Joyce Dallal

It is a Tree of Life to Those that Hold Fast to It, 1994

Dimensions:
Approximately 4’x10’x10’
Media:
Furniture collaged with photographs, newspaper clippings, and paint; video; collaged rug made from linoleum, photocopies, photographs, and newspaper clippings.
Description:
This installation consists of a television cabinet constructed to be reminiscent of the ark that holds the torah in a synagogue. The torah is the written document that holds the laws and history of the Jewish people, the religion centers around it. Instead of the torah, this cabinet houses a television. The cabinet sits on a collaged prayer rug made from linoleum, photographs, and TV Guide clippings. An easy chair faces the television in which the viewer is invited to sit. The rug and cabinet are decorated with tree of life designs, to suggest both the torah (which is referred to as a tree of life), and a family tree. Underneath the television is the Hebrew inscription which translated to English reads “from generation to generation, hallelujah.” On the television cycles a short silent video focusing on four generations in my family. With each successive generation, the role of the television becomes more pervasive in daily life. The stories reveal a shift from the family and religion to the television as the primary source of cultural indoctrination, and a correlating shift in family structure as assimilation occurs.

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