Magnum Opus: From The Diary Of The Architect

• by: Linda Bouws

07-03-2025 ~ Introduction
Arab-Jews who were expelled from Arab countries

For centuries, over a million Jews lived peacefully in the Middle East. However, the rise of Arab nationalism in the 1930s and the establishment of Israel in 1948 abruptly ended the harmonious coexistence between Jews and Muslims. From 1950 to the 1970s, a substantial and often forced exodus occurred from Arab countries in Middle East and North Africa.
For many, this meant the loss of homeland, possessions, culture, traditions, and narratives.[1] This refugee flows involved a larger number than the Muslim Palestinian refugees, who were also victims: the two groups lost their homeland and became refugees. They were ‘inter-linked, as two communities of suffering’.[2] Nowadays, the Jews scrapped the title ‘refugees’, while many Muslim Palestians still call themselves refugees.

Lack of Awareness and Knowledge
The Middle East lost one of its most creative and enterprising minorities. The story of the expelled Jews is often overlooked due to the emphasis on the Shoah, and the Arab Jews/the Mizrahi, were unjustly regarded as inferior citizens in modern Israel. Now at this moment there is no way to resurrect the once-glorious Jewish communities in the Middle East, but knowledge and imagination can help recall that forgotten world. Acknowledging the injustice done to the Jews of the Middle East and understanding their rich history of peaceful coexistence can contribute to promoting peace and reconciliation in the Middle East and Europe and eventually between the two continents.

Joseph Sassoon Semah 
Joseph Sassoon Semah was born in Baghdad in 1948, in the same year Israel was founded.
He belongs to one of the last of a Babylonian Jewish family lineage. His grandfather, Hacham Sassoon Kadoori (1986-1971), a legendary, liberal chief rabbi of Baghdad, advocated tolerance between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Iraqi Jew’s first exile goes back to 597-530 BCE.[3]

The history of the Jews in Iraq is one of the most important Jewish communities, to play a significant role in Iraq public life. The Talmud Bavli was compiled in Babylon (modern Iraq) and during the British mandate in the 1920s, the well-educated Jews played an important role in public and political life. After Israel gained independence in 1948, many of the Babylonian Jews, including Joseph Sassoon Semah and his parents, were forced to leave the then cosmopolitan, culturally very diverse city of Baghdad, marking the end of a cultural history spanning more than 2,500 years. His grandfather refused to leave Iraq and stayed in Baghdad, where he died in 1971. Many Iraqi Jews, including Hacham Sassoon Kadoori, identified themselves as Arabs of the Jewish faith.[4]

Nowadays, many years and several wars later – including the Gulf War in 1991 – there is hardly anything left in Baghdad to remind us of the once flourishing culture of the Babylonian Jews. After traumatic experiences in Israelis wars, Joseph Sassoon Semah chose a self-imposed third exile (Galut), settling in Europe in 1976. He named himself ‘the Guest’. His artistic/philosophical work over nearly five decades critically reflect on identity, history, and tradition, exploring the relationship between Judaism and Christianity in Western art and culture. He offers an alternative reading about the position of the museums and the authority of art history.

He merges text and image into a ‘typography of tolerance’: an open, harmony-seeking structure that leaves room for everyone. He shows the original meaning of symbols and claims the intellectual property to prevent others from wrongly using the symbols and imagery: the Jewish symbols which were adopted by Western art. But it is also this method of examination of established ways of thinking which leads to new and forgotten information, representations and interpretations, a re-orientation of Western art and cultural history.

Since 2015 Joseph Sassoon Semah and curator Linda Bouws are closely involved in the large-multi-year project entitled: On Friendship / (Collateral Damage) in which Sassoon Semah supplements Western art-history with the missing information, the ‘empty page’: the missing information about Jewish iconography in Western art history. [5]

On Friendship/ (Collateral Damage) V – Between Graveyard And Museum’s Sphere (Museum Het Nieuwe Domein, 3 February – 30 June 2024)

