Charlemagne Palestine

Obsessed by teddy bears, Brussels-based artist and performer Charlemagne Palestine filled up the Jewish Museum of New York with hundreds of colourful plush toys.

The colorful, fantastical world of visual artist, musician, composer, and performer Charlemagne Palestine (b. 1947, Brooklyn, New York) arrives at the Jewish Museum with an immersive installation influenced by childhood experience.

01 / 07

Charlemagne Palestineís Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland

Img. 2 Charlemagne Palestine, “Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland”, installation view at the Jewish Museum, NY, 2017

Charlemagne Palestineís Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland

Img. 3 Charlemagne Palestine, “Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland”, installation view at the Jewish Museum, NY, 2017

Charlemagne Palestineís Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland

Img. 4 Charlemagne Palestine, “Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland”, installation view at the Jewish Museum, NY, 2017

Charlemagne Palestineís Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland

Img. 5 Charlemagne Palestine, “Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland”, installation view at the Jewish Museum, NY, 2017

Charlemagne Palestineís Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland

Img. 6 Charlemagne Palestine, “Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland”, installation view at the Jewish Museum, NY, 2017

Charlemagne Palestineís Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland

Img. 7 Charlemagne Palestine, “Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland”, installation view at the Jewish Museum, NY, 2017

Portrait of Charlemagne Palestine

Charlemagne Palestine’s “Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland” features hundreds of plush toys, including teddy bears, which the artist regards as shamanic representations of the soul. Charlemagne Palestine, best known for his avant-garde and experimental music compositions beginning in the 1960s, has been incorporating bears and other plush toys into his installations and performances for decades. The teddy bear’s invention in 1902 by an immigrant Jewish couple in the same Brooklyn neighborhood where Palestine was born has become a near obsession for the artist.

Charlemagne Palestine, installation view at the Jewish Museum, NY, 2017 — Img. 8 Charlemagne Palestine, “Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland”, installation view at the Jewish Museum, NY, 2017

The plush toys – either hand-made by the artist or found – are installed in the Museum’s Kaplan gallery on the floor and walls, suspended from the ceiling, and perched on pedestals. The exhibition – replete with mirrors, colorful textiles, and lights – includes the artist’s life-sized conjoined triplet bears and a work titled “Noah’s Ark,” a repurposed rowboat filled to the brim with stuffed toys. The exhibition is organized by Norman L. Kleeblatt, Susan & Elihu Rose Chief Curator, The Jewish Museum, assisted by Samantha Gainsburg, Curatorial Assistant, The Jewish Museum.

until 6 August 2017
Charlemagne Palestine. Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland
Jewish Museum
1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street, New York

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Charlemagne Palestine

Obsessed by teddy bears, Brussels-based artist and performer Charlemagne Palestine filled up the Jewish Museum of New York with hundreds of colourful plush toys.

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Charlemagne Palestineís Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland

Charlemagne Palestineís Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland

Charlemagne Palestineís Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland

Charlemagne Palestineís Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland

Charlemagne Palestineís Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland

Charlemagne Palestineís Bear Mitzvah in Meshugahland

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