walked side-by-side with Jews during the Civil Rights struggle, and who, in the past, welcomed Jews into the fabric of America. "Friends, separated by politics. Invisible emotions, allegiances, responsibilities…walls," Sokol writes, is the fruit of this new anti-Semitism. In words and images, Sokol reflects upon social, political, and cultural phenomena that objectify the new anti-Semitism. From Farfour the Martyr Mouse to Jimmy Carter's relationship with Sheik Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, Sokol uses satire and caricature, humor, sadness, and irony to nudge the reader into thinking about these complex issues. The Golem of Church Street contains twenty-four prints and accompanying text. The sixty-page book is printed in full color. ABOUT DAVID SOKOL David Sokol is a printmaker from Burlington, Vermont. Born in Verona, New Jersey in 1947, David Sokol grew up in a suburban town of Jewish and Italian immigrants. In 1965, he went to Goddard College in Vermont and then to Sonoma State University in California where he joined the emerging field of Humanistic Psychology. Upon earning a Master's degree he returned to Vermont, where he practiced for over twenty-five years. Having studied art at Goddard and working as a hobbyist throughout his life, Sokol took up art seriously in 1998 and has been working as a full-time artist since 2003. He studied printmaking with Hiroki Morinoue and Jeera Rattanangkoon at the Holualoa Foundation for Arts and Culture in Holualoa, Hawaii and David Curcio of Ningyo Editions in Watertown, Massachusetts. In 2005, Sokol's work was included in "The Scrolls", a traveling exhibition curated by Mary Walker as a reaction to the war in Iraq. Also in 2005, Sokol's work was included in "Transitions" a portfolio of twelve prints by twelve artists from Burlington City Arts' Print Studio 250. This work was collected by the University of Vermont and the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln, Massachusetts, where it will be exhibited in August 2008. In 2006, Sokol was an artist-in-residence at Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, Maine. Other exhibitions have included group shows at K Space Contemporary in Corpus Christi, Texas (2006); Firehouse Center for the Visual Arts in Burlington, Vermont (2007); and the East Hawaii Cultural Center in Hilo, Hawaii (2008). Kasini House PO Box 1025 Burlington, VT 05402 802-264-4839 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.kasinihouse.com Copyright © 2008 Kasini House. All Rights Reserved. Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
