The Berry College Department of Visual and Performing Arts and the Interfaith Council is hosting the first art exhibit of the semester that features a variety of Jewish tallits.
The exhibition (open only to Berry students, faculty and staff due to COVID restrictions) is open through Sept. 10 at the Moon Gallery. The Interfaith Council is a group of faculty and students who work closely with other departments on campus to help foster a welcoming environment at Berry College for people of all faiths.
Artist Ruth Simon McRae presents “Tiferet: a series of handmade tallit”, a showcase of 16 tallit which are a type of Jewish prayer shawl used in religious services and ceremonies.
“This body of work combines my love of fabric - material - textiles with my spiritual life,” McRae says. “The series started when my cousin suggested that some of the complex handmade textiles I was making would translate well into a tallit.”
Each tallit is hung at eye level, so that the viewer can both see the details of the materials and have the feeling of being wrapped within them. The shawls are arranged in a three-dimensional square shape, representing the idea of home. The tallits feature a wide variety of sewing techniques including hand-stitching, embroidery, and the incorporation of antique lace.
“I started with autobiographical themes, or more simply, themes from my life; the landscape in our backyard, the garden, studies in white to express a feeling of holiness, watercolor painting,” McRae says. “From there I moved on to tallit that were inspired by various materials and combinations.”
The artist talk with McRae will be at 5 p.m. Aug. 24 at McAllister Hall Auditorium.
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Written by Public Relations Assistant Faythe Choate
Office of Public Relations
