Art and spirituality merge at the Hebrew Center

Both art and spirituality can be transcendent, and four artists will share how these intertwine for them at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center. The program is the brainchild of Linda Vadász, who, with a strong background in art history, will facilitate the panel.

Spirituality and religion have been central to art throughout history, in medieval and Renaissance Europe as well as in Byzantine, Buddhist, and Hindu cultures. In mid-19th-century America, the Hudson River School artists executed highly detailed and often idealized portrayals of nature to convey the belief that the American landscape reflected God.

I spoke with all four artists on the panel about their work, their relationship to spirituality, and the pieces they will present. Collage artist Elizabeth Langer began our discussion with a definition of spirituality that she discovered from Georgetown University’s National Center for Cultural Competence: “a quality that goes beyond religious affiliation, that strives for inspiration, reverence, awe, meaning, and purpose, even in those who do not believe in God. The spiritual dimension tries to be in harmony with the universe, strives for answers about the infinite, and comes essentially into focus in times of emotional stress, physical (and mental) illness, loss, bereavement, and death.”

Langer explained that the first collage that came to her mind for the panel was “Devarim (Words).” The piece was created after curators at Hebrew Union College Museum asked her in 2019 to produce an artwork exemplifying the life and work of Rabbi Hara Person, the chief executive of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), which represents Reform rabbis worldwide. At the time, Langer happened to read an inspirational review by renowned art critic Roberta Smith, “The Radical Quilting of Rosie Lee Tompkins.” The textiles in the exhibition included biblical imagery and were created by Black women from the South using found objects. Langer shared, “I thought that quilts are essentially collages, and I’m a collage artist.”

For “Devarim (Words),” Langer used the colors found in the Mishkan, the portable sanctuary the Israelites carried in the desert while wandering toward the Promised Land. She also asked Rabbi Person for Hebrew words that were particularly meaningful to her, and incorporated them into the artwork. Langer explained that she also creates work that is not overtly tied to religion: “There are lots of paintings and drawings and prints I’ve made that are about the human condition, [which] encompass, in a sense, spirituality.”