San Francisco: Contemporary Jewish Museum; things to do

San Francisco

Contemporary Jewish Museum

The newest exhibition at the Contemporary Jewish Museum is Jewish Folktales Retold:  Artist as Maggid.  It runs through January 28, 2018.  Based on a book by Howard Schwartz, Leaves from the Garden of Eden: One Hundred Classic Jewish Tales, this exhibit originated at this museum and features the interpretations by local artists of a couple dozen stories.  Recordings of 14 stories are posted around the exhibit, but you can also listen to these stories told by professional storytellers on your phone at this special exhibit website--either at home or at the museum and also in tandem with another person.  Also at this website are videos of the artists in their studios.  

I chose one story to explore in depth.  

"Milk and Honey" is the magical story of a Polish boy named Joshua who follows his goat, which every day walks through a cave tunnel to graze in the promised land, Israel.  Artist Chris Sollars interprets the story with an 11 minute 53 second video in which he similarly follows a goat through the streets of San Francisco to see where it leads.  This story is spoken by author Howard Schwartz here.  

I learned more about "my artist," Chris Sollars, who is a professor at Mills College, from the video tour of his studio here. 

"Milk and Honey" video exhibit in Jewish Folktales Retold show
at Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco

artist Chris Sollars with his "Milk and Honey" video exhibit in Jewish Folktales Retold show at Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco

Which story will you choose to explore?

"lullaby/lament" by Elisabeth Higgins O'Connor in Jewish Folktales Retold show at Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco

"syrinx aruanus shell" by David Dasprzak in Jewish Folktales Retold show
at Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco

more about the Contemporary Jewish Museum, including the deli restaurant (scroll down).
my blogs about past shows at the CJM:

https://weekendadventuresupdate.blogspot.com/2016/06/san-francisco-delarosa-contemporary.html

https://weekendadventuresupdate.blogspot.com/2015/11/san-francisco-contemporary-jewish-museum.html

https://weekendadventuresupdate.blogspot.com/2013/05/san-francisco-contemporary-jewish-museum.html

https://weekendadventuresupdate.blogspot.com/2011/12/san-francisco-contemporary-jewish.html

https://weekendadventuresupdate.blogspot.com/2010/11/updatepage-28-www.html

https://weekendadventuresupdate.blogspot.com/2009/07/san-francisco-contemporary-jewish.html


More things to do in San Francisco

Way more things to do in San Francisco.

More ideas for exploring Northern California. 

images ©2017 Carole Terwilliger Meyers 

San Francisco: Contemporary Jewish Museum; things to do

San Francisco

What's new at The Contemporary Jewish Museum

exterior of The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, California

Current exhibitions at The Contemporary Jewish Museum include:

First Light: Rituals of Glass and Neon Art, curated by She Bends, “explores mastery in craft as a devotional pursuit, presenting breathtaking artworks that connect both artists and viewers to spirituality, wonder, and universal questions of human existence.” Science and art are both utilized in artworks that include neon, glass, and large-scale sculptures. Runs through April 28, 2024.

First Light exhibit at The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, California

RetroBlakesberg: The Music Never Stopped, which taps into Bay Area music history through the lens of Bay Area–based photographer Jay Blakesberg. Photographs of legendary musicians “reveal the evolution of San Francisco’s unique music culture and its wide-reaching influence.” It is fun to study the various photographs to identify greats such as Joni Mitchell, The Grateful Dead, Tracy Chapman, and Neil Young, and to also see ephemera such as original tickets stubs. Runs through July 28, 2024.

RetroBlakesberg exhibit at The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, California

Radiant Practices: Illuminating Jewish Traditions “traces the foundational role of light in Jewish life and ritual, both historically and today” through objects such as menorahs and memorial candles. Runs through April 28, 2024.

cast metal brutalist menorah at The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, California

More about the Contemporary Jewish Museum and the Wise Sons Jewish Deli.

patio of Wise Sons Jewish Deli at The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, California

More things to do in San Francisco

Way more things to do in San Francisco.

More ideas for exploring Northern California.

images ©2024 Carole Terwilliger Meyers 

San Francisco: The Contemporary Jewish Museum; things to do

San Francisco

The Contemporary Jewish Museum

The newest exhibition at The Contemporary Jewish Museum is Levi Strauss: A History of American Style. It runs through August 9, 2020. Showcasing the life of Levi Strauss and blue jeans, this exhibit traces the evolution of Levi's from work wear to fashion wear. From gold miners to blue collar laborers to hippies to Beyonce. This riveting show tells the quintessentially American story of hard-working Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss, who was born in Buttenheim, Bavaria, Germany and then resettled in New York and then San Francisco. It is the largest public display of Levi Strauss & Co.'s archival materials ever assembled.  Today, Levi's products are sold in more than 110 countries.  

overview of Levi Strauss: A History of American Style show at
The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, California

Items I particularly enjoying viewing include decorated jeans worn by Beyonce, a copy of a jacket worn by Albert Einstein, James Dean wearing jeans in a "Giant" movie poster, an Andy Warhol silk screen, and an AMC Gremlin car upholstered in Denim. 

