Awards

• Winner of National Jewish Book Award (Visual Arts) 2013

Overview

The Kabbalistic idea of creation, as expressed through light, space, and geometry, has left its unmistakeable mark on our civilization. Drawing upon a wide array of historical materials and stunning images of contemporary art, sculpture, and architecture, architect Alexander Gorlin explores the influence, whether actually acknowledged or not, of the Kabbalah on modern design in his unprecedented book Kabbalah in Art and Architecture. Gorlin brings light to the translation of the mystical philosophy into a physical form, drawing clear comparisons between philosophy and design that will excite and exalt. Comprising ten chapters that each outline key concepts of the Kabbalah and its representations, both in historic diagrams and the modern built environment, Kabbalah in Art and Architecture puts forth an unparalleled and compelling reinterpretation of art and architecture through the lens of the Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism. A chapter on the Golem, and an epilogue that discusses German artist Anselm Kiefer's powerful interpretations of the Kabbalah, complete this unique book. AUTHOR: Alexander Gorlin is a noted architect, design critic, author, and scholar. His internationally recognized firm Alexander Gorlin Architects specialises in design for religious institutions, along with high-end residential, affordable, and supportive housing for the homeless, as well as master planning. Established in 1987, the firm has received many accolades. Principal Alexander Gorlin has taught at the Yale School of Architecture, and was a Rome Prize Fellow at the American Academy in Rome. 140 colour, 40 b/w photographs

Full Product Details

9781938461071

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Reviews

Locked within Kabbalah s 3,500-year-old texts are secrets that go beyond a direct experience of the divine, Gorlin argues in his new book. Whether its influences are intentionally there or not, the author offers as evidence of the mystical tradition centuries of manuscripts, drawings, paintings, sculptures, and structures created by Jews and gentiles alike, including Frank Gehry, Yayoi Kusama, and Louis Kahn, who designed the Temple Beth El synagogue in Chappaqua, New York, in 1972. It s the experience of art beyond the conscious reception of it that Gorlin s after. Those who prefer their art criticism with a healthy dose of rationalism can take comfort in the Kabbalistic notion that, as he puts it, geometry orders the universe. -- Meredith Mendelsohn, Blouin ArtInfo; September 9, 2013

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