Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof – Justice, Justice You Shall Pursue!
(Devarim/Deuteronomy 16:18)
#blacklivesmatter #justiceforgeorgefloyd
I Can’t Breathe
24" x 18"
Mixed media
2020
“I Can’t Breathe” is made of cut-up comic books and inspired by the death of George Floyd – and also the Ten Martyrs of the Jewish tradition, and the “Ayleh Ezkerah” poem from our High Holy Day machzor that reminds us to remember those that died in holy causes. I also referenced the Book of Lamentations – particularly thinking about how we represent and respond to tragedy. I’m also a big fan of Ben Shahn (mid-20th century social realist), and his illustrations are definitely an influence on the final form of this piece. Then, once cut, I filled it with cut-up comics books featuring Black super heroes: the wrongly-convicted Luke Cage, the monarch Black Panther, and the youthful Cloak. The color scheme of the figure is actually inspired by Luke Cage’s traditional super hero outfit. The last element in here that might benefit from explanation is the listing of place names in his shirt – taken from an ad for a series of comic book conventions around the country. I saw “Minneapolis” and instantly decided to incorporate it and the other cities, to represent that this is more than one man in one city, but a tragedy we have seen repeated so many times, to so many people, in so many cities.
UPDATE
Featured in the June 4, 2020, issue of LA Weekly.
Sunday, May 31, 2020
Sunday, May 17, 2020
Hineini: A Papercut Commission
Hineini: The Ordination of Meir Bargeron |
Designed to complement their ketubah, the commission has at its top a similar lattice-like design, filled with comic book speech bubbles that tell a “Hineini “narrative, a call-and-response to inspire us to action.
The lattice at the top evokes a roof, and matches the top of Meir and Jon's ketubah. |
Exodus 40:38 and Numbers 9:15-16 indicate that the Pillar of Fire and Pillar of Cloud which protected the Israelites on their journey through the wilderness were actually one pillar — during the day the cloud was visible, and at night the fire inside was revealed. With this in mind the lattice sits on this singular Pillar of Cloud and Fire, source of Divine protection and symbol of God’s sheltering presence, styled in similar fashion to the Havdalah candle in Meir and Jon’s ketubah. The fire within is also a reference to Kedushat Levi, Exodus, Mishpatim 11, in which we read that serving God through observing the commandments and studying Torah gives satisfaction to God, and we experience God’s satisfaction as a burning fire of enthusiasm and inspiration in our heart — and that the “consuming fire” mentioned in the biblical account of the Revelation at Mount Sinai is not a description of what was visible on the mountain, but rather a reminder of this fire within us.
At the center is Meir as Avram (or perhaps the other way around) — a “Hineini” moment in which Meir gets his calling from the Divine. Inspired by the Torah which Meir has taught in sermons and in his thesis, it evokes the experience of ordination which — though it may not be where expected — is nonetheless transformative. Beneath Meir is a foundation of texts from which he has drawn his teachings: stories of Avraham and Sarah, Jacob becoming Israel, Ruth and Naomi, and more; these texts form the Hebrew word “Hineini.”
The Hebrew word "Hineini" is filled with texts from Rabbi Meir's thesis and sermons. |
Wheat and barley and traditional Jewish metaphors for growth and morality. |
The "social distancing" hand-off. |
Comics in "Hineni" include:
Action Comics #687 (June 1993) — “Look! Up in the sky!!”Texts include:
Blackest Night: The Flash #1 (February 2010)
Bucky Barnes: Winter Soldier #1 (December 2014)
Detective Comics #936 (September 2016) — “There’s a call for you.”
Etc #1 (1989)
Eternals #10 (July 1986) — “I am here.”
Fantastic Four #587 (January 2011)
Flash #0 (October 1994) — Story called “the beginning of tomorrow”
The Flash: Rebirth #1 (June 2009)
The Flash #1 (June 2010)
JLA Secret Origins (November 2002)
Justice League International #35 (February 1990)
Kabuki: Reflections #6 (June 2006)
Secret Origins #7 (October 1986) — “Oh...My...God...!”
Shazam: The Power of Hope (November 2000)
Silver Star #1 (February 1983) — Jack Kirby
Superman: Peace on Earth (January 1999) — Krypto (for Charlie)
Superman #18 (February 2020) —Superman reveals his truth
Superman: Heroes #1 (April 2020) — “It’s me.”
Ultimate X-Men #63 (November 2005)
Genesis 12:1 — “Lech Lecha”
Genesis 17:5 — Avram becomes Avraham
Genesis 32:29 — Jacob becomes Israel
Exodus 3:4 — “Hineini”
Mah Tovu — Jacob’s tents
Exodus 18:19 — Yitro and Moses
Ruth 1:16 — “Wherever you go, I will go with you”
And today we had a virtual gathering over Zoom to celebrate Meir's ordination, at which the commission was presented. Mazal tov, Rabbi Meir Bargeron!
Labels:
Abraham,
barley,
cloud,
comics,
commission,
fire,
hineini,
lightning,
Pillar of Cloud,
Pillar of Fire,
seven species,
Superman,
Torah,
wheat
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