Men of Steel and Women of Valor

This fall I opened a new exhibition at The Temple Museum of Jewish Art, Religion, and Culture in Cleveland called "Men of Steel and Women of Valor," and I've been keeping you posted here (and on Facebook, and Twitter, and Instagram) but as the exhibition comes to a close it seemed appropriate to put everything up in one place – right here on my blog. (You can also read about it in The Forward or the Cleveland Jewish News.)

Standing in the gallery – in my Superboy shirt, of course.

At the heart of the exhibition is a series of large portraits made of cut-up comic books featuring Superman and Lois Lane, Daredevil and Elektra, the Fantastic Four — transformed into the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs, as well as modern figures. These portraits are a nod to the Jewish custom of inviting guests into one’s sukkah during the fall festival of Sukkot, since we opened the exhibition just before Sukkot. In fact, Rabbi Shawna and I went to The Temple-Tifereth Israel for a Paper Midrash weekend to coincide with the exhibition, praying and teaching and creating all weekend with the community.

Rabbi Shawna and I led a bunch of papercutting workshops during our Paper Midrash weekend

We led a number of projects to create new art for the walls of the TTTI sukkah

Teaching in "the birthplace of Superman"

The exhibition focused heavily on Superman, created in Cleveland in the 1930s by two Jews, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster — portraits of whom are included in the show, made of cut-up Superman comics from the past 90 years. You can see the whole show online in this PDF catalog, or check out the pix below.

"Abraham: Ignition" is made with cut-up Fantastic Four comics featuring patriarch Reed Richards

"Sarah: Forward" is made with cut-up Fantastic Four comics featuring matriarch Sue Storm Richards

"Isaac: Hurt" is made of comics featuring blind vigilant super hero Daredevil

"Rebekah: Someone" is made of comics featuring ninja badass Elektra

"Jacob:Disguise" is made of Clark Kent comics (and a little bit of Loki)

"Leah: Suppress" is made of comics featuring Lois Lane (and so is her sister)

"Rachel: Answers" is made of comics featuring Lois Lane (and so is her sister)

It also included portraits of Golda Meir, Israel’s first female prime minister, and Sally Priesand, America’s first female rabbi. The portraits share the walls with landscapes of Jerusalem, stories of fire and water and cloud, and explorations of the Mishnah — all made out of cut-up comic books.

“Siegel: Chutzpah” is a portrait of Jerry Siegel, the writer who co-created Superman. Siegel is represented with cut-up comics featuring some of my favorite Superman writers from the past 90 years.

“Shuster: Action” is a portrait of Joe Shuster, the artist who co-created Superman, Shuster is represented with cut-up comics featuring some of my favorite Superman artists from the past 90 years.

“Priesand: My Turn” is a portrait of the first woman to be ordained as a rabbi in the United States, Sally Priesand.

“Meir: Fight” is a portrait of Golda Meir, the first woman to serve as Prime Minister of Israel.

You can see the whole show online in this PDF catalog. For more information on our residencies and workshops, visit PaperMidrash.com.

Kavanah – Captain America and the Flash Under the Hupah

Congratulations and mazal tov to the newest Jewish family – Captain America and the Flash! Or, Hillel Smith and Joshua Matz – whose rings include the symbols of those heroes. I'm proud to share with you that I was commissioned to create their wedding contract, and I'm excited to share it with you here.


It's driven by the concept of kavanah — intention. It’s a reflection of how Hillel and Joshua feel about themselves and each other; it’s about their choices about life, work, and their relationship — and how they relate to the world around them. It’s made with the tools and ritual objects of their trades, and the ritual objects that unite you at your wedding. In the same way that Joshua (a lawyer) uses words and laws to fight for justice and Hillel (an artist) uses pigments and pixels to create beauty, so they take these rings and drink from a shared cup and stand under a hupah. Our tradition is about making intentional choices in who we are and how we lives our lives, and no moment exemplifies this more than the wedding – in front of family and friends, living your kavanah. Hillel and Joshua both invest so much in themselves and in each other and what they do: their passions, their intensity, their dedication... their ideas and words, and the actions that bring them to fruition.

