Ben-Zion (1897-1987). Reared by his father for the
rabbinate, Ben-Zion Weiman came from Poland to America in 1920. After
turning to art (and shortening his name), he became a founding member of
The Ten, the 1930's avant-garde group, with Ilya Bolotowsky, Lee Gatch,
Adolph Gottleib, Mark Rothko, Joe Solman, and others. Ben-Zion's work is
represented in many museums throughout the country including the
Metropolitan, the Whitney, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the
Art Institute of Chicago, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Phillips
Collection, Washington. The Jewish Museum in New York opened in 1948 with
a Ben-Zion exhibition. He received an
American Jewish Congress award.
Ben-Zion (Benzion Weinman) was part of "The Ten," a group of
young artists, including Joseph Solman,. Ben-Zion came to the U.S. in 1920
and has worked in oils, watercolors and has created a large body of
ironwork. Teaching positions include: Cooper Union, 1943-1950; Ball State
University, summer 1956; and Union Iowa, summer 1959. Ben-Zion has
continued his style of representational painting based on the abstract,
and is perhaps best known for his Biblical paintings and etchings.
Ben-Zion received an American Jewish Congress award. His work is in the
collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art,
New York City. William Brailsford in The Washington Times: May 18, 1997
"Search" for the Soul of Judaism wrote: In modern Hebrew, the
words for truth and art come from the same root. With masterful
sensitivity, the artist Ben-Zion has transformed the horrible truths of
the 20th century into a powerful artistic repertory of etchings, drawings,
paintings and sculpture that beckon the viewer into his magical
interpretation of the world, and the realities, of Jewish culture. In the
centenary year of this self taught artist, The B'nai B'rith Klutznick
National Jewish Museum has brought together an extraordinary collection of
Ben-Zion's work. A poet and writer, Ben-Zion stopped using the Hebrew
language as the realities of the Holocaust became evident; writing in
"the language of the martyred ones" became
"unthinkable" to him. The artist never actually depicts the
horrors of the '30s and '40s, but rather he holds man up to himself, to
show him what he has done to God's handiwork. Although there are many
pieces in this collection that have Biblical themes, Ben-Zion's work
cannot be termed "theological" by any means, but the viewer is
drawn to his rich Biblical imagery, especially in his oils. Perhaps the
most striking painting in the exhibition is his 1937 oil on canvas
entitled "Noah in the Ark." Here, we find a peacefully
slumbering Noah, his eyes contentedly closed, caressing a menagerie. The
dark, somber tones seem bereft of any source of light; in fact we seem to
be in the belly of the Ark itself until we suddenly realize that the eyes
of all the animals shine brilliantly, like torchieres against a night sky.
Here, Ben-Zion seems to convey Noah's peace with having obeyed God, while
the animal kingdom wonders what lies in store. Following another story
from the Scriptures, Ben-Zion has two depictions of Ruth and Boaz. A small
drawing in India ink and paper (1945) and then a larger oil on wood
(1958), reminiscent of Henri Rousseau's 1897 "Sleeping Gypsy,"
have a hypnotic effect on the observer. Like many of the artist's oils,
this one has a particular dreamlike quality. The vibrant colors and rich
textures create the sensation of a moving canvas, as in his
"Summer" (1972) and "Path" in a Wheatfield (1953). In
two haunting pictures "A Simple, Forthright Polish Jew" (1936),
an oil on denim, and "Prophet on the Ruins" (1938), another oil
on canvas, Ben-Zion has summed up the exilic nature of the Jewish people.
These remarkable images, devoid of comfort, seem to represent the horrible
decade in which they were painted and convey the dark decade of the Jewish
soul better than any words. Ben-Zion has himself assumed the mantle of a
prophet, and his pictures transform themselves into jeremiads warning
modern man of what is to come. But the heart of the exhibit may be found
in the 1957 oil "Scribe" and the 1975 oil "Kiddush."
In both paintings, Ben-Zion focuses on the face -- in essence, the face of
modern Judaism, vibrant despite the diasporatic centuries, the horrors of
modern times and the misapprehension of their neighbors. Along with the
paintings, there are sculptures in iron and wood, whimsical masks, a few
examples of his own yod (the pointers with which the Scriptures are read)
and even a few pieces of stained glass. Truly, Ben-Zion's work can be
summed in his own words, reminiscent of King David: "A light sound
like the thinnest of threads accompanies me in the darkness of the abyss.
God forbid if this thread should break
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