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Past Exhibitions

Browse the chronological list of past exhibitions at the Saint Louis University Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCRA), or search for a specific exhibition. Click “View” for more information about an exhibition. If you need further information about an exhibition, please contact us.

Archie Granot: The Papercut Haggadah

Archie Granot: The Papercut Haggadah

February 26, 2012 to May 20, 2012

Haggadah (הַגָּדָה)‎ is Hebrew for “telling,” namely, the telling of the Exodus story at the Seder service during the Jewish festival of Pesach, or Passover. The term also signifies a book that contains the ritual guide to the Seder, along with scripture passages, commentary, prayers, and songs. For centuries the Haggadah has been one of the most celebrated items of Jewish literature and art, and there are many examples of both handwritten and printed Haggadot with intricate illustrations. In each generation artists continue the tradition of reinterpreting the Haggadah for contemporary believers.

Commissioned by Sandra and Max Thurm, Archie Granot’s Papercut Haggadah was handcrafted using the Jewish folk art tradition of papercutting. The result is a series of 55 pages that employ intricate geometric and abstract shapes and calligraphic text to create an exquisite version of the Haggadah.

Granot evokes the intense emotions attached with the Passover Seder by utilizing geometric and abstract shapes instead of the usual symbols. Every word of Hebrew text in his Haggadah is handcut, with each page standing as both an independent work of art and a single piece of a beautiful, thematically unified whole. Each page of his multi-layered paper pieces (some nearly an inch thick) tackles a certain aspect or song associated with the Seder, such as “Ma Nishtanah” (מה נשתנה , The Four Questions), or “Pesach, Matzah, Maror” (פֶּסַח, The Passover Offering; מצה, the Unleavened Bread; and מרור, the Bitter Herb), which incorporates shapes that evoke the traditional matzah.

Archie Granot was born in London in 1946 and moved to Israel in 1967. Prior to settling in Jerusalem in 1978, he was a member of an agricultural community where he milked cows and grew melons. He earned a M.Phil. in Russian Studies from the University of Glasgow, Scotland and a B.A. in Political Science and Russian Studies from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Granot started papercutting in 1979, and he has been a significant figure in the revival of the art of Jewish papercutting.

Many of Granot’s papercuts carry a reminder of the Holy City, a source of his inspiration, and he often employs texts that relate to Israel, Judaism, and Judaica. He has had solo exhibitions in the United States, Israel, and Germany, and has participated in group exhibitions in France and Japan. Granot's works are found in public collections in Israel, Germany, England, and the United States, as well as numerous private collections.

If the Papercut Haggadah serves to bring people together, then, in the word of the Haggadah, “Dayenu”— it would suffice me on both an artistic and a spiritual level. | Archie Granot

above:
Installation view of Archie Granot: The Papercut Haggadah at MOCRA, 2012. Photo by Jeffrey Vaughn.

Related programming

Stephen P. Durchslag: The Jewish Experience and the Haggadah

Episode 4: Archie Granot

Watch Stephen P. Durchslag: The Jewish Experience and the Haggadah

Read about The Papercut Haggadah in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Read about The Papercut Haggadah in the St. Louis Jewish Light.