Caron Tabb Art
WELCOME FROM RABBI WESLEY GARDENSWARTZ
The rabbi of my youth, Rabbi Daniel Goldberger, may he rest in peace, taught me that religion has two purposes: to comfort the afflicted, and to afflict the comfortable.
Our Artist in Residence, Caron Tabb, afflicts the comfortable by inviting us to ask ourselves what familiar texts, troupes, and images mean to us today. Her art makes familiar words come alive in unfamiliar ways.
Her art makes 2-dimensional words become 3-dimensional challenges. You cannot encounter her art without asking yourself hard questions. For example: We have all read about the Sacrifice of Isaac. That is a curiosity. How could God command it, how could Abraham do it? But she offers us The Sacrifice of Our Isaacs. That’s personal. That’s us. That demands that we ask whom are we sacrificing, and on what altars?
We all know that when Abraham is called, he says Hineni, I am here. But she treats Hineni as a yard sign in a political season of yard signs that asks us: what do we stand for, and what do we stand for publicly?
We all know the three sounds of the shofar, Tekiah, Shevarim, Teruah, but she chops up her shofar into little pieces, entitling her work The Sound of Silence. When is our shofar silent? When is that silence indifference to evil that is morally problematic?
And so it goes. Every piece takes a familiar Jewish theme or symbol, stands it on its head, and invites/demands you think about how the motifs of our tradition intersect with you.
We are so delighted to welcome Caron Tabb as our artist in residence because: (1) she is awesome; (2) after two longs years in the Covid wilderness, what a deep treat to come together to take in an art show; and (3) her art is more than beautiful. Her art makes you think and act. Who could ask for anything more?
Thank you Caron for coming and sharing. Thank you dear friends for coming and opening up yourselves to art that engages, compels, challenges, discomforts, in all the right ways.
See you there!
Fondly,
Wes
ABOUT THE ARTIST
“My art serves as my voice and vehicle for difficult conversations which I hope to inspire in the viewer.”
Caron Tabb was born in apartheid South Africa, raised on a farm in Israel from the age of eight, and has lived in the US for the last twenty years. After years working in the nonprofit world, she turned her focus to art. These key biographical elements and her passion for social justice issues deeply impact her artistic practice. In addition to traditional painting and photography, she incorporates found objects and unconventional materials into her work. Her conceptual mixed-media and instillation pieces address issues of social inequality, racial justice and, feminism as seen through the lens of her deep Jewish identity. When questioning her role as a Jewish, white woman, and a human being today, her goal it is to raise the level of discourse, increase empathy and engage people in difficult conversations about a just and equal society. Her art serves as a voice and a vehicle for conversations about what it means to be an American in this day and age.
Caron holds a B.A. in Education and a M.A. in Nonprofit Management both from Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She is married to Dr. Kevin Tabb, the CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. They have two children, Shai (26) and Noam (21).
www.carontabb.com | Instagram: @carontabb
ARTWORKS
TAP THE IMAGES TO READ MORE
ARTIST RESIDENCY SCHEDULE
Join your TE community April 27 through May 1 as we welcome artist Caron Tabb to Temple Emanuel as our in-person Artist-in-Residence. Together we will experience Caron’s art and learn about how she weaves her Jewish identity and social justice issues together with her artistic practice.
Wednesday, April 27 – Exhibit opens
Thursday, April 28
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3:00-4:00 pm – View the exhibit and participate in a Gallery Talk with artist Caron Tabb
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8:00-9:00 pm – Opening Evening. Rabbi Gardenswartz will be in conversation with Caron discussing her art and the exhibit. Refreshments will be served!
Friday, April 29
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6:30-9:30 pm – Kabbalat Shabbat services, community dinner, and talk with Artist-in-Residence Caron Tabb.
Saturday, April 30
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8:30-9:30 pm – Clergy in Conversation with artist Caron Tabb (via Livestream)
Click here to Learn More and Register
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8:00-9:30 pm – Havdalah & Artist Caron Tabb in Conversation with Chaplain Clementina (Tina) Chery, CEO of The Louis D. Brown Peace Institute. Tina’s son is Louis D. Brown who she lost in 1993 in a fatal crossfire shoot-out while on his way to an anti-violence youth meeting in Dorchester. Founder of the Mother’s Day Walk for Peace.
Click here for details to join the TE Team for the May 8 Walk for Peace!
Sunday, May 1
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11:00-12:00 noon – Gallery Talk with artist Caron Tabb
ASSOCIATED PROJECTS
BE THE CHANGE
BE THE CHANGE is a 2022-2023 art and activism initiative inspired by Caron’s Justice Vessels which draw from the Jewish tenet of Justice and the tradition of Tzedakah boxes. Taking place in Boston, Cincinnati, LA… and online, Be the Change will help viewers connect to issues of injustice and empower them to become agents of change.
3 Cities
18 Pieces (Chai = Life) Of Public Art By Local Emergent Artists
30+ Community Partnerships
1 Big Year Of Change
Through the intersection of art and action, Be the Change aims to rally the community at-large towards justice and to lower barriers to enable us all to be agents of change in tangible ways around real local issues.
When asked what her dream art piece would be, social justice warrior and American Jewish World Service Former Executive Director Ruth Messinger said, “a tzedakah box that says, ‘Be the Change’ in front of the Met.”
Be the Change is about just this – public art to drive social change. A grouping of six kiosk sized “justice vessels,” based on the Jewish concept of a tzedakah box, that invite us all to learn about specific ways we can engage with justice and use the art to provide a vehicle for us all to participate and become agents of change.
Each justice vessel will be created around a specific theme of justice – and invite viewers to take an action towards justice. Similar to the essence of the “Little Free Library,” these boxes will make space for the “giving and taking of justice.” Learn more at www.jartsboston.org.
MOTHER'S DAY WALK FOR PEACE
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Our Temple Emanuel community is excited to be walking in person as a team in this year’s Mother’s Day Walk for Peace! Walk with us as we honor the lives of loved ones who have been murdered and build together for Generation Peace. This walk is for ALL ages from families with kids in strollers to seniors as long as you are comfortable walking! We are partnering with our TE Social Action Committee and TE Social Justice Advisory Board for this community-wide initiative.
Join the TE Team by walking with us, donating and/or fundraising for the event with your friends and family in support of the work of the Louis D Brown Peace Institute. Donate in support of the Temple Emanuel team or to sign up to walk with us at www.templeemanuel.com.
For those who plan to walk with our TE Team on May 8:
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Temple Emanuel will provide a bus to and from the walk. The bus will leave from the front of Temple Emanuel at 8:45am and return to the synagogue around 12:15pm
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Our group will bring water, a banner and will announce a location for our team to meet and march together.
Here is our schedule:
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8:45am: The bus to the walk will leave from the front of Temple Emanuel
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9:30am: Our TE Walking Team will join the walk at 9:30am for the second half of the full walk. We will begin at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, 75 Malcolm X Blvd, Boston, MA
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11:30am: The walk will end at Town Field, 1520 Dorchester Ave., Dorchester, MA with a Closing Rally
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12:15pm: The TE bus will return to the synagogue
The Mother’s Day Walk for Peace (MDW4P) is a beloved 26-year-long Boston tradition and celebration of our potential to create more peaceful communities. The Walk is organized by the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute. Learn more at www.ldbpeaceinstitute.org.
