Spiritual Themes
"I think a lot about issues related to spirituality, cosmology and what the idea of God means. Capturing these 'grand ideas' in steel is the real challenge"
As I’ve tackled a variety of themes, I discovered the strong connections between my artwork and my Jewish faith. I think a lot about
what/who God is and how do I relate to the idea of God/a God. As well, I feel a magnetic connection to the Ukraine-founded Chasidic movement, its founder, the Baal Shem Tov and his great-grandson, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. They were truly visionaries-men of knowledge, empathy and compassion who had a profound understanding of how we can find joy and redemption in our lives.
"I think a lot about issues related to spirituality, cosmology and what the idea of God means. Capturing these 'grand ideas' in steel is the real challenge"
As I’ve tackled a variety of themes, I discovered the strong connections between my artwork and my Jewish faith. I think a lot about
what/who God is and how do I relate to the idea of God/a God. As well, I feel a magnetic connection to the Ukraine-founded Chasidic movement, its founder, the Baal Shem Tov and his great-grandson, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. They were truly visionaries-men of knowledge, empathy and compassion who had a profound understanding of how we can find joy and redemption in our lives.
Nuclear War Triptych: Honoring The Hibakusha (2015)
The development and use of the nuclear bomb is the most significant event in my lifetime. It profoundly shaped world history. Its develop-ment mobilized the greatest scientists and engineers to bring it to fruition. It ended a war and unleashed an indescribable horror on earth. Against this backdrop, how do we understand the idea of God?
The Five Books of Moses/Old Testament is replete with tales of God as loving, nurturing, and compassionate as well as judgmental, vengeful and unyielding. The Hebrew letters you see on this piece (you read Hebrew from right to left) are the letters Yud Heh Vav Heh- the holiest name for God in Judaism. These four letters represent a version of God’s name that is never pronounced. Many simply say HaShem- The Name. Jews read this name as Adonai when it is written in text. There are many names for God in Judaism, but this particular name for God (YHVH) holds the greatest power. I wanted to create a direct connection between God’s holiest name and this most destructive of human-created forces, the A-bomb.
This piece also pays homage to the Hibakusha (pronounced hee-bakh-sha), the Japanese who were unwitting victims of the atomic bomb. More than 200,000 men, women and children died at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and hundreds of thousands more suffered from injury and radiation-related diseases. I applaud President Barack Obama for being the first sitting US President to visit Hiroshima. To hear his 27-minute speech, go to the YouTube video.
The development and use of the nuclear bomb is the most significant event in my lifetime. It profoundly shaped world history. Its develop-ment mobilized the greatest scientists and engineers to bring it to fruition. It ended a war and unleashed an indescribable horror on earth. Against this backdrop, how do we understand the idea of God?
The Five Books of Moses/Old Testament is replete with tales of God as loving, nurturing, and compassionate as well as judgmental, vengeful and unyielding. The Hebrew letters you see on this piece (you read Hebrew from right to left) are the letters Yud Heh Vav Heh- the holiest name for God in Judaism. These four letters represent a version of God’s name that is never pronounced. Many simply say HaShem- The Name. Jews read this name as Adonai when it is written in text. There are many names for God in Judaism, but this particular name for God (YHVH) holds the greatest power. I wanted to create a direct connection between God’s holiest name and this most destructive of human-created forces, the A-bomb.
This piece also pays homage to the Hibakusha (pronounced hee-bakh-sha), the Japanese who were unwitting victims of the atomic bomb. More than 200,000 men, women and children died at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and hundreds of thousands more suffered from injury and radiation-related diseases. I applaud President Barack Obama for being the first sitting US President to visit Hiroshima. To hear his 27-minute speech, go to the YouTube video.