Marla Schultz gets paid to make people laugh. She's a stand up comic who just returned from entertaining troops overseas, is a regular contributor on E!, and co-starred in the off Broadway show JAPS. More recently, though, she's getting paid to make women's lives easier, with the invention of a new product. The RackTrap is a revelation for the modern woman: an undetectable bra pocket that can hold those tiny, flimsy essentials like your license, cash and credit cards. The trap - which fits nicely in your bra and comes in a variety of colors- gives women the freedom to go out, hands free. I was concerned about using the Racktrap since I'm not so bosom-heavy, but Marla pointed to my chest and reassured me, "You've got plenty." Unlike men, the Racktrap does not discriminate. Finally, strangling a clutch in my armpit is no longer necessary. The busy comic took a moment to answer some questions for me about being a comedian and an inventor, plus the skinny on her hot, new accessory. 

 

When did you decide you wanted to become a comedian? 
I knew I wanted to be a comic at age 5. My dad was funny (not as funny as me) and the 'love' I would receive just by making my parents, babysitters and my Kindergarten teacher laugh was the real driving force. In fact, when I told my teacher I couldn't play with the other kids in class because I was cooking chicken in the play kitchen (I actually took baby chick out of cage and put in it the fake oven) I was hooked!

 

What was your first invention?
The RackTrap was the first that I brought to fruition.  It was a joint effort between me and my two partners, Jackie Saril and Karen Hertz.  I think up lots of stuff all the time, like a back spatula,"a bactula," that can apply all types of lotion if you are traveling alone! I'm super proud of The RackTrap b/c so many women are into it-- of all ages!

 

Do you think being an inventor and a comedian are related?
Yes, if I wasn't drinking at Carolines Comedy Club after a set and my period boobs weren't heaving out of my shirt and if I didn't attempt to put paper down on the toilet seat and all my stuff flew out of the bra into the toilet, we wouldn't be having this conversation. So yes, it's definitely related!

 

What is your favorite place to perform in NYC?
Carolines Comedy Club in NY and Comedy Works in Denver and The LaJolla Comedy Store in California.

 

Who are your favorite comedians?
All of them except really misogynist comics!  Ray Ramano, Jim Breuer  Kevin James, Kathy Griffin, Ellen Degeneres, Joan Rivers, Totie Fields, Chris Rock, Mo'Nique, Bernie Mac. 

 

What is your biggest inspiration for jokes? 
Stupid people, bad dates and my disfunctional family.

 

What's so funny about your life?
I'm just a magnet for odd experiences. For example, getting approached by a clown on the Times Square subway platform asking for money with his dingaling hanging out. After he deftly hid his "mini-him" we shared a lovely dinner on me. I was sad he never called. Maybe it was because he didn't have a phone. 

 

You used to co-author an advice column, "Ask the matchmaker for the UCJ." What is the best advice you can give hopeful singles in NYC? It's a numbers game. Men tell you who they are in the first five minutes. If they say 'let's split the check" on the first date, he's cheap with money cheap with emotions! Don't take  anyone's bad behavior on as a reflection on you! 

 

The Rack Trap. Where did you get this idea? 
I always stuffed phones, credit cards and money into my bra but when running around NY it would get sweaty. After my debacle where everything fell into the toilet, I called my two girlfriends Jackie and Karen. Jackie said, "Marl, you need a bra pocket!" From that day on we were off and running! 

 

Do you personally use the RackTrap?
Everyday! I"m always double breasted!. Money, cash, ID, metrocards (when in NY and valet parking tickets when in LA) and business cards in the other! My back pain has subsided because I'm no longer lugging my 10 lb wallet in my purse. Why schlep around all that stuff? Bye bye neck pain!

Jennifer Blowdryer revels in those truths about ourselvesthat we'd rather not hear. While that is ostensibly the job of every writer, few do it with such grace, aplomb, and lack of restraint. Part Emily Post andpart Morton Downey, Jr., Blowdryer's subjects are punk-rock Artful Dodgers andMalcom MacLaren-worthy bastards, lovable and loathable in equal doses, peoplewho take a free drink when they're given one and scam one when they're not.

