Artist and speaker: Ken Aptekar




Speaker challenges religious identities

By Shari Kaplan

Artist and curator Ken Aptekar is the third guest speaker of the 2001 season of the Distinguished Lecture Series of the South Bay Institute for Jewish Living and Learning. His presentation takes place on March 15, at 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Beth David, 19700 Prospect Road in Saratoga.

"Too Jewish? Challenging Traditional Identities" is the title of Aptekar's program. Along with discussing issues related to Jewish identity, he will share slides taken from a museum exhibit of the same name, which premiered several years at the Jewish Museum in New York.

Aptekar's contribution to the exhibit, which comprises the works of 23 Jewish artists, is carefully hand-painted reproductions of classic paintings, combined with bits of text. These are then etched onto glass to illuminate the conflicts arising within communities in transition. His other exhibits include So What Kind of Name Is That, Four Questions and Other Pictures, Talking to Pictures and Rembrandt Redux.

A graduate of the University of Michigan and Pratt University in New York City, the Detroit native is the recipient of a Rockefeller Foundation Artist in Residency and two painting fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. He maintains residences in New York and Paris.

The current South Bay Institute for Jewish Living and Learning series closes on April 15, when Rabbi Uri Regev of Israel's Religious Action Center speaks on "Can Israel Be Both Jewish and Democratic?"

Lecture tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens and $10 for those ages 30 or younger. People of all religious views are welcome. An additional $5 fee will be charged for tickets purchased at the door. Babysitting is available with advance reservation. Tickets are available by calling 408.358.5918.

This is the seventh year the Distinguished Lecture Series is presented by the South Bay Institute for Jewish Living and Learning, with support from the Hebrew Free Loan Association and Metro Newspapers. Operating under the auspices of the Addison Penzac Jewish Community Center, the Institute is a committee representing San Jose-area Jewish organizations that provides a community structure for adult Jewish education. It also publishes a semi-annual catalog of adult education opportunities. For more information about the Institute, call the number above, or email SBI@sanjosejcc.org.

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