Profiles in Learning

Artist’s Statement
George Scheer, Greensboro

Each and every Jew is a living museum. We carry with us centuries of tradition, and personally and collectively, it is our challenge to ensure that our history is passed from one generation to another. Yet even as we strive to maintain our traditions we must discover new arrangements that transform the lives of our families and surrounding communities for generations to come. The Jewish adventure is a process of continually uncovering the past, not so that we might dwell in remembrance, but so that we never forget how today’s opportunities influence tomorrow’s possibilities.

This series of artist-created vignettes explores the texture and materiality of contemporary Jewish experience by exploring the documents, letters, objects, and recordings found in the archives of four North Carolina Jews. Each of these four pieces literally emerged from the paper trail of Jewish history and hint at the personal complexity of contemporary Jewish experience.

The story of Eric and Carol Meyers, an archaeological team working today, can be discovered amidst a textured recreation of an ancient synagogue wall, imagined from archaeological field notes scribbled at the moment of discovery. Open the rock panels, examine the sketches, and take note of the layers of geological history supporting our most ancient traditions.

The Elsewhere wardrobe contains a hint of the vast 58-year collection of store proprietress Sylvia Gray, and points toward the absurd possibility that a century of surplus wares and a long-outmoded chapter of Jewish mercantile life could today become one of the most contemporary, experimental, and recognized art projects in the nation. Explore the objects, open the drawers, read the articles, and come see for yourself Elsewhere’s living museum in downtown Greensboro.

Have a seat at the desk of Gertrude Weil, a woman whose radical struggle for equal rights is the very foundation of activist politics today. Open her drawers and read copies of her letters to hear in her own voice the personal and collective challenges of the suffrage movement. While Gertrude has passed, her legacy and ideas live on today. You are invited to write a brief note about what you think today’s most important equal rights struggles are. Place your statement in an envelope that will be sent in bulk to North Carolina’s United States Senators at the conclusion of the exhibition’s run.

As you sit at this desk, listen to recordings from the Eastern Music Festival, held each year in Greensboro. The Eastern Music Festival is the pride of the LeBauer family. As medical doctors operating a state-of-the-art facility in Greensboro, they have played an intimate role in the life and health of families across the nation. As music lovers, they helped found a cultural institution in North Carolina that supports exceptional music and brings creativity to Greensboro’s culture. The selections you are listening to were curated by Sam LeBauer, Board President of the Eastern Music Festival.