Women in the Balcony (second in the series)

These two small panels remember and honor the relationship between men and women in the world of Orthodox synagogues. There is a flowing movement that connects the two panels. The women are upstairs, the tallis flow down to the men downstairs, the black stripes follow the flow, and frame it.

The flower fabric represents the woman; it becomes a tallis bag in the top piece and a cushion in the lower one. This fabric is from an original cushion rescued from the Ohav Sholaum Synagogue. In the top piece the flower fabric bag encloses and holds the tallis—the man, and in the lower one the tallis becomes a man’s arm and encloses and holds the flower fabric cushion—the woman.

The recurrent red/maroon color is found on all the memorial pieces. These panels also include a period cuff link, brass name place holders, and a tagged key. The men’s places on the benches were marked with brass name holders, but the women’s places were marked only by the cushions—no names. The key is for the locked cabinet in front of each man’s seat where he kept his personal things. Lectern covers are the canvas and frame for both panels.