Martina Lüdicke
How can a ritual of Jewish mysticism—the creation of an artificial being and bringing it to life with the help of letters of the name of God—be incorporated into a work of art? Artist David Aronson accomplished something unique in his painting. He gives artistic form to the transcendence, dynamism, and intensity of the mystical experience without resolving its enigmas and secrets.
The medieval Kabbalists created golems in an attempt to get closer to God. The process, and not the creation itself, was the focus of the act. Aronson breathed life into this image in a crowded room full of accouterments. A figure, probably Rabbi Loew, hovers enraptured over a recumbent golem. Three magician’s assistants are wearing amulets around their necks. In front of them lies the contorted golem in a box; the process of the creative act can still be clearly seen in the figure. The feet appear grotesquely enlarged. A parrot spreads its colorful wings above the golem. Is this an allusion to the ability of the parrot to imitate language, the essence of humanness? Or to the dove as a symbol of divine presence in Christian art? All human figures in this scene are framed by coded messages: sketches, letter fragments, a torn drawing of a bird. The scene is extremely condensed; just one moment in which the golem is alive. There is special significance to the painting’s technique. Encaustic is an ancient method of painting with a mixture of color pigments and hot wax, in which a peculiar illumination and a three-dimensional texture unfolds, allowing the viewer to visualize the processual nature of the work. On the potential of encaustic, Aronson himself says, "I found a very meaningful fusion of technique and message. The luminous, waxy colors offered a deeply religious aspect to the proceedings, like a stained glass window in a church that thrusts you into a mood or state of mind."1 The creative act is linked with the practice of medieval Kabbalists. A golem appears. From letter permutations or brush strokes.
Martina Lüdicke majored in Literature Studies and works at the Jewish Museum Berlin, where she has curated the exhibitions Chrismukka, How German is It?, The Whole Truth... Everything you always wanted to know about Jews and Snip it! Stances on Ritual Circumcision.
Translated by Allison Brown
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David Aronson, Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture (Boston: Pucker Art Publications, 2004), 13. ↩︎

The Golem
David Aronson, USA, 1958
Encaustic on panel, 144.8 x 162.6 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Gift of Judith Aronson Webb, Ben Aronson N.A., and Abigail Aronson Zocher
Citation recommendation:
Martina Lüdicke (2016), Golem Magic. Article in the Exhibition Catalogue GOLEM.
URL: www.jmberlin.de/en/node/4687
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Chapter 2 - Jewish Mysticism: Selected Texts (2)

The Golem in Berlin
by Peter Schäfer
Introduction

The Golem Lives On
With Texts by Martina Lüdicke, Anna-Dorothea Ludewig, Louisa Hall and Caspar Battegay
Chapter 1

Jewish Mysticism
With Texts by Emily D. Bilski and Martina Lüdicke
Chapter 2

Transformation
With Texts by Emily D. Bilski, Christopher Lyon, Rita Kersting, Jorge Gil and David Musgrave
Chapter 3

Legendary Prag
With Texts by Martina Lüdicke, Peter Schäfer, and Harold Gabriel Weisz Carrington
Chapter 4

Horror and Magic
With Texts by Martina Lüdicke, Karin Harrasser, Cathy S. Gelbin, Helene Wecker and Anna Augustin
Chapter 5

Out of Control
With Texts by Emily D. Bilski, Arno Pařík, Marc Estrin and Charlotta Kotik
Chapter 6

Doppelgänger
With Texts by Joshua Cohen, Tracy Bartley, Cosima Wagner
Chapter 7

Golem Catalog Online
Selected texts from our catalog
Online Publication
2016

Golem Catalog – Print Version
The full version of our catalog is available in German.
Publication
2016
Museum Publications
Exhibition catalogs, the JMB Journal, book series, and more
All About ...
GOLEM
Trailer, views of the exhibition, and more
Exhibition
23 Sep 2016 to 29 Jan 2017