Explore Jewish Roots, Legacy Through Music, Art

Photo Submitted

Paris Through the Window, 1913, Marc Chagall, French (born Belorussia), 1887-1985, Oil on canvas.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – "An Evening of Jewish Music and Art," presented by Richard Sonn and David Hurewitz, will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, in the Anne Kittrell Gallery, located in the University of Arkansas Union.

The lecture and performance explore the roots and legacy of Jewish art and music in the early 20th century.

"My current research focuses on the Jewish immigrant artists of Paris, more specifically of the left bank artists' colony of Montparnasse, between the years 1905 and 1930," said Richard Sonn, professor of history in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

Among the artists that Sonn will discuss are Marc Chagall, Chaim Soutine, Amedeo Modigliani, Delaunay-Terk, Jules Pascin, and Jacques Lipchitz.

"I am interested in learning what these many Jews contributed to artistic modernism, whether there was anything unique about their art, and how they interacted within the highly cosmopolitan atmosphere of Montparnasse," Sonn said.

Following Sonn's lecture, Dr. David Hurewitz, a Tulsa physician and clarinetist, will discuss the roots and nature of klezmer music. He will demonstrate this music on his clarinet. 

This program was made possible by the Legacy Heritage Jewish Studies Project, directed by the Association for Jewish Studies (AJS). Support for the Legacy Heritage Jewish Studies Project is generously provided by the Legacy Heritage Fund Limited. Admission is free, and a reception will accompany the event.