The protagonist of her latest book, The Laziest Secretaryin the World, is named Latoya (she's white). She's alternately pathetic andbrilliant, a powerhouse at drinking, social analysis, and anything thatinvolves the bottom-most echelon of pop culture. Latoya could write for McSweeney'sbut instead makes fun of tabloid celebrities. She daydreams of the limitlessvariety of frozen dinners, having an unlimited cash flow, and of beinginterviewed on a daytime talk show, answering difficult questions with, "Merv,even if I had a million dollars, I would still buy Butterfingers and M&Ms.I mean, what could possibly replace them?"

When Laziest Secretary begins,Latoya is a secretary for a has-been manager who produces a slowly decayingbrass band and the world's worst production of Annie. She would be afixture at the local bar, except that all the barflies are terminally hittingher up for a drink, and vice versa. Before long, Latoya trades one form ofservitude for another, and she's on a plane to Seoul,bound to marry a man she's never met, with the prospect of being richer thanshe's ever been.

It doesn't take long for the scheme to blow up in Latoya'sface, of course, and Blowdryer does a credible job of playing with tension anddanger and intrigue, although, like everything else in Latoya's life, thethreat of being arrested pales next to the greater threat of breaking her cool.We caught up with Ms. Blowdryer at her improbable, tiny-but-certifiably owned EastVillage walk-up.

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Moran Atias is unstoppable. The Israeli actress/model/TV host is fluent in three languages and was on the shortlist to be a Bond girl. Now, she's starring on the Starz network's first original scripted series, a serialized version of the Oscar-winning film Crash. Somewhere in her Superwoman-like, globetrotting existence, she found some time to chat with Jewcy.

You can watch Crash on Starz and Starz On Demand. Check www.starz.com/crash for showtimes.

Had you seen the movie Crash before getting cast in the show? Were you a fan?

I saw the movie on a plane. I travel a lot so I see a lot of movies when I travel, most of my flights are long, like 15 hours, you can watch a lot of movies. I saw Crash on the plane and was so moved by it… it made me feel that I had to not only think something, but to do something about it, not just believe in a religion or philosophy but to actually enjoy what you believe in. When you see a movie like that, as an actress or film creator or technician, we all want to be part of a greater message, and Crash was a great example of that. I thought to myself, “this is the genre I want to be part of.”

Does that notion – of not just believing in a religion but enjoying what you believe in – apply to Judaism?

There are so many religions that have a set of values and behavior codes that represent humanity’s rights, and that gives us a way to make our civilization. There’s a difference between practice and theory. I can read a lot of books about acting but until I get on a stage and do the work then I am not really doing it. You see a difference in people who read books about acting and people who have been trained to act.

Can you tell me a little bit about what it was like growing up in Haifa? When did you decide to become an actress?

Growing up in Haifa was wonderful. You don’t have to call your classmate to schedule a play date, it’s very casual and very welcoming. I had fantastic time during high school, and the first time I realized I wanted to do this job was just after taking part in a class. That was when I realized [acting] was something I wanted to do – not only was the result of the work something I wanted, it was the process that made me happy. You spend a lot of the time in the process. In any profession you should enjoy the process.

There is a lot of overlap between Israeli and American TV. For example, the US series “In Treatment” began as an Israeli program. And you host the Israeli version of “Deal or No Deal.” Why do you think these two countries share so much TV with each other?

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Daniel Craig fighting off Nazis in the middle of a forest might sound like some kind of fantasy (of my mother's perhaps), but it's real life depicted by the star alongside Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell portraying the true story of three brothers who not only fought the Nazis, but saved 1,200 people while they were at it.

While associate producer of the film Alisa Katz and I joked about how it's like James Bond fighting the Nazis, our interview got pretty intense as she shared with The Jew Spot some chilling stories from on and off the set. Alisa, who has worked on films such as Miami Vice and The Clearing, said this was a bit of an unusual project for her - one that deepened her connection to her already strong Jewish identity and heritage.

This is a different kind of Holocaust movie, says Alisa. Not one about death and dying, and Jews as victims. But as fighters and survivors; 'flawed superheroes,' as film director Edward Zwick has come to describe the Bielski brothers. Read more about the film (in theaters everywhere January 16) here.

Thanks Alisa for taking the interview. Can you quickly tell us what Defiance is about?

Defiance is based on the true story of the Bielski brothers, three Jewish brothers, who unfortunately experienced the murder of their parents and their family by death squads that were rounding up people prior to the Nazi invasion in 1941. They escaped death by hiding in the forest. There, their group slowly began to grow.

