Star of David at the Eldridge Street Synagogue | CultureNow

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Star of David at the Eldridge Street Synagogue

NY

Stained Glass

Publication

Public Art Review

Artist

Kiki Smith

Architect

Gans Studio

Date

Installed, Oct, 2010

Podcasts

Star of David at the Eldridge Street Synagogue - by Gans Studio, Kiki Smith

A Veil of Stars. Star of David at the Eldridge Street Synagogue - by Gans Studio, Kiki Smith

Deborah Gans on Star of David at the Eldridge Street Synagogue - by Gans Studio, Kiki Smith

Description Show more

Material : Stained Glass

The Eldridge Street Synagogue on the Lower East Side of Manhattan received a new stained-glass window co-designed by artist Kiki Smith and architect Deborah Gans in 2010. The circular window called STAR OF DAVID—which consists of 1,200 plates of glass, is 16 feet in diameter, and weighs more than 6,000 pounds—has a Star of David at its center and 600 smaller stars swirling around it. Installed in December 2010, it is meant to symbolize and represent the Jewish faith and the Lower East Side’s immigrant population that founded the synagogue in 1887. New engineering processes in stained glass allowed Star of David to appear lighter and more transparent than traditional leaded stained glass. Star of David is Smith’s first stained glass installation for an architectural space, though she has worked extensively with glass before. She hopes the glass window contributes to the ethos of calm reflection at the synagogue. This artwork was featured in issue 44 of Public Art Review. Click here to view.

The Eldridge Street Synagogue on the Lower East Side of Manhattan received a new stained-glass window co-designed by artist Kiki Smith and architect Deborah Gans in 2010. The circular window called STAR OF DAVID—which consists of 1,200 plates of glass, is 16 feet in diameter, and weighs more than 6,000 pounds—has a Star of David at its center and 600 smaller stars swirling around it. Installed in December 2010, it is meant to symbolize and represent the Jewish faith and the Lower East Side’s immigrant population that founded the synagogue in 1887. New engineering processes in stained glass allowed Star of David to appear lighter and more transparent than traditional leaded stained glass. Star of David is Smith’s first stained glass installation for an architectural space, though she has worked extensively with glass before. She hopes the glass window contributes to the ethos of calm reflection at the synagogue. This artwork was featured in issue 44 of Public Art Review. Click here to view.

12 Eldridge Street, New York City, NY, US 10002

Nearby

Museum at Eldridge Street	140 feet
Eldridge Street Jail opens	157 feet
Buffalo Hunt, Manhattan Bridge Arch	0.2 miles
Spirit of Commerce and Spirit of Industry	0.2 miles
Manhattan Bridge Arch and Colonnade	0.3 miles
Jacob H. Schiff Fountain	0.3 miles
Bowery Theatre	0.3 miles
Jacob H. Schiff Fountain	0.3 miles
1st recorded Chinese immigrants in NY	0.3 miles

#Public Art #Artwork #Stained Glass

The rose window

The window extends the field of stars found on the wall into the literal space of the window where the light activates them. Its configuration of ribs emanating from a central oculus is reminiscent of the domes in the ceiling.

In both the existing synagogue and the window, the six pointed star is reserved for the center. In the window, this star is a single piece of cast glass that extends upwards and out of the bronze frame.

Window detail

Layers of traditional mouth-blown blue and silver stained glass Adhered with silicon to large glass sheets, eliminating the need for lead came frames, which are replaced by cracks of light. This first use of the silicon adhesion technique in the United States was executed and refined by Gil Studio.

Drawings and Documents

1 Results, Show less

Window geometry The black circle in the diagrams is the built circumference of the window. But the full geometry of the window is a series of arcs generated from the six points of the central star that continue, conceptually, beyond that circumference to infinity.

Window geometry The black circle in the diagrams is the built circumference of the window. But the full geometry of the window is a series of arcs generated from the six points of the central star that continue, conceptually, beyond that circumference to infinity.