With an Outstretched Arm

"With An Outstretched Arm" is an original papercut I made for Emmett to mark the occasion of him becoming a bar mitzvah January 2021. This papercut is inspired by him, by his Torah portion Va’era, and by the words he shared with his community as he made the transition to Jewish adulthood.

 The central imagery draws on words from Shemot/Exodus 6:6, in which God tells Moses to tell the Israelites, “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary marvels.” The arm of a pitcher, right to left from wind-up through delivery, delivers a miraculous pitch with an outstretched arm. Within these arms, which are an allusion to Marcel Duchamp’s “Nude Descending a Staircase,”are various comic panels which reference Emmett and the responsibility he is taking on at this special moment.

“Today I am a man,” spoken by teen super hero Robin in a Batman comic, represents the day that this thoughtful, mature boy becomes a man in the eyes of his community.

The rest of the papercut includes cut-up comics which refer to his dreams (such as sports management), his ideals (including the justice and equality embodied by Jackie Robinson), and the moment when a boy becomes a man — noteworthy in the Captain Marvel comic since that hero is actually young Billy Batson, who says the magic word (Shazam) and becomes a grown man and super hero. At right is a pitcher in the moment of wind-up, standing on a pitcher’s mound which includes the EWSK logo commissioned for Emmett for his bar mitzvah — and behind that silhouette (the outline of Sandy Koufax, in one of the many references to the Dodgers in this papercut, sacred to Emmett and his family) we find references to the marvels and miracles of the Torah portion (“I still can’t believe it!”) and to Emmett’s special day (“All stand up to see what he’s done.”). Throughout the work are additional super heroes, embodying the ideals that Emmett chooses to live up to, as well as references to moments public and private.

Comics in the papercut include:

• The All-Star Story of the Dodgers (1979)
• American Flagg #6 (March 1984) — Emmett
• Batman: The Widening Gyre #1 (October 2019) — “Today I am a man.”
• Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier #1 (December 2014)
• Bullseye: Perfect Game #2 (February 2011) —”All stand up to see what he’s done.”
• Decorum #2 (June 2020)
• Justice League Special Featuring Mister Miracle #1 (1989) — #13 and “Miracle”
• Los Angeles Dodgers: The Legend of the Blue Knight (April 1997) —”I still can’t believe it!”
• Power Pack #13 (August 1985)
• Shazam! Power of Hope (November 2000)
• Shazam! #2 (April 1973) —”Shazam” and “Marvel”

Truth, Justice, Peace – Captain America and Rabbi Steve Sirbu

Truth, Justice, Peace
16" x 20"
Mixed media
2016

Truth, Justice, Peace is an original papercut that was commissioned as a gift for Rabbi Steven Sirbu by Temple Emeth of New Jersey on the occasion of their 2016 Spring Gala honoring him (this past weekend) on the occasion of his “bar mitzvah year” with that congregation. He's also a long-time friend.

The piece is inspired by Rabbi Sirbu’s work for the congregation and his dedication to truth, justice, and peace — with words from Pirkei Avot which tell us that the world is sustained by those three concepts. However, the middle concept in Pirkei Avot, in the original Hebrew, is דין (“deen”) which is usually translated as “judgment.” Artistic license transforms that word to צדק (“tzedek”). Supported by these words is the world itself, with New Jersey in central position.

The papercut is made of cut-up comic books featuring Captain America, symbol of truth, justice, and peace — a man who has dedicated his life to helping others and serving higher causes. Captain America’s real name, of course, is Steve Rogers — another connection to Rabbi Sirbu. Within the Hebrew we find words celebrating those qualities for which Captain America and Rabbi Sirbu fight, as well as references to the original words from Pirkei Avot and a reference to Temple Emeth.