These were tough guys, these were fighters, ex-soldiers, guys who were shunned by the bourgeois society their whole lives as ne'er-do-wells, but in the forest they really proved themselves to be strong leaders. During their three years in the forest they created a community which included a school, a hospital an arsenal, a mill and even a synagogue. By the end of the war, 1200 Jews were saved by living in the forest under the Bielski leadership.

The film itself presents a huge question - What are people truly capable of in times of extreme challenge?

It's interesting to see Daniel Craig in this role, as he often plays the tough guy, but now in a different sort of way.

I think Daniel Craig was really drawn to the complexity of Tuvia Bielski's character. There was no flat-out command for Tuvia to become a superhero. This man, who wasn't a leader in the community in which he lived in society, actually possessed all the required skills for leadership in the forest community which he created. He did what he had to do, and had to suppress anything in his personal self that kept him from wanting to fulfill his duties.

Tuvia Bielski moved out to New York after the war and became a taxi driver. He never sought recognition for anything that he did. I think Daniel Craig brings that sense of humility with him into this role. What appeared to draw him to this role was the humanistic side of the character he played.

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Note: This interview was originally conducted for the online literary-political journal Democratiya. Please support Democratiya by donating to it here.

Dr Andrew Bostom is Associate Professor of Medicine at Brown University. He is the author of The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims (2005) and The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History (2008) More of his work can be found at www.andrewbostom.org The interview took place on November 14, 2008.

Personal and Intellectual History

Alan Johnson: How does a medical doctor come to produce books on Islam, Jihad and antisemitism?

Andrew Bostom: It's pretty straightforward. The stimulus was 9/11. Until then I was an average citizen trying to keep abreast of world events. I am not particularly religious as a Jew though I certainly support the state of Israel. But I grew up in New York, living in Queens most of my life, and I went to medical school in Brooklyn. My wife and I still have family in New York City, so the day of 9/11 itself was traumatic, trying to make sure everyone was OK. A colleague's wife was in the second tower. She was very lucky, barely getting out before it collapsed. On the way home I grabbed a book by Karen Armstrong about Islam. I was reading it and commenting to my wife that it just didn't seem to jibe. (I learnt later that Armstrong is a notorious apologist.) As I read it out loud my wife was just laughing. I didn't find it particularly funny. Nor the news reports over the next days that were transparently apologetic. And I was alarmed at stories that appeared in the New York Times (and other New York area newspapers) about an Egyptian Imam who was preaching at a large Mosque in Manhattan, and spreading conspiracy theories about Jews leaving the world trade centre in advance of the attacks, due to their 'prior knowledge.' So I started reading independently. A small book by Yossef Bodansky, a terrorism expert, discussed Islamic antisemitism as a political instrument, and referenced the work of Bat Ye'or on the Dhimmi. I got that book by Bat Ye'or, and everything else she has written in English-all her books, essays, and published lectures. I met Bat Ye'or after a correspondence with Daniel Pipes and brought her to Brown to give a guest lecture. She became a very close mentor, and introduced me to Ibn Warraq and that's how things started. I had begun writing short essays within a year of 9/11. Ibn Warraq resided with us in 2003, for a time, and he encouraged me to consider a book project. I was increasingly interested in the Jihad and it was with Warraq's support that I put that first book together.

Part 1: 'Islamic Antisemitism'

Alan Johnson: Your new book, The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism, is a 766 page collection of primary and secondary sources, some translated into English for the first time, about the relationship of Islam and antisemitism. It is prefaced by a 200-page interpretive essay written by you. Let's begin with your controversial conclusion. Here it is:

A widely prevalent conception of Islam's doctrinal and historical treatment of Jews rests on two false pillars ... (I) In Islamic society hostility to the Jew is non-theological. It is not related to any specific Islamic doctrine, nor to any specific circumstance in Islamic history. For Muslims it is not part of the birth-pangs of their religion, as it is for Christians. (II) '...'dhimmi'-tude [derisively hyphenated] subservience and persecution and ill treatment of Jews... is a myth.'] (...) [This] sham castle of glib affirmations-must be swept away if the enduring phenomenon of Islamic Antisemitism is to be properly understood.'

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Michael Chabon: contemplates sarah palinMichael Chabon is an expert on a great many things, especially hummus and Alaska. He seemed like the perfect person to turn to for a conversation about Sarah Palin:

Jeffrey Goldberg: Isn't it great that Michael Palin's sister is running for vice president?