Beyonce's ribbon-decorated jeans in Levi Strauss: A History of American Style show at
The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, California

image of Einstein in his leather Levi's jacket
in Levi Strauss: A History of American Style show
at The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, California

image of James Dean on "Giant" movie poster in his Levi's
in Levi Strauss: A History of American Style show
at The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, California

Andy Warhol silk screen in Levi Strauss: A History of American Style show
at
The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, California

overview with Levi's-upholstered AMC Gremlin car
in Levi Strauss: A History of American Style show
at The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, California

denim American flag in Levi Strauss: A History of American Style show
at The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, California

contemporary Levi's jacket for sale at Nordstrom down the street from
The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, California

More about The Contemporary Jewish Museum, including the Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen.

my blogs about past shows at the CJM.

More attractions in San Francisco. 

Way more things to do in San Francisco.

More ideas for exploring Northern California.

images ©2020 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

San Francisco: Delarosa + Contemporary Jewish Museum; restaurant review + things to do

San Francisco

Delarosa  

37 Yerba Buena Lane, SOMA.  L-D daily.  No reservations. 

Featuring Roman-style pizza and small plates, roaringly-popular Delarosa has mostly communal seating.  Tabletops and floors are hardwood, and big windows open to views of the outside walkway--all adding to the potential for an ear-splitting noise level.

interior of Delarosa in San Francisco

My favorite menu item is the Margherita pizza topped with creamy melted burrata--soooo good!  Pizzas are served on raised stands, and napkins are generously-sized kitchen towels--a boon for those of us who run through numerous paper napkins at every meal.

Margherita pizza at Delarosa in San Francisco

Though to accompany it we chose broccolini with garlic and really hot little red peppers

broccolini at Delarosa in San Francisco

as well as deep-fried asparagus with caper aioli,

deep-fried asparagus at Delarosa in San Francisco

others were chattering about the marinated olives with fennel and citrus and the crispy tagliolini dumplings.  Non-pizza panini and pastas are also enticing.  With only a little room left for dessert, we shared three Bomboloni caldi (warm housemade donuts) with chocolate, raspberry, and marscapone sauces and wound up leaving one behind.

Bomboloni donuts at Delarosa in San Francisco

Note that a vegan cheese substitute is available on pizza.  Drinks include craft beers, Italian and Californian wines, and delicious cocktails.  I ordered the most popular cocktail--a murky-looking, smoky-tasting Painted Ladies (mezcal, tamarind, chili tincture, lemon bitters, lime)--and my partner ordered a slightly more colorful Golden Coast bourbon (batavia arrack, apricot, pineapple, orange, lime).

cocktail delivery at Delarosa in San Francisco

My mouth actually watered as I read this menu in advance.  One visit just won’t do it.  I’ll be back.

Contemporary Jewish Museum

Since this location of Delarosa (the original at 2175 Chestnut Street in the Marina) is right across the walkway from the Contemporary Jewish Museum, you might want to time your meal to coordinate with a museum visit.  I had dinner here after a Thursday night museum visit--when the admission drops to $5 after 5 p.m. and includes an exhibit tour at 5:30 p.m.--and was pleased to see “Bill Graham and the Rock & Roll Revolution Show,” which runs through July 5.  (“Stanley Kubrick:  The Exhibition” is coming next.)  Apparently Bill always liked to feed people.  As a child, he stole apples from an orchard to share with his fellow orphans, and he was the last kid from his orphanage selected for fostering--a sadness that followed him through his life.  And so this show begins with the actual bucket that held the apples that he gave away to patrons at the Fillmore--a tradition that continues today.  The exhibit includes plenty more stories and some spectacular behind-the-scenes images of those trippy hippie days, all while era-appropriate music plays in the background.  It is groovy, man, really groovy.  More about the museum . . .

Bill Graham's barrel of apples at Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco

Bill Graham show at Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco

Jimi Hendrix poster at Bill Graham show at Contemporary Jewish Museum
in San Francisco

exterior of Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco

More things to do in San Francisco.

Way more things to do in San Francisco.

More ideas for exploring Northern California.

images ©2016 Carole Terwilliger Meyers  

San Francisco: Contemporary Jewish Museum; things to do

San Francisco 

Contemporary Jewish Museum

The newest shows at the Contemporary Jewish Museum include "NEAT:  New Experiments in Art and Technology," which includes these kinetic sculptures; through January 17, 2016:

"NAAG XY" by Gabriel Dunne+Vishal K  Dar, 2015:  

the sound of art in the dark; by Paul De Marinis:  

kinetic sculpture with pink feather by Alan Rath:  

kinetic embrace by feathers by Alan Rath:  

and

"Hardly Strictly Warren Hellman," which is set up like a picnic in the park with lawn chairs to relax in and actual entertainment footage from various of the festivals projected onto a screen; ongoing.  
 

more about the Contemporary Jewish Museum, including the deli restaurant (scroll down).

more of my blog posts about the CJM:

https://weekendadventuresupdate.blogspot.com/2009/07/san-francisco-contemporary-jewish.html

https://weekendadventuresupdate.blogspot.com/2010/11/updatepage-28-www.html

https://weekendadventuresupdate.blogspot.com/2011/12/san-francisco-contemporary-jewish.html

https://weekendadventuresupdate.blogspot.com/2013/05/san-francisco-contemporary-jewish-museum.html

 

More things to do in San Francisco

Way more things to do in San Francisco.

