Arik Weiss (b. 1965)
Kiddush To-Go, 2007
Spun brass and silversmith
Museum Collection
Must Know
.Kiddush is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat and Jewish holidays.
.To honor the mitzvah of reciting Kiddush a silver goblet is often used.
.enhancing a mitzvah by using an especially beautiful object has a long tradition in Jewish life.
This is based on the verse from Exodus: ” (15:2) This is my God and I will glorify him”
The piece was done by the Israeli design artist Arik Weiss. he uses different mediums to express Jewish ideas, texts, and rituals using the language of marketing and branding. His works build awareness and “markets” Jewish concepts.
More Info
This work is based on the “To-go coffee” in the disposable paper cup with a plastic lid in a paper holder, ubiquitous in contemporary Western civilization. This has come to symbolize the fast paced and mobile every day way of life, typical in a consumer culture and a globalized world. Through this work Arik examines the concept of “Kedusha” – Sanctity. Can man only connect to sanctity in specific times of ritual? Can “Kedusha” be part of one’s everyday life?
Is God in all the details? Can one connect to him in small ways throughout the day?
This use of a “readymade” – a mass-produced or found object that the artist transforms into art was introduced into the art world by Marcel Duchamp in 1917, prompting questions about what we mean by art. Arik elevates the banal, transforming the paper cup into a brass piece of fancy Judaica exhibited in a glass vitrine placed in a museum. Arik continues Duchamp’s idea of questioning art and life and adds to it the question of the how we incorporate holiness into our lives.
