HEEB 100 Comes to Jackson

Three days before First Friday and the gallery looks like an art-bomb went off. This always happens...then miraculously (actually through a lot of hard work by Natalie, Tony and myself) it all falls into place Friday at 4:59pm. I love hanging the shows because it is like a giant Sudoku puzzle...ultimately there is one right answer, but many different ways to get there.

March's First Friday is all about Jewish artists and creatives. Our Annex will feature a variety of works by local Jewish artists: EJ Hirschfield, Max Hirshfield, Ralph Mossman, Jamie Dakis, David Gottfried, Anika Youcha, Steven Glass, Shannon Troxler, Laurie Thal, Lia Kass, Gal Bar-or, Morris Weintraub, and Jesse Brown.

The main room is host to photographs and essays from HeeB magazine's 2009 Top 100. Simply put, these are 100 Jewish people you should know about. They are the creatives, intellectuals, fashionistas, foodies and musicians who are influencing today's modern culture. The photos are striking and telling of intriguing stories. I found them all to be very inspiring.

HeeB is a Jewish magazine based out of Brooklyn, NY, aimed at young intellectual Jews. The name of the magazine is a variation of the anti-Semitic ethnic slur 'hebe'. However, in this case, the word "heeb" seeks to function as empowerment for the Jewish community, thus eliminating the hatred associated with the word. The magazine is certainly anti-establishment and left-wing, and frequently criticizes mainstream American Jewish culture. It has been strange for me to be a non-Jew throwing the word "HeeB" out there on a regular basis, as it is not a word that is typically on my radar screen at all. It makes me uncomfortable, which is part of the point. I was talking about that with a Jewish friend, and she jokingly (although not really) said "Yeah, we can make fun of ourselves but don't you!" Oh, I would never try to go there.

I am sure that this show will spark many interesting comments and conversations. Let me know what you think. Hope to see you this Friday.