Spertus Museum
May 8 - August 7, 1994
Statement for installation

Bridges and Boundaries, Chicago Crossings
The Book of Life, 1994
By Claire Wolf Krantz

For the transgressions against God, the Day of Atonement atones: but for the transgressions of one human being against another, the Day of Atonement does not atone until they have made peace with one another.
Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Gates of Repentance

An image of the "Book of Life" permeates the Jewish High Holy Days, one picturing a book listing those who will live and die, in which judgment is influenced by one's deeds. It is a conception of individuals living in community, responsible for life-enhancing behavior as well as spiritual renewal. This image inspired an approach to examining my views as a Jewish woman artist in the intricate web of relationships that exist between American Blacks and Jewish Americans. By painting a background of fire and water, the fundamental elements of creation and destruction, on my giant construction of a "Book of Life," I stress the high stakes of resolving tensions between Blacks and Jews. Inscribed into this background is an ancient prayer which summarizes some essential Jewish beliefs: that the individual does not exist apart from the community, and that what we do counts. My use of gold symbolizes the sacred, while thin lines bisecting each canvas act to both separate areas and connect different sections of the installation. They provide imaginative pathways to transverse, as though we could be tiny beings traveling through the universe of my creation. The wall pieces continue this abstraction of fire and water, but their superimposed texts directly address the relationships between Jews and Blacks. Thus, the phrases "Who Makes Whom the Other?" and "Is the Question Black or White?" illuminate the ambiguities of the domain in which our two groups negotiate, while "Tolerance . Respect" questions the implications of the difference in meaning between these two words. Finally, the word, "power" underlies the texts. Must this situation always be so? Ultimately, this work signifies my particular religious and culturally formed perspective, through which I view complex interpersonal forces in a field which we all share.

The Book of Life
Large book on floor; 3 paintings on wall with text.
Mixed media on oil on canvas
6 1/2'x6'x4'

Dedicated to the memory of my father, George Kaplan, who taught me how to be a Jew.

Claire Wolf Krantz is an artist, freelance critic, and guest curator.
As an artist she works in a combination of painting and photography as well as digitally created images.