Speech bubbles from the first mainstream comic book same-sex wedding
(and Kirby Krackle in the kiddush cup!)

The structure is meant to evoke the Art Deco feel of the Majestic Hotel, where they got married, in an abstracted hupah arrangement, incorporating the tools of their kavanah (actual and metaphorical): pencil and quill, scales, compass and calipers — as well as the ritual objects that will be a part of the wedding: the rings and the wine cup. The tools are all meant to apply to each of the grooms — pencils and quills are used to write words and draw pictures; compasses and calipers allow us to measure and to create, and so on.

The lower corners feature many of the places they have traveled together

The background includes cut-up maps featuring many of the places they’ve traveled to together, as a reminder that whatever place you are in, that’s your home: with each other. The hupah is a representation of that home, and your marriage is that home — wherever it may be. Hence the speech bubble reading “this is the place.”

Their papercut rings feature Captain America and Flash logos, just like in real life

The background comics include comics from Hillel and Joshua as well as the artist’s personal collection, particularly featuring Captain America and the Flash (in nod to their rings), the new Iceman series they’ve been reading together, a number of quotes from the first mainstream comics gay marriage in the Astonishing X-Men... and Spider-Man, Daredevil, Green Arrow, and so on.

Comics used include:

Captain America #322 (Oct 1986), #600 (Aug 2009)
Captain America: Bicentennial Battles #1 (1976) – Jack Kirby oversize special
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #1 (Sep 1998)

Captain America and Iron Man #634 (Sep 2012)

Daredevil #501 (Dec 2009), #430 (Oct 2003), #17 (Sep 2015)

The Flash #10 (Jan 2017), #21 (Jun 2017)
Flash Annual #3 (1989)

Iceman #1 (Aug 2017), #2 (Sep 2017), #4 (Oct 2007), #5 (Nov 2017)
X-Men #92 (Sep 1999)
Astonishing X-Men #51 (Aug 2012) – first mainstream comic book same-sex wedding

Web of Spider-Man #126 (Jul 1995)
Spectacular Spider-Man #189 (Jun 1992)
Spider-Man #80 (May 1997)

Justice #2 (Dec 2005)
Green Arrow #2 (Sep 2016), #3 (Sep 2016)

Paper Mishnah – Now Showing in Los Angeles

"Wisdom: The Tree of Life" is now open at American Jewish University. It's a multimedia group show, and I have ten papercuts included — including a new series based on the six orders of the Mishnah.

The Mishnah is the oldest authoritative post-biblical codification of Jewish Oral Law, and my series represents each of the six orders of the Mishnah with its own papercut. All six incorporate cut-up Daredevil and She-Hulk comics — superheroes who also work as lawyers.

The show is curated by Georgia Freedman-Harvey and also features work by photographer Sandra Klein, sculptor Maddy LeMel, and painter Karen V. Woo. 

American Jewish University is located in Los Angles, at 15600 Mulholland Drive.

Mishnah: Women

Here's "Women," another one of the six papercuts in my Mishnah series. It's got Daredevil, She-Hulk, the Silver Surfer, and a bunch of other cut-up comics as well. Want to see it in person?

The opening reception is tomorrow, SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, from 3 to 5 pm! Join me to see this a fabulous group multimedia show  curated by Georgia Freedman-Harvey: "Wisdom: The Tree of Life":

American Jewish University
15600 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90077

Mishnah: Damages

This is "Mishnah: Damages" – one of the papercuts in my new six-piece Mishnah-inspired series. It's got Daredevil, She-Hulk, Star Sapphire, and a bunch of other cut-up comics as well.

Want to see it in person? Join me this Sunday for the opening reception of a fabulous group multimedia show titled, "Wisdom: The Tree of Life":

Sunday, January 25 – 3 - 5 p.m.
American Jewish Unversity
15600 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90077

Curated by Georgia Freedman-Harvey and open through April. I hope you'll join me!

