For a child in the aggressively atheist soviet state, where religious literature has long been equated to opium (oh, these ever-present quotes from the undead resident of the red mausoleum) and as said literature was in fact, a dangerous thing to own- the best place for learning the Torah stories was, strangely enough, the very secular classical art museums, condoned by the state under the banner of "culture".
Rembrandt, Velasquez, El Greco, Michelangelo, countless others .... the stories their pictures contained were strange, exhilarating and demanded an explanation. They were, apparently, important enough to be retold by the great masters again and again, as the centuries passed, styles replaced one another and cultures transformed.
David (I've had a 6-year old's crush on the Verrocchio's little bronze boy) the tiny conqueror of giants, and Judith, the fearless girl, sneaking out of the city to save it from doom, both pictured with their enemies headless and conquered. Joseph, his beauty so irresistible it lands him in prison, and mystical wisdom so deep it brings him the great power to save his people from death and starvation. Rembrandt's Balthazar (a king in the grip of terror at the sight of the fiery letters) provided my first glimpse of the written Hebrew, and a very significant clue that made me inquire about the story's true origins.
Because the stories weren't presented as Jewish. The rest of the world claimed them for their own. The soviet teachings allocated them to the realm of myth. But unlike other ancient tales (egyptian and babylonian, roman and greek), these seemed strangely relevant- hinting at their deeper meaning, their continuous mapping of the modern psyche, their connection to the living tradition. Only later, in the context of the Jewish thought it had become apparent just how alive these stories are, how ever-present in the contemporary Jewish life, connecting the generations thousands of years apart.
In this project I'd like to create a series of photographic images to retell some of our timeless stories using the visual language of both the classical painting and contemporary photography to reinstate their ever-present relevancy in our modern lives.
Rembrandt, Velasquez, El Greco, Michelangelo, countless others .... the stories their pictures contained were strange, exhilarating and demanded an explanation. They were, apparently, important enough to be retold by the great masters again and again, as the centuries passed, styles replaced one another and cultures transformed.
David (I've had a 6-year old's crush on the Verrocchio's little bronze boy) the tiny conqueror of giants, and Judith, the fearless girl, sneaking out of the city to save it from doom, both pictured with their enemies headless and conquered. Joseph, his beauty so irresistible it lands him in prison, and mystical wisdom so deep it brings him the great power to save his people from death and starvation. Rembrandt's Balthazar (a king in the grip of terror at the sight of the fiery letters) provided my first glimpse of the written Hebrew, and a very significant clue that made me inquire about the story's true origins.
Because the stories weren't presented as Jewish. The rest of the world claimed them for their own. The soviet teachings allocated them to the realm of myth. But unlike other ancient tales (egyptian and babylonian, roman and greek), these seemed strangely relevant- hinting at their deeper meaning, their continuous mapping of the modern psyche, their connection to the living tradition. Only later, in the context of the Jewish thought it had become apparent just how alive these stories are, how ever-present in the contemporary Jewish life, connecting the generations thousands of years apart.
In this project I'd like to create a series of photographic images to retell some of our timeless stories using the visual language of both the classical painting and contemporary photography to reinstate their ever-present relevancy in our modern lives.