This piece includes:

• Captain America #263 (Jan 1986), #322 (Oct 86), #333-338 (Oct 87 – Feb 88), #413 (Mar 1993), #600 (Aug 2009), #634 (Sep 2012), #636 (Nov 2012), #12 (Dec 2013)
• Captain America – Marvel Knights #14 (Aug 2003)
• Avengers #501 (Oct 2004)
• Ultimate New Ultimates #1 (May 2010)

"Tree of Life" at Children's Hospital Los Angeles

I am so excited to finally be sharing this with you – my new "Tree of Life," commissioned by Children's Hospital Los Angeles for their new chapel! It's 24" x 36" and it's chock-full – the most super heroes I've even put into one papercut.

I had the chance to see it in its new home for the first time today as the space was officially opened, and it looks fantastic. The whole space does – it's officially named the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation Interfaith Center, 2,400 square feet of "non-denominational indoor and outdoor space will serve as a place of emotional and spiritual respite for CHLA patients." (You can read more about it here.)

It is such an honor to have been asked to create a new papercut for this wonderful space – to be a part of CHLA's goals of "compassionate patient care, leading-edge education of the caregivers of tomorrow and innovative research efforts that impact children at our hospital and around the world." I hope that my "Tree of Life" inspires all who see it – patients, families, and the CHLA professionals – to be strong and to have hope.

"What do you see?" Kid Flash, Squirrel Girl, Green Lantern, Power Pack...

As regular readers of this blog probably know, we Jews call the Torah (known to others as the Bible or the Old Testament) the "tree of Life," and we say that all those who support it are happy. This tree represents our traditions of knowledge and learning, of hope and healing, of happiness and life.

This large and bountiful tree is filled with many different fruits, and features shapes of leaves from trees found throughout Los Angeles: oak, birch, madrone, and willow. Other references to Los Angeles abound.

It is filled with cut-up comics featuring super heroes — individuals who have devoted themselves to helping those who need it — as well as doctors and nurses tending to the sick. (Look for Doctor Strange, Doctor Fate, the Night Nurse, and many others.) Since it's for a Jewish prayer space, it's filled with Jewish heroes (like Kitty Pryde, Batwoman, and Ragman). The fruits are filled with younger super heroes, still learning to be their best selves. (Look for the young hero teams Power Pack, Teen Titans, the Legion of Super-Heroes, and more.) You'll find Bruce Wayne visiting a sick friend in the hospital, Beast Boy getting a checkup, Wiz Kid in his wheelchair working with the Young Avengers... and so much more.

"Tree of Life" is filled with doctors, nurses, and young heroes who strive to be strong and persevere!

It is my hope that all those who look at the tree will find within it their favorite super hero, and see themselves reflected in it as well.


This "Tree of Life" is also a tree of healing. As it happens, the shortest prayer in the Torah is one of healing — five words, eleven letters — when Moses calls upon God in Numbers/Bamidbar 12:13 to heal his sister, Miriam, with the words, “El Na R’fa Na La” – “God, Please, Heal Her Now.” This prayer is found in the trunk, along with words from the “Mi Shebeirach” healing prayer and multiple references to the Etz Chaim (the Tree of Life).

The trunk includes an LA skyline, texts on the "tree of life," and Moses' plaintive prayer to God for healing.

 So – how many super heroes? You wanna know? Here's the list (those with asterisks are young heroes, found in the fruits of the tree):

