"Reach for the Moon: When Art and Medicine
Intersect" focuses on the successful fight and ultimate
victory over Tay-Sachs disease. Tay-Sachs is a fatal genetic disorder
affecting Jews of Eastern European descent. It provides a rare chance
to focus on the intersections between medicine, science, art, and
Judaism. The traveling exhibit, organized in by the Yeshiva University
Museum in New York City, utilizes colorful and descriptive panels
charting the scientific conquest of this most paradigmatic disease.
Artwork by the nationally renowned artist Ruth Dunkell, co-founder
of the National Tay-Sachs Association illustrates the way that an
exceptional artist uses art as therapy–or, as one reviewer
expressed, “Suffering transformed her . . . what grabs the
eye is that she moved from bright color to muted color to black
and white.”
OJM has added a section that emphasizes the broader implications
of the Tay-Sachs odyssey, significant because it has become the
prototype for genetic counseling and screening programs and other
medical breakthroughs.
The exhibit has been funded through individual donations and
a generous grant from the Northwest Health Foundation
.
December 5, 2004 - April 30, 2005
The Art of Giving
Tzedakah, derived from the Hebrew word for righteousness
and justice, is one of Judaism’s most basic beliefs. More than
an act of charity, the concept of Tzedakah explains our obligation
to create a more perfect world. Twenty tzedakah boxes, borrowed
from the community, are featured in the exhibit, which is funded
by the Jewish Federation of Portland.
Top
of page