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.
.jpg)
Dam Hamakabim
two-color screenprint, 8" x 10", 2023.
(Originally made for Second State Press Member Print Exchange 2023)
As people, we abject, we discard, we forget. We get rid of things when they do not serve us anymore - an old t-shirt, a broken mug, an outdated idea. But what if letting go is not possible? As Jews we cannot let go of our history and our traditions. Our present is enmeshed with our past like the fibers of a beautiful tapestry. An ever evolving and questioning tapestry. In my work I seek to express this, exploring the meaning of what it means to be Jewish in this complicated present moment.
Dam Hamakabim (2023) is a response to the global heartbreak experienced by Jews following the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel. I chose to express this through the form of a single flower, a wildflower native to the State of Israel often used as a symbol of mourning and unity. In Hebrew the flower is called “Dam Hamakabim,” the Blood of the Maccabees, because it is said that from the blood of the Maccabees this flower grew, its red leaves a reminder of what happened, how their blood seeped into the land. This print is a sad symbol of hope - of the power of heartbreak to bring us together and of the day when the bloodshed will end and there will be peace.