Aquaman (Arthur Curry)
Arsenic (Gertrude Yorkes)*
Atom (Ray Palmer)
Batgirl (Barbara Gordon)
Batman (Bruce Wayne)
Batwoman (Katherine Kane)
Beast Boy (Garfield Logan)*
Black Canary (Dinah Lance)
Braniac 2
Captain America (Steve Rogers)
Cyborg (Vic Stone)
Cyclops (Scott Summers)
Daredevil (Matt Murdock)
Dazzler (Alison Blaire)
Dr. Fate
Dr. Lamour*
Dr. Mid-Nite
Dr. Strange (Stephen Strange)
Energizer (Katie Power)*
Franklin Richards*
Gamora
Green Arrow (Oliver Queen)
Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
Green Lantern (John Stewart)
Hawkeye (Clint Barton)
Hawkman
The Hulk (Bruce Banner)
The Human Torch (Johnny Storm)
Iceman (Bobby Drake)
The Invisible Woman (Sue Storm)
Iron Man (Tony Stark)
Jubilee*
Kid Flash (Wally West)
Lightning Lass*
Lucy in the Sky (Karolina Dean)*
Magik (Illyana Rasputin)
Marvel Girl/Phoenix (Jean Grey)
Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers)
Nightcrawler
Night Nurse
Power PackRagman (Rory Regan)
Robin (Dick Grayson)*
Robin (Stephanie Brown)*
Rocket Raccoon
Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde)*
She-Hulk (Jen Walters)
Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
Squirrel Girl (Doreen Green)*
Starfire*
Sunspot (Roberto da Costa)*
Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)
Superman (Clark Kent)
The Thing (Ben Grimm)
Thor
Valeria Richards
Vickie Grant*
Vision
Wiz Kid (Taki Matsuya)
Wolverine
Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark)*
Wonder Girl (Donna Troy)
Wonder Woman (Diana Prince)
Zero-G (Alex Power)*
The Eleventh Doctor

And you know I always make a list of the comics I use in my pieces – this is a LONG list:

Adventure Comics #507 (Jan 2010)
Adventure Comics Presents Dial H for Hero
#481 (May 1981)
All Star Western #3 (Jan 2012)
Aquaman #35 (Dec 2014)
Avengers #7 (Jan 2011)
Batgirl Special #1 (1988)
Batman #500 (Oct 1993)
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight
#4 (Feb 1990)
Batwoman #3 (Jan 2012)
Claws #3 (Dec 2006)
Convergence: Green Lantern Corps #2 (Jul 2015)
Daredevil #29 (Sep 2013), #294 (Jul 1991)
Doctor Fate #31 (Aug 1991)
Doctor Strange #65 (Jun 1984)
Doctor Who FCBD (2015)
Green Lantern #41 (Aug 2015), #108 (Sep 1978)
Green Lantern: Mosaic #1 (Jun 1992)
Green Lantern: New Guardians #35 (Dec 2014)
Elektra #1 (Jun 2014)
Excalibur #1 (Oct 1988)
Fantastic Four #156 (Mar 1974)
FF #23 (Dec 2012)
Incredible Hulk #28 (Jul 2001)
Infinity Inc. #3 (Jan 2008)
Justice #1 (Oct 2005), #12 (Aug 2007)
Justice League of America #75 (Nov 1969)
Legion ’91 #34 (Dec 1991)
Legion of Super-Heroes #16 (Mar 2013)
Magik #1 (Dec 1983), #4 (Mar 1984)
The New Mutants #87 (Mar 1990)
The New Teen Titans #1 (Aug 1984)
Night Nurse #1 (Jul 2015)
Power Pack #1 (Aug 1984), #12 (Jul 1985),
#21 (Apr 1986), #19 (Feb 1986),
#25 (Aug 1986)
Ragman #1 (Aug 1993)
Runaways #16 (Jul 2006), #19 (Oct 2006),
#7 (Oct 2005)
S.H.I.E.L.D. #4 (May 2015)
Showcase ’93 #7 (Jul 1993)
Siege: Loki #1 (Jun 2010)
Starman #23 (Jun 1990)
Superboy #18 (May 2013), #8 (Aug 2011), Annual #1 (Mar 2013), #5 (May 2011)
Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #27 (Apr 2007)
Superman: Peace on Earth (Jan 1999)
Swamp Thing #22 (Feb 2006)
Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #3 (Jul 1981)
Tales of the Teen Titans #57 (Sep 1985)
Tales of the Thing #1 (May 2005)
Teen Titans #4 (Dec 2003), #23.2 (Nov 2013), #13 (Sep 2004)
The Thing #2 (Feb 2006)
Thor #616 (Dec 2010), #621 (May 2011),
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #7 (Sep 2015)
Wonder Girl #1 (Nov 2007)
X-Men: First Class #4 (Feb 2007)
X-Static #21 (Jun 2004)
X-Terminators #3 (Dec 1988)