Michael Chabon: Jeffrey, I fear it might actually be kind of sad that I had exactly the same thought when I first heard her name. At least we can safely assume, at this point, that Governor Palin fully appreciates the deep wisdom contained in that old axiom: nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.

JG: Is Sarah Palin Jewish? Her husband was in the Yiddish Policemen's Union. Or maybe the Steelworkers, I forget.

MC: It's unlikely and, I feel, sort of weird the way this Alaskan lady's fortunes have become caught up, and so quickly, with those of the Jews. An exhaustive search of press mentions on Lexis-Nexis reveals that, until very recently, "Alaska" and "Jews" had been included in the same sentence only 18 times, ever. I know I probably deserve some of the credit for this uptick, but I decline to accept it.

JG: What's your favorite Alaskan food?

MC: I know you want me to say moose. You probably also want me to point out that moose (properly slaughtered of course) is kosher. Same goes for reindeer. I have eaten both, in Juneau, Sitka and Wrangell. Reindeer sausage. Mooseburger. Also fiddlehead ferns and lingonberries. But I'm going to have to go with lox.

JG: Alaska. Crazy place, or what?

MC: It's crazy beautiful, that's for sure. I found it a dark place, and not just because it was literally dark much of time, during my second visit, in late winter. Also, I found it (the place, not the people) hostile, and not just in the sense that wilderness is generally said to be hostile. I kept thinking of that bit from Twin Peaks, where the sheriff says, "There is something very, very strange in these old woods. Call it what you want, a darkness, a presence." Almost everything humans have built there is unbelievably ugly. That might have something to do with the air of resentment given off by the underlying terrain.

JG: Do you think Barack Obama has placated whatever fears elderly Jews have of him?

MC: Huh, I don't know, can elderly Jews actually be placated? The Israeli government, as you know, has squandered billions of shekels to date on one ill-starred placation program after another, with results that have been uniformly disappointing, leading it to issue the famous finding: You just can't alter a kocker.

But if anyone can do it, Obama can.

JG: Do you think McCain was a) smart, or b) stupid, to pick Palin as his running mate?

MC: I think the answer is probably both more pathetic and more chutzpadich than either a) or b) would imply.

JG: Are any of your children named Bristol, Willow or Track?

MC: I was kind of excited when I thought Willow was a Buffy shout-out. Like, how cool, she named her kid after a Jewish lesbian witch! It was part of this weird, innocent spasm of credit-extending that I experienced on first seeing the Governor in action last Friday. But the moment was very short-lived, alas. I bet she doesn't even watch Buffy. The names are kind of awesome, in my opinion. But then I have a son named Ezekiel Napoleon Waldman Chabon.

[This is cross-posted from Jeffrey Goldberg's Atlantic blog, which we think is great, and you should visit often]

"My aunt was a nun, which makes Jesus my uncle! That's church doctrine -- I'm not making that up. She was the bride of Christ. She's my aunt. He's my uncle. I only mention that in Jerusalem for parking! It doesn't get me far, but at the Scottish church, I park like that. I just pull in and say, "I'm the nephew. Please!"

Comedian Yisrael Campbell, formerly known as Chris Campbell, had the audience at the National Jewish Outreach Program benefit in Manhattan roaring in their seats last month. Born and raised in suburban Philadelphia to an Irish-Catholic father and an Italian-Catholic mother, the 45-year-old Jerusalem resident described his journey to Judaism through his comedic monologue, "It's Not in Heaven."Yisrael Campbell: nephew of JC in action (photo by Neal Feinberg)

After struggling with substance abuse at age 16, Campbell’s search for "a higher power" led him to Judaism. At his Reform conversion in suburban Los Angeles in 1994, he was asked, "Do you throw your lot in with the Jewish people?" Here’s how he describes his thought process: “My name was Chris Campbell. I didn't have payos. I didn't have a beard. I didn't wear a hat or a kipah. I didn't wear black and blue [the blue shirt he chooses to wear instead of the traditional white one]. You look like that, your name is Chris Campbell, when they come for the Jews, you say, "They went that way!"

Campbell's ex-wife is Egyptian and was raised Muslim. She took the course on basic Judaism at a Reform temple before she married him.

Fast forward to a Conservative conversion, followed by his growing interest in Orthodoxy. "The Orthodox rabbi said, 'You're going to have to do everything all over again.' And I say, 'I'll do a third circumcision, but three circumcisions is not a religious covenant. It's a fetish!"

