Since Louisiana is the only state in the union to organize itself through parishes and not counties; it should come as no surprise that its places of worship are pillars of its communities. The Big Easy is no exception. From New Orleans to the Northshore; stately churches; grand cathedrals and rustic chapels act as reliquaries and safeguards of community history and strength. The stories of their builders; architects and leaders exemplify development and the immigrant experience in Louisiana. Their parishioners embody the diverse and personal meanings of faith and devotion. Join Deborah Burst as she explores the rich history of churches of New Orleans.
#2536670 in eBooks 2012-07-24 2012-07-24File Name: B00XQW9IDY
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. the flaming shtetls long-cast glowBy David A. BaerJonathan Wilsons intimate look at this most enigmatic artist is just the introduction a non-specialist like this reviewer needs for moving from a first encounter with Chagalls work to a deeper understanding of his life and person. I suspect the veteran Chagall watcher will also find more than a little in Wilsons pages that will enrich his understanding or throw fresh light on ambiguities that are worthy of further inspection.Wilsons method is to follow Chagall around from city to city and lover to lover. Evidence for this is seen in the titles of the books seventeen chapters. All but three of them simply present the name of one of Chagalls places or one of his women. So; for example; 1. Vitebsk; 2. St. Petersburg; 3. Paris; 4. Bella ... 12. New York; 13. Virgina (Haggard); 14 Orgeval ... The three exceptions (6. Yiddish Theater; 15. A Problem of Conscience; 17. Blessings) explore matters of deep thematic importance that lie close to the soul of Chagall and his art.So does Wilson periodize Chagalls life in helpful ways. We travel with an artist as he moves from context to context in a world where it seemed impossible for him to own any one of them completely or to deny any one finally. Chagall emerges as a conflicted human being; unable fully to rank the places and the people that have shaped him; unable to leave any place behind; certain to live simultaneously as Russian; as Jew; as Frenchman; as quasi-American; as on-again; off-again Zionist; as an artist who was himself never other than a work in progress.If Chagall failed to integrate these stages-of-residence; he at least combined them. For example; Wilson writes that Chagall; whether he believed that he was doing so or not; sneaked Yiddish culture into twentieth-century painting through the back door. Hardly anyone; with the exception of the odd French anti-Semite; noticed what was happening because the vibrant visual expression of his paintings carried the stamp of the modern and not the stigma of a dying language. Sadly; Chagalls genius spawned a host of artists who specialized in Jewish kitsch; whereas Picassos had an impact on almost every great painter who came after him.And again; It was Chagalls great talent as an artist to absorb influences without becoming a slave to them. He was not an intellectual; and he powerfully resisted ideologies and theories while; magpielike; stealing what he fancied from the various isms that surrounded him. This characteristic preserved Chagalls artistic integrity in Paris but inevitably got him into trouble in Russia after the Revolution.Along the way; Wilson touches repeatedly upon Chagalls fascination with Jesus; this crucified Jew who frequents the artists canvas in a way that has generated multiple explanations; sadly none of them coming directly from Chagalls own lips or pen. Here is Wilson himself on the question: Chagall; in what was perhaps an even more radical gesture; appeared to reach back to a pre-Christian Jesus; a man who has not yet been granted the powers of miracle and redemption; and is rather an ancient Jewish martyr presented as a symbol of contemporary Jewish martyrs. In so doing Chagall risked alienating those members of his Jewish audience for whom the simple presence of Jesus Christ in a painting signaled betrayal and oppression rather than their opposite ... Chagalls appropriation of the Crucifixion of Jesus as an icon of *Jewish* suffering is not entirely uncommon among Jewish writers and artists in the twentieth century. It occurs; for example; in the work of the Yiddish novelist Pinchas Kahanovich (known as Der Nister; The Hidden One); in Scholem Asch; to chilling effect in Elie Wiesels NIGHT; and in Yehuda Amichais remarkable poem The Jewish Time Bomb. Whatever its degree of surprise to a Jewish audience; Chagalls decision to paint a Crucifixion scene in 1938 is hardly out of keeping with his own obsessions; for; as has already been noted; his