Guest Blogger Mel Alexenberg
My digital artwork honoring Gabriel and Rivah Holtzberg and the others murdered in Mumbai Chabad House, is being exhibited in the “Art in Darkness” Hanuka exhibition at Emuna College in Jerusalem. The title of my artwork Rotating Light before Darkness is a phrase from the Jewish prayerbook. I created this artwork to express the Chabad view that the tragic darkness witnessed in Mumbai must be counteracted by spreading the light of Torah around the globe.
Welcoming Dawn Around the Globe
This memorial artwork shows the welcoming of dawn around the world by cycling photographs of morning prayers from Jerusalem, Aizwal (Mizoram State, India), Melbourne, Hobart (Tasmania, Australia), Honololu, Seattle, Los Angeles, Denver, Richmond (Virginia), New Jersey, Brooklyn, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Eisiskes (Lithuania), Johannesburg (South Africa), Vysoki (Russia), Tbilisi (Georgia), and returning to Jerusalem the following morning. At the Emuna College exhibition, Rotating Light before Darkness is shown in digital motion rotating through 24 time zones.
Add Light to the World
There is a Talmudic disagreement between Hillel and Shamai about lighting Hanuka candles. Shamai proposed lighting 8 candles on the first night and one less each following night until on the 8th day only one candle glows. This makes sense conceptually since the story goes that all the oil was found and was used up after 8 days. Hillel chose the aesthetic route in contrast with Shamai’s conceptual one. He proposed that we should add light to the world rather than subtract from it. Jewish tradition follows Hillel by lighting one candle on the first night of Hanuka and adding an additional candle each night until all eight candles give light together on the last night.
Interaction of Our Souls, Our Hearts, Our Visions
“The divine purpose of the present information revolution, which gives an individual unprecedented power and opportunity, is to allow us to share knowledge – spiritual knowledge – with each other, empowering and unifying individuals everywhere. We need to use today’s interactive technology not just for business or leisure but to interlink as people – to create a welcome environment for the interaction of our souls, our hearts, our visions.” From Toward a Meaningful Life: The Wisdom of the Rebbe by Menachem M. Schneerson, adapted by Simon Jacobson (New York: William Morrow, 1995)
Click here to v iew one of my blogs – Artiststory
The story of artist Mel Alexenberg’s quest along the vibrant interface between multiple fields – art/science/technology/culture, multiple roles – artist/researcher/teacher/writer – and mutliple identities – Jewish/Israeli/American/Global.
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