Before he changed his name, El Al airline personnel asked Chris Campbell (who looked like he does in the photos) why he converted to Judaism. "They think I just forgot to switch the passport!" he quipped. "El Al is not interested in putting people on airplanes that are struggling to have a relationship with God. They don't even like vegetarian-meal requests!"

He told me that his target audience is "anyone that has ever been on a spiritual search or endeavored to better understand issues of identity." Campbell performs with the Palestinian-Israeli Comedy Troupe. He has done a gig for Trinity College in Dublin.

Campbell's plans to move to New York for a year, beginning late summer or early fall, with hopes of doing an off-Broadway run. His American-born wife, who grew up Modern Orthodox, and whom he met when she was his Talmud teacher in Jerusalem, is considering pursuing a Masters degree at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Of course, their three kids will also join them. Their last name is Campbell-Hochstein, but professionally he sticks with his original name.Three Conversions and One Pair of Shades Later: photo by Neal Feinberg

The 2007 documentary about him, "Circumcise Me!", will be next be seen at the Dallas Jewish Film Festival in September and the East Valley Jewish Film Festival in Arizona in February.

It's not often one hears the innermost thoughts of a convert, both pre- and post-conversion. After all, one isn't supposed to ask the convert about it and make him feel uncomfortable -- he's now a member of the tribe.

Asked why he dressed in the long, black bekeshah/kapata the comedian replied, "I don't really have a good reason. I like the way I look and it's the way I dress on Shabbos and on Yom Tov”—he pronounced it the old-fashioned Yiddish way, Yon Tif—“so I don't feel like it's a costume I put on to do the show. It's not how I dress every day, but I dress enough that way. But the kind of line I've come up is: 'My Conservative conversion upsets the Reform. The Orthodox conversion upsets the Conservative. And the only way I have to upset the Orthodox is to dress haredi!' "

Wowed by the example of Frank Gehry's Bilbao Guggenheim, museums around the world have raced to commission brilliant, experimental architects to build structures at least as noteworthy as their collections. Architect Daniel Libeskind has become the star of the Jewish museum world with his stunning designs for the Jewish Museum Berlin, Danish Jewish Museum, and now the San Francisco Contemporary Jewish Museum.

Unique in being a museum without a permanent collection, the San Francisco Contemporary Jewish Museum has, for over twenty years, devoted itself to exhibitions that explore contemporary perspectives on Jewish culture. Libeskind's new building, opening June 8, 2008, will allow the museum to remain flexible in defining Jewish identity by offering a variety of differently shaped and purposed spaces, including ones specially designed for music, film, and hands-on art education, as well as the more typical white-wall galleries.

Daniel Libeskind has become best-known for winning the World Trade Center design competition (and the resultant brouhaha). Yet his most important work may well be found elsewhere, ranging from the severe angles and sharp edges of the Royal Ontario Museum to the graceful, curving, almost bowed forms of his Reflections project in Singapore to the San Francisco museum with its almost aggressive blue beacon jutting out from the shell of an old water pumping station.

Zeek talked with Libeskind about creating a specifically Jewish space for the San Francisco museum in the conversation that follows.

ZEEK: I've had an opportunity to tour the Jewish Museum of San Francisco and I was very impressed-the spaces are complex visually and yet open and inviting. I understand they are deeply symbolic, with a physical "chet" and "yud"-the word Chai-- defining the space. Can you talk about the design for our readers?

Libeskind: I conceived the project as a new Jewish institution that is looking forward and celebrates life. And what better emblem and symbol of Jewish culture and identity than life itself? That is what Judaism is all about. So I created a museum which is almost an illuminated manuscript in three dimensions, which in its margins interacts with others' history, the history of the power station [which was already on the site and is incorporated into the design], the history of Yerba Buena Gardens [the site], the history of the Bay Area. The building in itself is a conversation with different levels of history.

ZEEK: I noticed that this museum differs from the Jewish Museum in Berlin or the Danish Jewish museum, both of which you also designed, in that those museums look backwards while this one looks forward. In fact, it

Jewish Museum Berlin (Juedisches Museum Berlin)

only looks forward, since it doesn't have any permanent exhibits. I was interested in your understanding of a Jewish identity that is not connected to a Jewish past, and what the challenge was for you?