relationship with "Christ as a poet and prophetic figure" was deep and long-lasting.Wilson does not elevate the great man more than the evidence allows. He is wry about the massive and vulnerable ego that does not so much distinguish Chagall from his peers as it identifies him with them. He can just as easily register Chagalls well-earned reputation as an attentive and caring teacher as he can quote this observation by one of the artists wives: "(H)e painted love but he didnt practice it;" Virginia Haggard remarks of Chagall in her memoire; more in sorrow than in anger.Writing as he does for the JEWISH ENCOUNTER SERIES; Jonathan Wilson is particularly perceptive on the dynamics of Chagalls Jewishness; both as the artist lived this identity and as others (both Jews and non-Jews) perceived and interacted with it.In the end; Wilsons life of Chagall appropriately humanizes the man; recording in his final pages Chagalls wistful observation in a speech before the Israeli Knesset that I tend to look with some sadness at everythingmdash;friend or foe. Wilson has done us the service of introducing us to an artist who *tended* more than he *declared*; who brought his abiding enigma into his art and so illuminated our own unshakeable paradoxes; nuances; and mixed identities as we engage the very bright and deeply brooding blue art of Marc Chagall.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. She loved Chagall and wasnt ashamed of that...By Bernard . Pucker"She loved Chagall and wasnt ashamed of that. T. Carmi; In Memory of Leah Goldberg"This quote is at the very beginning of Jonathan Wilsons Ode to Chagall or so it seemed. Wilson presents the details of Chagalls long and productive life 1887 to 1985. He also raises many engaging questions about the artist and person Marc Chagall. He does not try to fully explain why Chagall remained ambivalent about his identity as a Jew; a Frenchman; a Russian and as a narcissistic artist in the 20th century.Chagalls prodigious output often overshadows the occasional intimacy of some of his work. The constant disruptions in his life and losses provide some framework for viewing and appreciating his art.A shtetl Jew who becomes a major 20th century artist who gained international recognition sounds like an oxymoron. The 2nd commandment which prohibited graven images did not impede Chagalls commitment to making art.His subjects reflect his lifes journey and his style combined many of the powerful trends of the 20th century.Wilson shares the good; the great; the personal and the disappointing thoroughly without any specific judgments.Chagalls art celebrates the experiences of a romanticized Shtetl; the beauty and joy of love and ladies; the powerfully destructive forces of WW I and II as well as the Russian revolution - some of his work touches the core of our humanity while much of it borders heavily on sentimentality.All of this and much more is packed in this concise and very readable volume.Worthwhile quotes;If artists have one big job; it is to move what is inside to the outside; to reveal secrets; and in so doing to allow us to discover who we are.Chagalls artistic spirit resides close to that of the tellers of Hasidic tales; individuals who search out sparks of goodness in the bleakest of events and collect these firefly flashes over a dark sea as acts of tikkun. Hence; in terms of a political statement; we will find no equivalent to Guernica in Chagalls massive oeuvre.No amount of financial or critical success later in life was ever quite able to dispel the aura of suspicion; or drain the well of bitterness........"If money was involved".How slippery was Chagalls identity? He appears often as a chameleon figure; fiercely protective of his artistic independence and yet eager to please.Many more salient and penetrating insights and questions are clearly articulated by WilsonCertainly a very entertaining and saddening biography. It remains unclear if Wilson like Leah Goldberg loved Chagall.7 of 8 people found the following review helpful. A Short ChagallBy Christian SchlectA nice short study of Marc Chagalls personal life (wives; children; and homes) and of his essential cultural roots including religious inspirations and conflicts. Chagall was fated to live a long life amidst a century of enormous social turmoil and with direct emotional ties to countries in the middle of the storms --- the USSR; France; U.S. and Israel.Professor Wilson is a fine writer with an eye for the arresting detail. His book is a very good overview of the complex life of a great artist.(Readers will have to refer to the Internet or art books for the actual paintings referred to in this text---unless happily they have already in person viewed the work of Marc Chagall.)