Joseph Sassoon Semah guides visitors through significant moments in Jewish history, culture, and the relationship existing between the West and the East. Simultaneously, he explores his personal Galut (diaspora)—the complex identity which is given and created by traditions in Baghdad, Jerusalem, and Amsterdam. The exhibition title alludes to life in exile (Galut) no motherland or physical cultural heritage to return to (personal graveyard), as well as the Western concept of museum, which already erased the knowledge of the layers of Jewish imagery/meaning that are being used by the Western art production (universal graveyard). Each of Sassoon Semah’s artworks in Het Nieuwe Domein serves as a witness to the profound loss, and at the same time reclaiming the lost world and making Jewish culture, symbols, tradition, and identity visible in a different cultural environment.
He demands recognition and acknowledgement of the lost knowledge of Judaism; in this way he is trying to liberate himself from his dis-placement. This is the ultimate task of Joseph Sassoon Semah, to be ‘The Guardian(s) of the Door of the Museum’ and by that the artworld, i.e. The Guardians of the Door, 1989, Correction Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam 1991.4.363 (1-5), collection the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, in Het Nieuwe Domein. [6] Read more

Joseph Sassoon Semah: On Friendship / (Collateral Damage) V – Between Graveyard and Museum’s Sphere

At the end of September 2024, the richly illustrated, English-language publication Joseph Sassoon Semah: On Friendship / (Collateral Damage) V – Between Graveyard and Museum’s Sphere will be released.

Featuring artworks and texts by Joseph Sassoon Semah, Linda Bouws, A.S. Bruckstein Çoruh / House of Taswir, Guus van Engelshoven, Arie Hartog, Gideon Ofrat, Jom Semah, Lisette Pelsers, David Sperber, Steve Austen, and Rick Vercauteren.

‘Between Graveyard and Museum’s Sphere’ is released on the occasion of the exhibition ‘On Friendship / (Collateral Damage) V – Between Graveyard and Museum’s Sphere’ (February 4 – June 30, 2024, Museum Het Nieuwe Domein, Sittard), curated by Guus van Engelshoven.

This fifth and final edition of Joseph Sassoon Semah’s ‘Magnum Opus’ marks the culmination of a profound multi-year art manifestation that began in 2015. Together with curator Linda Bouws, Sassoon Semah has embarked on a mission to augment Western art history by filling its ’empty page’ with the rich and diverse iconography of Jewish culture. It has been an amazing journey for the last ten years.

Joseph Sassoon Semah takes us on a wondrous journey of exploration. This journey extends from the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, through the lost public space (Jewish Quarter) of Baghdad, the waiting room of his Saba (grandfather) and the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, to spatial architecture based on the typography of the Talmud Bavli.

The title of the publication ‘Between Graveyard and Museum’s Sphere’ alludes to life in Galut, no motherland or physical cultural heritage to return to (personal graveyard), as well as the Western concept of museum, which already erased the knowledge of the layers of Jewish imagery/meaning that are being used by the Western art production (universal graveyard). Each of Sassoon Semah’s artworks serves as a witness to the profound loss, and at the same time reclaiming the lost world and making Jewish culture, symbols, tradition, and identity visible in a different cultural environment. He demands recognition and acknowledgement of the lost knowledge of Judaism; in this way he is trying to liberate himself from his dis-placement. He offers an alternative reading about the role of the museums and the authority of art history.

About the publication

Metropool International Art Projects
Final editing: Linda Bouws & Joseph Sassoon Semah
Design and layout: KUNSTBURO Geert Schriever
Format: A4, 208 pages, full colour, English

The publication can now be ordered:
Price: € 39.95 plus € 5 shipping costs (within the Netherlands).
To order, transfer payment to: Stichting Metropool Internationale Kunstprojecten, account number NL 42 INGB 0006 9281 68, stating ‘On Friendship / (Collateral Damage) V’, along with your name and address.

Joseph Sassoon Semah: On Friendship / (Collateral Damage) V – Between Graveyard and Museum’s Sphere

Eind september 2024 verschijnt de rijk geïllustreerde, Engelstalige publicatie Joseph Sassoon Semah: On Friendship / (Collateral Damage) V – Between Graveyard and Museum’s Sphere.

