Letterform & Calligraphic
Much of my exploration of this kind of art involves the Hebrew language, and you’ll notice there’s some crossover with my Jewish and social justice themed work as a result.
No Greater Mitzvah
This work is a stylized map of Gaza, under siege and blockade by Israel and Egypt for almost 2 decades. The title refers to Maimonides’ insistence that “there is no greater mitzvah than the redemption of captives.” And who are the captives? They are the Palestinians in Gaza, held hostage by foreign powers and by their own government, who has not had elections since they came to power. They’re held hostage by an Israeli government that has empowered that government holding them hostage and has not tried to redeem them. Then there are the Israeli civilian hostages taken into Gaza by terrorists. The blue letters in the main territory represent each of those people, with the letters taken from their names. The calligraphic representations of the name of God (YHVH is not here) are also blue, to represent anyone else not accounted for. The colors come from both the Palestine and Israel flags.
In black are the borders of the blockade. In red, the translations of the verses calling for the redemption of captives. In the cursive writing is the verse of Amos, “let justice well up like waters.”
The only just end to this war is a redemption of both Israeli AND Palestinian captives. Put redemption is as intertwined as the letters making up the territory. There is no peace for either of us until there is peace for both of us.
On The Ethics of Punching A White Supremacist
Is it ethical to punch a Nazi or other white supremacist in the face, unprovoked? How does one define “provocation” in this case? Several rabbis have tackled this question, and I’ve taken their sources, combined with my own scholarship, to create this Hebrew calligraphy illustration.
The overall design mimics a Talmud Daf (page from the Talmud), or a page from the Rabbinical Bible (Mikra’ot Gedolot), in which texts from different sages and time periods are set next to one another to provide context to the question at hand, or the Bible verse being studied. The opening phrase translates to, “To strike a Nazi, White Supremacist, or Anti-Semitic Person.” In the negative space between those blocks of text, “Tzedek tzedek tirdof” (Justice Justice shall you pursue) is spelled out and threads its way down through the top and bottom of the page.
Like most Talmudic arguments, this one has educated responses but no settled resolution to the question. That is why justice is not something that cannot simply be obtained, but must be actively pursued.
I produced this work in both a black-on-beige color scheme and one with blue hues over a dark blue background.
The Midwives of Israel
This work is quite dense in meaning. First of all, the title refers to the 3 women here: Shifra and Puah, the Hebrew midwives who fooled the Pharaoh in Exodus, and Miriam the Prophet (Moses’ sister), who is often associated with the 2 midwives, and who is considered a metaphorical midwife to the nation of Israel’s “birth.” In fact, the crossing of the sea is a giant birth metaphor, with Miriam at the end acting as a guide and a midwife – including providing the Israelites with water in the wilderness.
As for the scripture, these are verses that talk about Judaism’s relationship to abortion. Even the most stringent Jewish opinions allow for abortion of the fetus to save the life of the mother, because her life takes precedent.
The scene is the split sea, with the column of fire at the end of it in the form of “tzedek tzedek tirdof” with the verses that tell of the midwives resisting the Pharaoh when he told them to kill the male Hebrew babies. They stand at the back end of the composition, with Miriam at the front end. At the bottom, flanking the NCJW logo, is that phrase in Hebrew and English each on either side.
On the border, the floral ornamentation is by no means random. This is Common Rue, which is not only a known abortifacient herb, but also has history as a protective amulet in Kaballah. This second meaning is a coincidence. I was looking for an abortifacient herb to use as the ornament, and common rue has not only been studied and shown to have those properties, but was visually really interesting and easily adapted to a border. That it has a presence in Jewish folklore is a big bonus.
Prints of this piece are being sold in part as a benefit to the National Council of Jewish Women.