{"id":54159,"date":"2022-11-30T06:13:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T05:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=54159"},"modified":"2023-06-05T10:43:50","modified_gmt":"2023-06-05T09:43:50","slug":"100-misunderstandings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/100-misunderstandings\/","title":{"rendered":"100 Misunderstandings"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/misunderstandingssmall.jpg\" alt=\"View down Dorotheergasse\" class=\"wp-image-54178\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/misunderstandingssmall.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/misunderstandingssmall-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Not all images and perceptions of Jewish men and women are antisemitic. But clich\u00e9s still have consequences. The Jewish Museum explores <em>100 Misunderstandings about and among Jews<\/em> in a thought-provoking exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Themed areas invite reflection and debate<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Indirectly encourages self-criticism and self-awareness<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Exhibition laced with humour and art, too<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Has led to &#8220;robust&#8221; discussions locally<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>All texts in English &amp; German<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Runs Nov 30, 2022 &#8211; Jun 4, 2023<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/jewish-museum\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1591\">Jewish Museum overview<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/events\/exhibitions\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"37363\">exhibitions in Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Clich\u00e9s &amp; Misconceptions<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/misunderstandings1.jpg\" alt=\"View of a special exhibition at the Jewish Museum\" class=\"wp-image-54161\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/misunderstandings1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/misunderstandings1-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Exhibition view; photo \u00a9 Ouriel Morgensztern)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most examinations of prevailing Jewish stereotypes tend to take place in the context of antisemitism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A less-explored aspect is those many misconceptions that aren&#8217;t antisemitic per se, but can still have a range of consequences for society\u2026from the banal to the insidious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, a Jewish population might be thought of as a migrant community entirely independent of its actual heritage (and even in areas where the &#8220;local&#8221; population is itself a product of migration). And we know where being seen as immigrants can lead in today&#8217;s world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>100 Misunderstandings about and among Jews<\/em> digs deeper into some of these (inaccurate) perceptions to create a rather impactful exhibition, with guaranteed raised eyebrows for the viewer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At its core, you have a stream of statements about Jews (itself often used as a loaded term!) across seven chapters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each statement comes with a short text and some item or piece of media that might illustrate the misconception, question it, or provoke you to give the matter some more thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The goal is not to offer a point-by-point academic rebuttal, but to use humour, art, and other devices to get a response from the viewer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that response is at the heart of the exhibition experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, you soon discover (with some embarrassment) your own ignorance and misconceptions on certain topics: biases you may never have been aware of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Examples include perceptions of Mossad, female soldiers in Israel or the true meaning or prevalence of &#8220;an eye for an eye.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/misunderstandings2.jpg\" alt=\"Tin of holy land air\" class=\"wp-image-54162\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/misunderstandings2.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/misunderstandings2-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Pure Holy Land Air, Product of Luftgescheft; photo by Sebastian Gansrigler and \u00a9 J\u00fcdisches Museum Wien)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, you realise (also with some embarrassment) how little critical thought you may have applied to your consumption of media, which allows stereotypes to sneak into the subconscious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might never have questioned the image of the bullish overbearing Jewish mother perpetually fed to us on film and TV.  Yet Marie-Louise von Motesiczky&#8217;s portrait reveals the intimate vulnerability of her own mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Third, some statements require a more refined analysis, encouraging you to see the grey areas between the black and white extremes produced by our desire to oversimplify and tendency to polarise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In that context, the exhibition throws up questions which might seem simple on the surface, but hide considerable nuance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What clothes should you wear when visiting the Anne Frank House? Can a Jew enjoy an opera written by the antisemitic Richard Wagner? Is it acceptable for a Holocaust survivor to dance at Auschwitz?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inevitably, such an approach is not without its controversy, and the exhibition has had a mixed reception locally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The exhibition also recognises how misunderstandings arise from within the Jewish community itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A perceived obligation to internal solidarity, for example, can encourage a false sense of homogeneity and neglect the diversity within any particular community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nor are Jewish museums themselves immune from contributing to misunderstandings and misconceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of us probably think the star of David, for example, is an exclusively Jewish symbol. The exhibition has a historical oven bearing the symbol, which the Jewish Museum put on display (twice before) given the strong Jewish connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Turns out the star was actually a hexagram intended to ward against fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a wider sense, <em>100 Misunderstandings about and among Jews<\/em> becomes a reminder that so much of what we assume we know is driven by historical coincidence, media framing, political expediency, false narratives and similar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consider it a wake-up call to think more critically. A call expressed without judgement and with a wink that carries an underlying seriousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tickets\">Dates, tickets &amp; tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Explore those misconceptions between November 30th, 2022 and June 4th, 2023. Any entrance ticket for the Jewish museum allows access to the special exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On a similar theme, a nearby location that addresses historical misconceptions about Austria is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/austrian-history\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"10113\">House of Austrian History<\/a>. This relatively new museum tackles the country&#8217;s post-WWI era, some of which can come as a surprise to visitors only familiar with Habsburgs and WWII.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get there<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>See the Jewish Museum <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/jewish-museum\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1591\">overview article<\/a> for travel tips: you want the main Dorotheergasse location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Dorotheergasse 11, 1010 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1kuTU0C-76Mhn7ArHvQRPPPNUQ_y5QnDH\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Not all images and perceptions of Jewish men and women are antisemitic. But clich\u00e9s still have consequences. The Jewish Museum explores 100 Misunderstandings about and among Jews in a thought-provoking exhibition. Clich\u00e9s &amp; Misconceptions (Exhibition view; photo \u00a9 Ouriel Morgensztern) Most examinations of prevailing Jewish stereotypes tend to take place in the context of antisemitism. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54178,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-54159","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-museums","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54159"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60857,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54159\/revisions\/60857"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}