Mishnah: Seeds

This is "Mishnah: Seeds" – one of the papercuts in my new six-piece Mishnah-inspired series. It's got Daredevil, She-Hulk, and a bunch of other cut-up comics as well.

I'm showing this series as part of the group multi-media show, "Wisdom: The Tree of Life" at American Jewish University in Los Angeles (curated by Georgia Freedman-Harvey). It's open through April, and the opening reception (free!) is Sunday, January 25 (15600 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90077).

I hope you'll join me!

Mishnah: Festival

This is "Mishnah: Festival" – one of the papercuts in my new six-piece Mishnah-inspired series. It's got Daredevil, She-Hulk, and a very noticeable Silver Surfer.

Join me on Sunday, January 25, at American Jewish University for the opening reception:

15600 Mulholland Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90077 

New Mishnah papercut series featuring Daredevil and She-Hulk – premiering in Los Angeles

I'll be participating in a group show at the American Jewish University, showing ten works including a new six papercut series based on the six orders of the Mishnah. You'll find Daredevil and She-Hulk in all of the works, because of their "day jobs" as lawyers... but many other characters pop up as well, such as the Silver Surfer as seen above.

The show is titled "Wisdom: The Tree of Life," and will be on display from January 11 through April 2, 2015. The opening reception is Sunday, January 25, and it's free to the public. Where?

American Jewish University
15600 Mulholland Drive
Bel Air, California 90077

The show is a multimedia group show, and will also feature work by photographer Sandra Klein, sculptor Maddy LeMel, and painter Karen V. Woo.

Justice; justice you shall pursue!

Earlier this year I completed a large commission that I mean to share out here in the blogosphere, but never did... so here it is! It was for a lawyer commissioned by his wife as a surprise gift marking 30 years in his own practice. And since we're all friends out here, I will tell you his name is Barry (that'll be relevant at a certain point).

In the Book of Amos we read the words, “Let justice roll down like a river, and righteousness like a never-failing stream” (Amos 5:24). The verse brings to mind a waterfall, with justice rolling down from above and spreading out in abundance in all directions on the earth. To represent Barry’s commitment to justice — to a life dedicated to ensuring it flows to all — I have created a papercut waterfall, with water cascading down and expanding in whirls and swirls. In the falling water are multiple instances of the Hebrew word for justice, tzedek, which also brings to mind the words in Deuteronomy which tell us, tzedek tzedek tirdof: “justice; justice you shall pursue.” At the top of the papercut, the source of this justice is seen in cut-up sections from Rashi’s commentaries on two relevant sections of the Torah: Shemot (Exodus) 20, which includes the ten commandments, and Vayikra (Leviticus) 19, which is known as the Holiness Code, and addresses the legal details of fair wages and employment as understood by our sages (Barry's particular areas of focus).

The papercut is backed with cut-up comics featuring the Justice League and Justice Society (most noticeable in the words “justice” placed behind the falling water) and Daredevil — a lawyer by day and costumed superhero by night, bringing justice to those that cannot find it in the legal system. It's is Barry's firm sense of ethics that I am representing through the heroes of these comics — who respect the law, but even more seek the justice it promises. There are also some pieces from Flash comics, whose titular hero’s alter ego also serves the law and is known to his friends as Barry (see? told you it would be relevant).

The background comics include:

Justice #3 (Feb 2006)
Justice, Inc. (Books One and Two, 1989)
Justice League #15 (Feb 2013)
Justice League of America #39 (Jan 2010)
Justice League Europe #20 (Nov 1990), #28 (Jul 1991)
Justice Society of America #16 (Jul 2008)
JLA: Classified #15 (Oct 2006), #24 (May 2007), #26 (Jul 2007)
Daredevil #51 (Nov 2003) #14-16 (Aug - Oct 2012), #27 (Aug 2013), #29 (Sep 2013), #1 (May 2014)
Flash #309 (May 1982), #18 (Nov 1988), #242 (Sep 2008)
Flashpoint #1 (Jul 2011)

Justice
24" x 36"
Mixed media
2014