Book Review: The Liberation of Helène Aylon, From Orthodox Jew to Avant Garde Artist

JEWISH DAILY FORWARD
By Debra Nussbaum Cohen

Aylon’s ‘The Liberation of G-d’ physically critiques the Bible without defacing it.

[Helen] Aylon has written a memoir, “Whatever Is Contained Must Be Released: My Jewish Orthodox Girlhood, My Life as a Feminist Artist.” The book traces her journey from nice Jewish girl raised in the Orthodox enclave of Brooklyn’s Boro Park to rebbetzin and mother, and then to young widow and feminist artist. At 81, Aylon now has work in the permanent collections of, among other museums, New York City’s Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Modern Art and The Jewish Museum. Aylon occupies a unique, sometimes uneasy place in the spectrums of Jewish art and feminism. This is what makes Aylon a compelling artist, and her memoir worth reading. [link]