D. PAUL/SMALL
LETTERS OF FOUNDATION
1993 - Present
ALEPH
THE PEARLS OF WISDOM
KABBALAH SERIES
"Every letter is a whole world"
Dov Baer, Maggid of Mezeritch
AlephBet
GALLERY SLIDESHOW
AVAILABLE AS:
SINGLE LETTERS
HebrewLetters.htmOR
COMPLETE SETS
P.O.R.
This page
contains both a representation of ALEPH,
the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet
and THE PEARLS OF WISDOM, an end plate.
THE
LETTERS OF FOUNDATION
a
contemporary interpretation of the ancient Hebrew alphabet
Aleph-Bet
was but one facet of our
site-specific, multimedia installation
commissioned by Yeshiva University Museum, NYC
for their 1993-94 exhibition,
AISHET HAYIL/WOMAN OF VALOR
The
exhibition was dedicated to the fiber artist,
Julia Keiner–Forchheimer [1900 - 1991]
who emigrated to Palestine from her native Germany in 1936.
That same year, Ms. Keiner – an award winning teacher
–
created the Handweaving Department
in the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem.
She is well known in Israel for her work with indigenous
natural fibers that stressed the interrelationship of
color, texture and function.
IT IS OUR HOPE THAT THEY MAY SERVE
AS OUR SHIBBOLETH
TO THE NEVER–ENDING STREAM OF CREATIVITY
THAT HAS FLOWED FROM BEFORE TIME.
Additional
showings of the
Letters of Foundation
Jewish Community Center of San Francisco,CA 2008
Jewish Magic: Folklore and Fantasy
Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
Inaugural Exhibition - Bell Gallery
12/2000 –
6/2001
San Francisco's Bureau of Jewish Education
Community
Library
January
23rd
- March 19th, 2000
The Art of the Alef-Bet
Mythos Gallery, Los Angeles 1993–4
Angels, Ancestors and Spirit Guides
According to Kabbalistic thought, prior to creation,
G-d created the Letters of Foundation.
It is in the combination of these letters from which
everything within creation was formed.
In effect, they are the protoplasm of all that was,
all that is and all that will be.
For the Women of Valor exhibition thirty-two artists from around the world were invited
to create a visual interpretation of a line from the WOMAN OF VALOR poem.
The last chapter of Proverbs, this famous ode to women
is a twenty-two verse acrostic from A [Aleph] to Z [Taf] .
We were immediately drawn to the last lines of the poem,
the Shin and the Taf:
GIVE HER BUT THE FRUIT OF HER OWN HANDS
AND LET HER BE PRAISED
AT THE GATES
BY HER VERY DEEDS.
Lynn Small and Dennis Paul pay tribute to an Israeli weaver
by interpreting the letters of the cabala with mixed media collages
for each letter...Nancy Kapitanoff
Los Angeles Times
November 11, 1994
Collaborating since the mid-seventies,
when we received joint fellowships to YADDO,
a Saratoga Springs, NY creative community retreat,
we felt that opening our collaboration to include the recently
deceased JULIA,
to whom the WOMAN OF VALOR exhibition was dedicated,
might allow us to connect with the creative wellspring,
which passes from generation–to–generation.
OPENING THE DOORWAY TO THE KABBALAH,
THE LETTERS MADE A MOST
INTERESTING COLLABORATION
AND THE FIRST STEPS ALONG
AN INTRIGUING PATHWAY HAD BEGUN...
TO PURCHASE A LETTER
COMPLETE ALPHABET
©1993-2023 - CoLabART - Lynn Small + Dennis Paul
All rights reserved.
