Kanof Lecture: What Should Our Judaism Look Like? The Tobe Pascher Workshop and American Jewish Ritual Art

Under the direction of German-born silversmith Ludwig Wolpert (1900–1981), the Tobe Pascher Workshop, established by Dr. Abram Kanof, participated in an emergent design discourse as American Jewish leaders sought to provide American Jews with objects that would inspire religious observance. This talk provides the history and context for the workshop and examines its impact and influence.

About the speaker
Rebecca Sandler Perten is associate dean of List College Gershon Kekst Graduate School and List College at the Jewish Theological Seminary. An alumna of List College, Dr. Perten is also a graduate of the master’s program in decorative arts at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum/Parsons School of Design and holds a PhD in decorative arts and design from the Bard Graduate Center. Her research focuses on the design discourse surrounding Jewish ritual art as a material expression of religious identity in mid-20th-century America.

Janet Fish, Kiddush Cups (Glasses for the Jewish Museum), 1975, lithograph on paper, 28 11/16 × 22 5/8 in., Gift of Drs. Abram and Frances Pascher Kanof