Super Heroes, Holy Land: "Altar Flame" and "Altar Smoke"

These are two of the pieces in my current show, "Super Heroes, Holy Land!" now showing at UCLA Hillel's Dortort Gallery in Los Angeles – on the left is "Altar Flame" and on the right, "Altar Smoke." The originals each measure 24" x 36", though 20" x 30" prints are available in my online store.

Details on each are below – if you want to see them in person, check out the show: open through April 21 (extended!) at UCLA Hillel's Dortort Gallery in Los Angeles, at 574 Hilgard Avenue; call 310-208-3081 for hours or click here for details.

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Altar Flame
24" x 36"
Mixed media
2013

The eternal flame on the altar was a symbol of God’s continuing presence with the Jewish people, and people from across the land would journey to Jerusalem during the three festivals — as these sacrifices could only be fulfilled in this one spot. The presence of this flame and the sacrifices that were made on the altar were a very physical process that we have since replaced with the work of our minds and the recitation of words, hence the inclusion of parts of the Life Science Library volume titled, The Mind.

Includes:

• 300 #2 (Jun 1998)
• 5 Days to Die #2 and #5 (Sep 2010)
• Automatic Kafka #2 (Oct 2002) and #3 (Nov 2002)
• Avengers vs. X-Men #1 (Jun 2012)
• The Infinite Horizon #6 (Nov 2011)
• Paradise X #8 (Feb 2003)
• Ten Grand #3 (Jul 2013)
• Wonder Woman #44 (Jul 1990)
• X-Infernus #1 (Feb 2009)
• X-Men #199 (Nov 1985) 
• Life Science Library: The Mind. Ed. by John Rowan Wilson. Time-Life Books, Virginia (1980).

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Altar Smoke
24" x 36"
Mixed media
2013

The smoke rising from the altar at the Temple’s Holy of Holies was the physical remnant of communicating with God in ancient times – it was evidence that we had engaged with the Eternal. The smoke would bring sweet smells up to the very anthropomorphized God that could only be addressed in this way, in this particular spot. The smoke represents the direct line of communication with God; Jerusalem is still considered the place with that direct connection to God.

Includes:

• Astonishing X-Men #26 (Oct 2008)
• Automatic Kafka #1 (Sep 2002) and #4 (Dec 2002)
• Batman: The Black Glove (2008)
• The Infinite Horizon #4 (Apr 2009) and #6 (Nov 2011)
• Judenhass (2008)
• Marvels: Eye of the Camera #1 (Feb 2009)
• The Mighty Thor #399 (Jan 1989)
• The New Mutants #27 (May 1985)
• ROM #31 (Jun 1982)
• Superman #77 (Mar 1993) and #18 (May 2013)
• X-Men Legacy #246 (May 2011) 
• The World of Ancient Israel. David Meilsheim. Tudor Publishing Company, New York (1973).

The first ever (?) steampunk papercut: "Brave New World"

I'm happy to share a photo of my latest papercut with you, made as a gift for Portlyn and Atom!, the fine folks who helped bring you my latest show at Brave New World Comics. It's about them, so there are no doubt a few references that may go over one's head, but I believe the piece is nonetheless aesthetically pleasing. It includes bits and pieces of:

X-Men 179
OMAC
Ultimate Secret 3
Ultimate Extinction 3
White Tiger (trade book)
Superman 330 (1978)
Hulk 280 (1983)
Marvel Team-up 40 and 46 (1976)
ROM 27 (1982)
Fantastic Four 233 (1981) and 282 (1985)
Avengers 229 (1983)