'We think we understand what the reality is...In fact, there's a lot going on under the surface'
By Adam ReinherzSeptember 2, 2025, 4:04 pm published in the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle
With the new year approaching and a unification between Rodef Shalom Congregation and Temple Sinai underway, an exhibition invites viewers to consider ties and links both recognized and undetected.
“Connections,” which runs Sept. 15 through Dec. 26 at Rodef Shalom Congregation, showcases nearly 30 pieces by Dan Droz, a sculptor, designer and former faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University.
The Pittsburgh-based artist (and Chronicle board member) said his works — though seemingly universal — are colored by a smidge of personal narrative.
As a teen and in college Droz worked as a magician.
“My specialty was 8-year-old birthday parties,” he said.
Performing as “The Great Drozini,” he delighted young audiences. Clad in a top hat, and a cane in tow, Droz began each performance with a question.
“I would ask these 8-year-olds, ‘Is there really such a thing as magic? Do you think that I can do things that you can’t do?’” he said.
Regardless of each child’s response, Droz would always make clear that although it appeared his acts “couldn’t be done, obviously they could,” and that someday maybe even the children would be able to do them, too.
It might seem that a magician who denies the existence of magic — and insists anyone can learn his tricks — wouldn’t have a long career. Yet with The Great Drozini still performing at block parties and his grandchildren’s birthdays, it’s clear his sleight of hand has persisted.
In magic, he told the Chronicle, there’s “the method,” or what the magician undertakes; and there’s “the effect,” or what the audience sees. The bifurcation helps explain politics, marketing and even personal relationships.
Droz, 75, referenced a piece that’s appearing in the upcoming show. Titled, “Geo Reflection,” the sculpture is a geometric form hanging from a wall.
“As you walk past it, it changes,” he said. “The reason is because there’s a mirror at the back surface that isn’t entirely obvious when you’re looking at it.”
The mirror makes the art possible, but it’s the viewer and the effect that give it meaning.
“You think you’re looking at a two-dimensional piece, but as you walk past it, it changes before your very eyes,” he said. A viewer’s need to pause, examine the piece from new angles and further investigate what’s happening, is a call for curiosity and a reminder “that you have to get a clue that there’s something going on beyond your first look.”
It’s a similar message to what Droz employs in “SHALOM+PEACE,” a powder coated aluminum work, which is to be placed in the middle of the Shadyside-based unified congregation’s foyer.
Blue Hebrew letters spelling “Shalom” rest above a slightly larger blue metal structure whose cutout pieces spell “peace.”
Those familiar with Hebrew font will notice the Hebrew and English letters align — the shin serves as an E, the lamed serves as a C, the mem serves as a P — with one exception: The vav, represented by a single line, functions as both the E and A.
Unlike the other characters, the vuv, E and A don’t match.
“Maybe in ‘shalom,’ there’s something missing from the word ‘peace,’” Droz said.
“Connections” runs through the High Holidays. Those entering the sanctuary will likely encounter the artists’ works before reciting prayers related to the new year.
Droz hopes his sculptures allow viewers to consider the “limits of our understanding.”
It’s a request that hearkens back to a magician who repeatedly tells his audience there’s no such thing as magic.
“We think we understand what’s going on. We think we understand what the reality is,” he said. “In fact, there’s a lot going on under the surface, which is either camouflaged or it’s hidden, or it is just not seen.” PJC