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”

And All the Women Went

This is a new papercut titled "And All the Women Went" — a phrase taken from a scrap of a book incorporated into the background. It's a vision of the parting of the Sea of Reeds, with the sea pushed up into walls of water surrounding the children of Israel on their exodus from Egypt. The background also includes pieces of the following comics:

Wonder Woman
Unwritten
Echo
Revival
Moon Knight
Last of the Greats

I made this piece for the Temple Ahavat Shalom Sisterhood Luncheon this past weekend, where it was auctioned off to raise money for the sisterhood.

Photos from the PJCC gallery tour

My thanks and appreciation go out to everyone who joined me for the gallery tour yesterday at the Peninsula Jewish Community Center.

I had a wonderful time talking with you about art and Judaism, and I'm especially pleased I got to meet those of you who have been purchasing work from the show. I signed some prints and waved my hands around, talked with old friends and made some new ones.

There are still works available for purchase; check out the catalog here to see everything in the show, alongside descriptions of each piece and listings of the comics I cut up to make them – and contact me if you're interested in acquiring a piece.

"Fantastic Exodus" showing in Northern California

"Fantastic Exodus" is one of the new works in my one-man show at the Peninsula JCC in Foster City, California. I'll be leading a gallery tour and making a brief presentation this Sunday, February 10; visit the PJCC website for details on the show or to reserve your spot.

In this papercut, the members of the Fantastic Four (from left to right: Reed, Ben, Johnny, and Sue) represent the four elements (water, earth, fire and air) and four of the elements of Israel’s journey from slavery to freedom (crossing the Sea of Reeds, gathering at Sinai, and being protected by the pillar of fire by night and pillar of cloud by day). As usual, the work is backed with cut-up comics representing these characters and themes:

• Fantastic Four #15 (Jun 1963), 17 (Aug 1963), 21 (Dec 1963), 23 (Feb 1964), 248 (Nov 1982), 265 (Apr 1984), Annual #18 (1984), 282 (Sep 1985), 286 (Jan 1986), 290 (May 1986), 296 (Nov 1986), 297 (Dec 1986), 305 (Aug 1987), 314 (May 1988), 544 (May 2009), 587 (Mar 2011)
• Fantastic Four: The Lost Adventure #1 – Apr 2008
• Fantastic Four: Flesh and Stone – 2000
• Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four #34 – May 2008
• The Last Fantastic Four Story #1 – Oct 2007
• Fantastic Four 2099 #6 – Jun 1996
• Fantastic Five: The Final Doom #1-5 – 2007
• The Thing vol. 1 #22 – Apr 1985
• The Thing vol. 2 #2 – Feb 2006, 7 – Jul 2006
• Hulk and Thing: Hard Knocks #1 – Nov 2004
• Ultimate Fantastic Four #3 – Mar 2004, 5 – May 2004, 10 – Oct 2004, 42 – Jul 2007