Golem
Selected Texts From Our Catalog
Our major exhibition about the best-known figure in Jewish folklore, the golem, tells a story that has inspired generations of artists, filmmakers, and writers. The exhibition presents the golem, a man-made being endowed with superhuman powers, in its many forms: from its appearances in early Jewish mystical texts to its various manifestations in popular culture.
Central to the golem legend is the human desire to create, together with a range of themes including creativity, control, power, and salvation.
The exhibition demonstrates the thematic richness of the material, as is apparent from medieval manuscripts, many-layered narratives, and works of art from the last two hundred years.
The golem symbolizes each era's dreaded dangers and hopes for redemption. The exhibition uses the golem figure to examine topics like creativity, creation, power, and redemption.
What is a golem?
Golem, a creature formed out of a lifeless substance that is brought to life by ritual incantations and sequences of Hebrew letters, origin in medieval Jewish mystics
Whether in painting, sculpture, object art, video, installation art, photography, or illustration, the golem is very much alive and, with it, the question of what it means to be human.
In this catalog, experts from a variety of disciplines describe their associations with the objects in the exhibition. The volume is completed with excerpts from literary texts that have shaped the image of this legendary figure.
The catalogue is published by the Jewish Museum Berlin and the Kerber Verlag, Bielefeld. Its print version is German only, but several texts can be read on our website.
GOLEM Catalog Cover
Online Edition of the GOLEM Catalog: Table of Contents
The Golem in Berlin: Introduction by Peter Schäfer
Chapter 1
- The Golem Lives On: Introduction by Martina Lüdicke
- My Light is Your Life: Text by Anna Dorothea Ludewig
- Avatars: Text by Louisa Hall
- The Secret of the Cyborgs: Text by Caspar Battegay
Chapter 2
- Jewish Mysticism: Introduction by Emily D. Bilski
- Golem Magic: Text by Martina Lüdicke
- Golem, Language, Dada: Text by Emily D. Bilski
Chapter 3
- Transformation: Introduction by Emily D. Bilski
- Jana Sterbak’s Golem: Objects as Sensations: Text by Rita Kersting
- Crisálidas (Chrysalises): Text by Jorge Gil
- Rituals: Text by Christopher Lyon
- A Golem that Ended Well: Text by Emily D. Bilski
- On the Golem: Text by David Musgrave
- Louise Fishman’s Paint Golem: Text by Emily D. Bilski
Chapter 4
- Legendary Prague: Introduction by Martina Lüdicke
- Golem Variations: Text by Peter Schäfer
- Rabbi Loew’s Well-Deserved Bath: Text by Harold Gabriel Weisz Carrington
Chapter 5
- Horror and Magic: Introduction by Martina Lüdicke
- Golem and a Little Girl: Text by Helene Wecker
- The Golem with a Group of Children Dancing: Text by Karin Harrasser
- Bringing the Film Set To Life: Text by Anna-Carolin Augustin
- Golem and Mirjam: Text by Cathy S. Gelbin
Chapter 6
- Out of Control: Introduction by Emily D. Bilski
- Golem—Man Awakened with Glowing Hammer: Text by Arno Pařík
- Dangerous Symbols: Text by Charlotta Kotik
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Text by Marc Estrin
Chapter 7
- Doppelgänger: Introduction by Martina Lüdicke
- From the Golem-Talmud: Text by Joshua Cohen
- Kitaj’s Art Golem: Text by Tracy Bartley
- The Golem as Techno-Imagination?: Text by Cosima Wagner
See also
- Current page: GOLEM: 2016, online edition with selected texts of the exhibition catalog
- GOLEM: 2016, complete printed edition of the exhibition catalog, in German
- Golem. From Mysticism to Minecraft: Online Feature, 2016
- GOLEM: Exhibition, 23 Sep 2016 to 29 Jan 2017
Citation recommendation:
Jüdisches Museum Berlin/Jewish Museum Berlin (2016), Golem. Selected Texts From Our Catalog.
URL: www.jmberlin.de/en/node/4680