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.

Home is a Road: the Greenwald-Hromadka Ketubah

Mazal tov to Adam and Anne! I was so honored that they asked me to make their ketubah, and my wife and I were so pleased to celebrate with them today as they became husband and wife.

The Greenwald–Hromadka ketubah is a labyrinth: an intertwined collection of paths with infinite choices, and the potential for serendipity and coincidence. A labyrinth is designed for discovery; wandering is the intent, and every path leads to the center. A labyrinth encourages you to walk slowly, to pause here and there, to experience the path instead of just focusing on a destination. In Bereshit we read about Jacob wandering and wrestling with an angel; afterward, he realizes that he has found holy ground. That’s Adam and Anne’s story: walking the multitude of paths until they met, realizing they had found something holy, and then wandering those paths together. For Adam and Anne, home is a road.

The ketubah text is surrounded by this labyrinth, built in a palette of blues, purples, and reds. These are the colors of the mishkan — the desert tabernacle constructed by Bezalel and the Jewish people during their desert wanderings; it was a focus for worship and a work of art in itself. These colors also reference grapes (for wine and joy) and pomegranates (for fertility and the mitzvot). The building of the mishkan is a wonderful metaphor for the couple, combining Adam’s commitment to serving the Jewish community through his rabbinate, and Anne’s drive to bring beauty to the world through creation and curation; accordingly, verses from Shemot/Exodus chapter 26 are incorporated into the labyrinth.

The colorful spaces surrounded by and created by the wandering paths are cut-up comic books representing Adam and Anne — their courtship, their couplehood, and the life they are planning together. Adam’s intelligence and focus are found in the characters of Professor X (leader of the X-Men) and Mr. Terrific (the third smartest man in the world), and his passion is seen in his namesake Adam Strange, who travels between worlds to be with the love of his life. Anne’s creativity and her gypsy and cajun roots are represented in Gypsy (a member of the Justice League of America) and Rogue (a member of the X-Men, whose real name is Anna Marie), and the power of her love is personified by Star Sapphire.

The ketubah is filled with speech bubbles that relate to the couple and their wedding, and glimpses of the superheroes that stand in for them; there are allusions to many of their stories, including references to Los Angeles — which Adam and Anne describe as a key player in their relationship.

The Greenwald–Hromadka ketubah is made of cut-up comic books; this is a partial listing:

• All-Star Superman #2 –Jan 2006
• Archie #1 – May 2016
• ETC #1 – 1989
• Green Lantern: New Guardians #15 – Feb 2003
• Justice League of America #121 – Aug 1975; #234 – Jan 1985; #39 – Jan 2010
• Justice Society of America #14 – May 2008
• Loki #1 – Dec 2010
• ODY-C #1 – Nov 2014
• Promethea #31 – Oct 2004
• Rogue #3 – Mar 1995; #4 – Apr 1995)
• Runaways #15 – Jun 2006; #16 – Jul 2006
• Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #15 – Apr 2007
• Strange Adventures #1 – May 2009; #2 – Jun 2009
• Superman: The Wedding Album #1 – Dec 1996
• Swamp Thing #63 – Aug 1987
• Tales of the Teen Titans #50 – Feb 1985
• The Wedding of Deadpool #1 – Mar 2016
• Ultimate X-Men #53 – Jan 2005
• Wonder Woman #23.2 – Nov 2013
• X-Factor #14 – Mar 1987
• X-Men ‘92 #1 – Aug 2015

#adamandanne2016

"Women of Valor" Opening Reception

A big THANKS to everyone who came out to the opening of "Women of Valor and Other Super Heroes" this weekend – I had a great time, and I think you did too! Here are some photos from the event, including all of the photo booth shenanigans.

(And if you want to swing by NCJW/LA to see the show – 543 Fairfax in Los Angeles – contact Carrie Jacoves at 323/852 8512 or carrie@ncjwla.org to find out when you can visit.)

My muse/inspiration/bride and I, showing how it's done.

Really pleased with the vinyl wall graphics – they added some extra OOPMH to the exhibition.

Left: Hamsa Thwip. Right: This Is A Job For Us

Getting up close and personal with "Jacob and Esav"

Perhaps a fan of Marie Curie, on whose life "Radiant Energy" is based?

It's me, in action!

My girls manned the photo booth, where guests could step into a simulated papercut.

We premiered some rough footage of a documentary currently in production, titled "You did WHAT to my comics?!?"