More ideas for exploring Northern California. 

videos ©2015 Carole Terwilliger Meyers 
 

San Francisco: Contemporary Jewish Museum; things to do

San Francisco 

Contemporary Jewish Museum

"Beat Memories:  The Photographs of Allen Ginsberg" just opened at the Contemporary Jewish Museum for a run through September 8.  Ginsberg wrote poetic captions that appear in his handwriting under the photos.  The exhibit is enhanced by a room where you can hear a recording of Ginsberg reading from several of his poems.  Among the special programs related to the show is a mini music festival focusing on interpretations of Bob Dylan's "Highway 61" (Ginsberg had a sort of father-son relationship with Dylan).

More about the Contemporary Jewish Museum, including the deli restaurant (scroll down).


More things to do in San Francisco 

Way more things to do in San Francisco.

More ideas for exploring Northern California. 

image ©2013 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

San Francisco: The Contemporary Jewish Museum; things to do

San Francisco

The Contemporary Jewish Museum

Reclaimed: Paintings from the Collection of Jacques Goudstikker

This show tells the story of how one Jewish family fought for the return of an extraordinary artwork collection looted by the Nazis during the WW II. A vast collection of masterpieces owned by Jacques Goudstikker, a preeminent Jewish art dealer in Amsterdam, were almost lost forever to the Nazi practice of looting cultural properties during World War II. But in 2006, after years of working with a team of art historians and legal experts, Goudstikker¹s family successfully reclaimed 200 of his paintings from the Dutch government--one of the largest such claims ever resolved. This show at The Contemporary Jewish Museum features nearly 45 pieces, including “Winter Landscape with Skaters” by Jan van Goyen and “Still Life with Flowers in a Vase” by Hieronymus Galle, as well as original documents and photographs, and explores the historic restitution of the artworks to the rightful heir. This is the only West Coast venue for the exhibition and will be its final showing. Runs through March 29, 2011.

Curious George Saves the Day: The Art of Margret and H. A. Rey 

The lives and work of the creators of the famous monkey are explored through almost 80 original drawings and ephemera (journals, hand made cards, photographs, and more). Details of their lives emerge—the years spent in Rio de Janeiro where H. A. Rey had a pair of marmosets as pets and wore a large broad-brimmed hat; as the Nazis arrived, their flight from Paris on bicycles that Rey built of parts; another narrow escape from Europe thanks in large part to their drawings—that show up often in the couple's famous stories. Runs through March 13, 2011.

more about the Contemporary Jewish Museum, including the deli restaurant (scroll down).



More things to do in San Francisco

Way more things to do in San Francisco.

More ideas for exploring Northern California.

images courtesy of venue

San Francisco: "Jewish surf music" at the Contemporary Jewish Museum; things to do

 San Francisco

Contemporary Jewish Museum

Who knew that Bay Area “Jewish surf music” even existed? A delightful photo of "Hassids with surfboards" (it is also on the album cover of Meshugga Beach Party's latest album, “Let’s Go Shleppin!”) is part of the "California Dreaming" show here, running through October 16, 2012. Don't miss it . . . or the Houdini: Art and Magic show, which displays some amazing video footage and continues through January 16, 2012.

More about the Contemporary Jewish Museum, including the deli restaurant (scroll down).

 
More things to do in San Francisco

Way more things to do in San Francisco.

More ideas for exploring Northern California.

San Francisco: The Contemporary Jewish Museum; things to do

San Francisco 

The Contemporary Jewish Museum

Set in the airy "Yud" Gallery, "Jews on Vinyl" offers the opportunity to sit down on a comfy couch and listen to all kinds of Jews singing all kinds of music. A soundtrack pulled from a display of related kitchy album covers includes Bob Dylan, Johnny Mathis, and KISS. Runs through October 13.

Across the way, "Chagall and the Artists of the Russian Jewish Theater, 1919-1949," uses paintings, costume and set design sketches, and film climps to tell this story of a period of cultural history in the Soviet Union. An audio guide is available at the admissions desk for $5. Runs through September 7.

more about the Contemporary Jewish Museum, including the deli restaurant (scroll down).


More things to do in San Francisco

Way more things to do in San Francisco.

More ideas for exploring Northern California.

images courtesy of venue