Met veel kunst en teksten van Joseph Sassoon Semah, Linda Bouws (curator, directeur Metropool Internationale Kunstprojecten), A.S. Bruckstein Çoruh / House of Taswir, Guus van Engelshoven  (conservator Museum Het Nieuwe Domein, Sittard), Arie Hartog (algemeen directeur Gerhard-Marcks-Haus, Bremen), Gideon Ofrat (kunsthistoricus, curator, criticus), Lisette Pelsers (kunsthistoricus), Jom Semah (kunstenaar), David Sperber (kunsthistoricus, curator, criticus), Steve Austen (international cultural entrepreneur ) en Rick Vercauteren (kunsthistoricus en publicist).

Je kunt de publicatie nu bestellen
€ 39.95 en € 5 verzendkosten (in Nederland):
Stichting Metropool Internationale Kunstprojecten, rekeningnummer NL 42 INGB 0006 9281 68 onder vermelding van On Friendship / (Collateral Damage) V, naam en adres.
Gesigneerd en met tekening van Joseph Sassoon Semah
€ 55,– en € 5 verzendkosten (in Nederland):

Stichting Metropool Internationale Kunstprojecten, rekeningnummer NL 42 INGB 0006 9281 68 onder vermelding van On Friendship / (Collateral Damage) V, naam en adres.

Over de publicatie
Deze vijfde en laatste editie van Joseph Sassoon Semah’s ‘Magnum Opus’ markeert de culminatie van een diepgaande meerjarige kunstmanifestatie die begon in 2015. Samen met curator Linda
Bouws heeft Sassoon Semah de westerse kunstgeschiedenis aangevuld, door haar ‘lege pagina’ te voorzien van de rijke en diverse joodse iconografie.

Op het eerste gezicht lijken een begraafplaats en een museumzaal weinig gemeen te hebben. Toch geven ze beide betekenis aan de kunstwerken die Joseph Sassoon Semah (Bagdad, 1948) presenteert in de tentoonstelling Between Graveyard and Museum’s Sphere (4 februari – 30 juni 2024, Museum Het Nieuwe Domein, Sittard), curator Guus van Engelshoven. Hij neemt ons mee op een wonderlijke verkenningsreis. Deze reis strekt zich uit van de Tempel van koning Salomon in Jeruzalem, via de verloren gewaande publieke ruimte (joods kwartier) van Bagdad, de wachtkamer van zijn Saba (grootvader) en het vernietigingskamp Auschwitz-Birkenau, naar de ruimtelijke architectuur gebaseerd op de typografie van de Talmud Bavli.

Elk kunstwerk van Sassoon Semah dient als getuige van het diepe verlies van kennis van de joodse betekenislaag, en tegelijkertijd herovert hij die verloren wereld en maakt de joodse cultuur, symbolen, traditie en identiteit in een andere culturele omgeving zichtbaar.
Hij en de auteurs in de publicatie bieden een alternatieve lezing over zijn kunst en de rol van musea en de autoriteit van de westerse kunstgeschiedenis.

Boek informatie
Metropool Internationale Kunstprojecten
Final editing: Linda Bouws & Joseph Sassoon Semah
Design + layout: KUNSTBURO geert schriever
A4, 208 pag, full colour
ISBN 9789090385884

New Title – Joseph Sassoon Semah: On Friendship / (Collateral Damage) V – Between Graveyard and Museum’s Sphere

Joseph Sassoon Semah: On Friendship / (Collateral Damage) V – Between Graveyard and Museum’s Sphere is due to be published (June 2024)

At first glance, a graveyard and a museum space seem to have little in common. Yet they both give meaning to the artworks presented by Joseph Sassoon Semah (Baghdad, 1948) in the exhibition Between Graveyard and Museum’s Sphere.
Sassoon Semah takes the visitor on a wondrous journey of exploration. This journey extends from the Temple of King Solomon in Jerusalem, through the lost public space (Jewish quarter) of Baghdad, the waiting room of his Saba (grandfather) and the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, to spatial architecture based on the typography of the Talmud Bavli.

With much art and texts by Joseph Sassoon Semah, Steve Austen, Linda Bouws, A.S. Bruckstein Çoruh / House of Taswir, Guus van Engelshoven, Arie Hartog, Gideon Ofrat, Jom Semah, Lisette Pelsers, David Sperber and Rick Vercauteren.

