The tallit is a keystone of Jewish ritual. On high holidays, a father holds his tallit above his head, shielding his children beneath it as they receive the special blessing. A bride and groom stand beneath its four corners, as they become a unit before the community. And finally, in death, one is wrapped in a tallit as they are put to rest. The tallit is as icon of Jewish faith, a comfort, a shield, a symbol of pride. A traditional tallit has four corners, each adorned with a tassel. Black stripes run along its shortest sides. Made with cyanotype, the traditional black stipes are replaced by the folds of blue ink hardened by the sun, This tallit captures the moment in which it was worn. A portable monument to the moment of its creation.
The four of us, tied each string with the traditional tcheilat.
The tallit is a keystone of Jewish ritual. On high holidays, a father holds his tallit above his head, shielding his children beneath it as they receive the special blessing. A bride and groom stand beneath its four corners, as they become a unit before the community. And finally, in death, one is wrapped in a tallit as they are put to rest. The tallit is as icon of Jewish faith, a comfort, a shield, a symbol of pride. A traditional tallit has four corners, each adorned with a tassel. Black stripes run along its shortest sides. Made with cyanotype, the traditional black stipes are replaced by the folds of blue ink hardened by the sun, This tallit captures the moment in which it was worn. A portable monument to the moment of its creation.
The four of us, tied each string with the traditional tcheilat.
The tallit is a keystone of Jewish ritual. On high holidays, a father holds his tallit above his head, shielding his children beneath it as they receive the special blessing. A bride and groom stand beneath its four corners, as they become a unit before the community. And finally, in death, one is wrapped in a tallit as they are put to rest. The tallit is as icon of Jewish faith, a comfort, a shield, a symbol of pride. A traditional tallit has four corners, each adorned with a tassel. Black stripes run along its shortest sides. Made with cyanotype, the traditional black stipes are replaced by the folds of blue ink hardened by the sun, This tallit captures the moment in which it was worn. A portable monument to the moment of its creation.
The four of us, tied each string with the traditional tcheilat.
The tallit is a keystone of Jewish ritual. On high holidays, a father holds his tallit above his head, shielding his children beneath it as they receive the special blessing. A bride and groom stand beneath its four corners, as they become a unit before the community. And finally, in death, one is wrapped in a tallit as they are put to rest. The tallit is as icon of Jewish faith, a comfort, a shield, a symbol of pride. A traditional tallit has four corners, each adorned with a tassel. Black stripes run along its shortest sides. Made with cyanotype, the traditional black stipes are replaced by the folds of blue ink hardened by the sun, This tallit captures the moment in which it was worn. A portable monument to the moment of its creation.
The four of us, tied each string with the traditional tcheilat.
The tallit is a keystone of Jewish ritual. On high holidays, a father holds his tallit above his head, shielding his children beneath it as they receive the special blessing. A bride and groom stand beneath its four corners, as they become a unit before the community. And finally, in death, one is wrapped in a tallit as they are put to rest. The tallit is as icon of Jewish faith, a comfort, a shield, a symbol of pride. A traditional tallit has four corners, each adorned with a tassel. Black stripes run along its shortest sides. Made with cyanotype, the traditional black stipes are replaced by the folds of blue ink hardened by the sun, This tallit captures the moment in which it was worn. A portable monument to the moment of its creation.
The four of us, tied each string with the traditional tcheilat.
In this age of digital reproduction, what really separates a picture from a painting? If I can recreate the nuance of a painting within a photograph, what does it become? What does it mean for the painting? Is its labor devalued?
These are all pictures of domestic objects. See how they transcend, once blurred to the point of abstraction.
Ketubah of Micah Weitzman and Shara Saketkhou
flower monoprint with gold leaf lettering and screen-printed text on paper, 18" x 24", March 2023.
Ketubah of Yonah and Noah Broth
monoprint with screen-printed overlay and screen-printed text on paper, 22.5" x 30", June 2023.
Yonah and Noah met in college when Yonah joined the Jewish acapella group Noah was a part of. Because music is such a big part of their lives and played such a large role in how they met, it was obvious to me that music would be a central element of their ketubah.
The sheet music for “Im Eshkachech” is incorporated as an overlay over the central art work of the Ketubah. It is distorted to mimic the movement of the abstract landscape beneath it and, decontextualized from its purpose, serves as a hidden message for the couple who can choose to disclose or not disclose its meaning.
In conceptualizing the central artwork of the ketubah, I wanted to create something that was specific to both them as individuals and as a couple. The names Yonah and Noah have a unique relationship. In the story of Noah in Breishit, when the flood is over, Noah is left to face the aftermath and destruction of the flood. He sends out two birds. First a raven and then a dove (in Hebrew, a “yonah”). The dove eventually returns with a fresh olive leaf in its mouth, a symbol of life and hope. In the center of the ketubah there is a small, glowing, white dot approaching the mountain top. This symbolizes the dove, the yonah as it delivers the olive branch to Noah.
I saw a connection between this moment in the story and the moment my two friends would stand under the chuppah together, and ketubah like the olive branch, a symbol of newness, of rebirth, of their exciting future together.
The meaning of this image of hope, of the yonah in the post-flood landscape, combined with the music of “Im Eshkachech” is a symbolic reminder of the individual pasts they must cary with them as Yonah and Noah begin their exciting future together.