Libeskind: This project was very different from my Jewish projects in Europe, because those always have the memory of the destruction of European Jews--that is part of the dark history of Europe. That is certainly not the case in San Francisco and America. So this building is a celebration of America, American Jews, American openness, and the vitality of the Jewish community in America. In that sense, you are right, it is a museum that really looks forward. But I would say it is still based on emblems and symbols that are rooted deeply in the Jewish tradition. The inextinguishable light of the building itself, and the meaning of those Hebrew letters, is not just symbolic or metaphorical--you cannot disassociate the symbols from the meanings they contain, which is quintessentially Jewish as well.

ZEEK: As you are talking, it seems that one of the challenges was the challenge of working in an interfaith environment without assimilating.

Libeskind: Absolutely. The building had to grow out of a turn of the nineteenth century building, a power station, and also the bottom of a twentieth century hotel [the Jewish museum shares a basement and carves a first floor room space from the Four Seasons hotel next door]. Then the building needs to find an identity that is not compromised, not blending in, but cutting across these existing structures and establishing an identity that is not ambiguous.

ZEEK: A lot of people have suggested that Jewish identity is undergoing a fundamental transformation post-Holocaust and post-State of Israel; some people say that Judaism itself is post-diasporic and we need to have a new idea of what it means to be a Jew. I was wondering if you had been engaged in these ideas and how you see Jews and Judaism in the 21^st century?

Libeskind: That's a great question. I can only answer for myself. For many complex reasons the Jewish world has become very polarized. We have on one hand a growth of religion, a growth of the religious movements, and on the other hand we have the increasing assimilation of Jews. For me, the 21^st century is about bringing back to the center a Jewish identity, an identity that is free, that is open, that is complex.

ZEEK: So what you are doing with this museum is creating spaces that have a kind of ambiguity to them-they can become anything. I am thinking particularly of the auditorium space. There is flexibility built in.

Libeskind: Absolutely, flexibility and fluidity. At the same time, each of the spaces is not just iconic superficially, by its shape, but because they are rooted in other dramas of Jewish history--the drama of contemporary Israel, the drama of what the synagogue means, the drama of Talmud and its commentaries. It's a break in space.

It's certainly true that for so long, it was a cliche that Jews were not a visual people. That Jews were forbidden to engage in spacial affect. But that's certainly not true. If you go to the biblical text, we know there are the cherubim in the Temple, we know there was a rich visual world. It was not the world of pagan idolatry, but it communicated to people.

ZEEK: Yes, there's a huge section of Torah devoted to describing spaces.

Libeskind: And very rich spaces. Jews are so implicated in architecture. Such great chapters are devoted to the tabernacle and the Temple and the ark and the eruv, because space and what it means is so importantly embedded in Jewish memory. In a sense this is a presentation in contemporary terms of a very historical topic.

ZEEK: I had a question about the beautiful blue tiles you used on the new parts of the facade. They made me think of water. When I think of a Jewish element, I usually think of fire.

Libeskind: Fire, but you also have to think of revelation, which is blue. It's not a coincidence that tallit are white and blue, that the State of Israel's flag is white and blue. The blue is not just a naturalistic idea of the blue that comes from the tallit and from water. It comes from the idea of eternity, of coming out of blue into reality.

ZEEK: As you talk, you talk about the fluidity and transitory nature of the space, and you also talk about eternity and the things that remain unchanging, and that tension seems very essential to an ancient religion like Judaism.

The Danish Jewish Museum (Dansk Jodisk Museum)

Libeskind: That's a good way of putting it. I think the reason Judaism is open is because it is based on something eternal. Because freedom is built so deeply into the Jewish tradition, everything is new, everything is possible.

 

ZEEK: As a writer, that's why I love the way our text is written over so many times, it's very freeing. You have layers of text, which means you can keep writing on them.

Libeskind: Exactly. People coming to this museum will inscribe themselves into the text of the museum. By moving through the spaces of L'Chaim, each person will inscribe themselves in a unique way, through a text that is endless. That is part of the notion of the building. It is not just a plan, but a permanent encounter which depends on the participants to make it live.

ZEEK: Thank you.

 

 

Two weeks ago we showed you photos of the Jewish Museum's Off the Wall exhibit under construction. Now that the exhibit is in full swing, take a look at the results. These photos feature fashions from Chassidic designer Levi Okunov. For more on Okunov, check out the interview below, in which the designer talks about his inspirations, Chassidic teachings, spirituality, and the Jewish Museum.

Levi Okunov discusses his residency at the Jewish Museum from mobius1ski on Vimeo.

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