Metropool Internationale Kunstprojecten
Final editing: Linda Bouws & Joseph Sassoon Semah
Design + layout: KUNSTBURO geert schriever
A4, 208 pag -Full color
ISBN 9789090385884

The publication will be released at the end of June 2024.

The publication can now be pre-ordered:
€34.95 + €5 shipping costs (the Netherlands):
Stichting Metropool Internationale Kunstprojecten, account number NL 42 INGB 0006 9281 68 stating On Friendship / (Collateral Damage) V, name and address.

From July 2024 onwards
€ 39.95 and € 5 shipping costs (the Netherlands):
Stichting Metropool Internationale Kunstprojecten, account number NL 42 INGB 0006 9281 68 stating On Friendship / (Collateral Damage) V, name and address.

On Friendship / (Collateral Damage) V – Between Graveyard And Museum’s Sphere

On Friendship / (Collateral Damage) V – Between Graveyard and Museum’s Sphere
Het Nieuwe Domein, Ligne 5, Sittard – 3.2.2024-30-6.2024

At first glance, a cemetery and a museum seem to have little in common. Yet they both give meaning to the artworks Joseph Sassoon Semah presents in the exhibition.

He takes the visitor on a wonderful journey of exploration from King Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem, through Baghdad’s lost public space, the waiting room of his grandfather Sassoon Kadoori (1886-1971), the chief rabbi of Baghdad, and the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, to spatial architecture based on the Talmud Bavli.

Performance
Joseph Sassoon Semah, Peter Baren, Masja Austen, Emile Schrijver, Ulco Mes, Theresie Tholen, Aletha Steijns, Jom Semah
Camera & Editing: Bob Schoo. www.n-p-n.info

Bijeenkomst & boekpresentatie: Joseph Beuys en de naoorlogse (kunst)geschiedenis: Een ander perspectief.

• door: Linda Bouws & Joseph Sassoon Semah

Metropool Internationale Kunstprojecten en Duitsland Instituut Amsterdam

Spui25, 5 oktober 2023
https://spui25.nl/programma/beuys-en-de-naoorlogse-kunstgeschiedenis-een-ander-perspectief

Joseph Beuys en de naoorlogse (kunst)geschiedenis: Een ander perspectief’.

Met: Felix Rottenberg (moderator), Joseph Sassoon Semah, Linda Bouws (curator), Gregor M. Langfeld (hoogleraar Kunstgeschiedenis, Cultureel Erfgoed en Identiteit), Bas Marteijn (Chief Country Officer Netherlands van Deutsche Bank) en Emile Schrijver (algemeen directeur van het Joods Cultureel Kwartier in Amsterdam).

Wat is de betekenis van Joseph Beuys in de context van de naoorlogse westerse kunst?
In de reeks tentoonstellingen, debatten en performances in On Friendship / (Collateral Damage) IV – How to Explain Hare Hunting to a Dead German Artist [The usefulness of continuous measurement of the distance between Nostalgia and Melancholia], (september 2021-februari 2023) hebben Joseph Sassoon Semah en curator Linda Bouws het publiek geïnformeerd over de ontbrekende informatie over Joseph Beuys en de naoorlogse West-Duitse kunstgeschiedenis en -politiek. Een nieuw en conceptueel perspectief op Beuys vereist een bredere discussie in de kunstwereld.

Inleiding: Gregor M. Langfeld
Na WWII kwam het tot een radicale breuk in de kunstopvattingen waarbij de nationaalsocialistische dichotomie tussen ‘nazikunst’ en ‘entartete’ kunst als het ware is voortgezet maar de waardering voor beide simpelweg werd omgedraaid. Door deze zwart-witvisie zijn bepaalde kunstvormen en kunstenaars nog altijd merkwaardig taboe of juist gecanoniseerd. Deze prestentatie sluit aan bij Joseph Sassoon Semah’s kritische reflecties over de mythen en stereotiepe voorstellingen over modernistische kunst die men na de oorlog heeft gecreëerd. Het blijkt dat het nationaalsocialisme tot op de dag van vandaag in de kunstwereld doorwerkt.