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1 December 2022
Stereotypes and clichés produced by fashion and film are topics of the exhibition '100 Misunderstandings about and among Jews' at the Jewish Museum Vienna
Two days ago on 29 November, the new exhibition '100 Misunderstandings about and among Jews' opened at the Jewish Museum Vienna. It's the first larger exhibition under the new Director Barbara Staudinger who researched together with Chief Curator Hannes Sulzenbacher the perception of Jewishness mainly from the 19th century to nowadays and the growing influence of fashion, advertising, TV, film and digital media through the years.
The exhibition approaches Judaism from a broad perspective. Word definitions are just as much a topic as the concept of defining population groups as 'autochthonous', which has its roots in nationalist ideas of the 19th century, as well as the examination of the self-image and the public image of Jews 75 years after the end of the Nazi regime in Austria.
With objects like an advertising campaign by Jean Paul Gaultier showing models in creations inspired by traditional clothing of East European Orthodox Jews, keyword Streisand in the movie 'Yentl', or the outfit and hairdo of the character Fran Fine in the TV-series 'The Nanny', the influences of fashion and media on dealing with and building stereotypes and clichés are shown. One of the exhibited fashion objects is a light blue jumpsuit which was worn by Beyoncé 2014 during her visit to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. The Topshop item was sold out shortly after Beyoncé posted a picture on Instagram from the visit of the historic house. Beyoncé and Jay-Z' visit was seen by the media as tactful and respectful. Only that the Holocaust memorial became part of today's consumption society through the posting on Instagram caused controversions - probably one of the misunderstandings. At the exhibition (as well as at the accompanying catalog), visitors will find closer details about the shown jumpsuit, an artwork by Simon Fujiwara with the title 'What Beyoncé Wore to the Anne Frank House' questioning which images of the supposed learning are most effective in the media.
Image: Insight into the exhibition '100 Misunderstandings about and among Jews' (30 November 2022 to 4 June 2023) at the Jewish Museum, Dorotheergasse in the 1st district of Vienna. Photo: © David Bohmann.
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