{"id":39758,"date":"2022-10-28T01:57:18","date_gmt":"2022-10-28T08:57:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=39758"},"modified":"2022-10-26T10:02:29","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T17:02:29","slug":"art-of-unweaving-as-midrash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2022\/10\/28\/art-of-unweaving-as-midrash\/","title":{"rendered":"Art of unweaving as midrash"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cRomemu\u201d by Laurie Wohl.<\/em><\/p>\n

Laurie Wohl\u2019s \u201cunweavings\u201d are currently on display at the Zack Gallery, until Nov. 8. The exhibit, Journeys, features two of the New York artist\u2019s collections: the Shabbat Project and the Meditation Project.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy unweaving the fabric, I make manifest what is hidden within the material \u2013 liberating the threads to create shape, then \u2018reweaving\u2019 through colour, texture and text,\u201d says Wohl in her artist\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy unweavings process came out of my concern with narrative and storytelling,\u201d she told the Independent<\/em>. \u201cI began as a painter on stretched canvas over 30 years ago, but I came to feel that painting on a flat, rigid surface felt static \u2013 distancing me from my materials and my stories. So, I began experimenting, cautiously making slits into the canvas, then unweaving, thread by thread \u2013 engaging with the material, exploring it. My work became completely \u2018unstrung\u2019 by 1989.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnweaving became a meditative process that allows me to feel my way into the material at the same time that I am feeling my way into the spiritual texts that have caught my attention,\u201d she said. \u201cLiberating the threads \u2013 creating different forms physically \u2013 has given specific resonance to the biblical, spiritual and poetic texts that fascinate me. Both the words within each piece and the unwoven form suggesting these words serve as a visual commentary, a visual midrash. This process of unweaving, then reweaving with text, paint, texture and beads, becomes a modern interpretation of the narrative and ritual function of textiles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Laurie Wohl\u2019s textile art is on exhibit at the Zack Gallery until Nov. 8.\u00a0(photo from Laurie Wohl)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wohl\u2019s maternal grandfather was an Orthodox rabbi \u2013 \u201cI was very close to him, going to Shabbat morning services with him, sitting with him in the intense quiet of a Saturday afternoon twilight, at the waning of Shabbat,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was raised in the questioning tradition of Reform Judaism and I have read widely in the faith traditions of Christian and Eastern religions,\u201d she continued. \u201cMy work has grown out of my own search for meaning \u2013 what is important to me as an artist in our complex world \u2013 and from my exploration of a medium that\u2019s congenial to this meaning. The events of our time and my own life experiences have captured my imagination, and led me to be concerned with possibilities for reconciliation, both political and religious \u2013 in post-apartheid South Africa, in Christian-Jewish relations and, after Sept. 11, 2001, in possibilities for interfaith conversations among Jews, Christians and Muslims.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wohl uses a heavy cotton canvas for her works. She describes her creative process on her website: \u201cI first release either the warp or weft threads to create the desired shape. Various textures may be collaged onto the surface, such as fibrous papers, sand and pumice. My images and calligraphy are applied with modeling paste. I then apply acrylic paints to the surface, and a final thin layer of gold wash. Where gauze is used, the fabric is dipped in diluted paint, then hand-painted and embellished with fibrous papers. In the last part of the process, beads \u2013 prayers and marking points \u2013 are affixed with acrylic gel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wohl\u2019s textiles are held in numerous public and private collections, including the Museum of Arts and Design, and some of her pieces have been on long-term loan to U.S. embassies in several countries. Her works are recognized by the American Institute of Architects\u2019 Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture, and by the Surface Design Association, and she has exhibited in widely differing venues, from Jewish community centre galleries to university galleries to galleries in theological seminaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the exhibits in a Christian theological seminary led to a feature on my work in a magazine, Christianity and the Arts<\/em>, which led to my work being exhibited in a major church in Chicago \u2013 Fourth Presbyterian Church,\u201d she said. \u201cThis led to a commissioning by the church of 12 pieces for their sanctuary. And that led to another commission in New York City by Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pieces I made for these sanctuaries are my responses to the particular interfaith work of those communities and their Old Testament roots. The Psalms Project for Fourth Presbyterian\u2019s main sanctuary consists of 12 large pieces\u2026. The church asked me to use Hebrew as well as English calligraphy to underscore the congregation\u2019s immersion in its Old Testament roots, and the psalmic motif emphasizes the Christian-Jewish dialogue to which that church is committed. The project for Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church uses texts from both Old and New Testaments, and Hebrew, English and Greek calligraphy.<\/p>\n

\u201cBetween 2001 and 2010, as I was working on projects exploring the relationship of Christianity and Judaism, the necessity of expanding my work into the realm of Islam was percolating beneath the surface,\u201d she said. \u201cI had just moved to New York City when the events of Sept. 11, 2001, occurred. Experiencing the trauma and aftermath, and especially the demonizing of many Muslims, I began to think about how I, as an artist, could contribute to a better understanding among Jews, Christians and Muslims \u2013 to suggest a way that art can be used to mediate at the intersection of faith and politics. After extensive reading in medieval and contemporary spiritual texts and poetry in 2009, I began my 18-piece project \u2013 Birds of Longing: Exile and Memory \u2013 in which I explore the relationships among the three Abrahamic religions, using text, texture, colour and form. I relate spiritual and poetic texts from the Convivencia (the Spanish medieval period) to contemporary Middle Eastern poetry, particularly Israeli, Palestinian and Syrian. The pieces explore common themes of spiritual love, exile, nostalgia for Andalusia, poetry referencing Old and New Testament texts and the Qu\u2019ran, and poetry speaking of mistrust of enemies, yearning for reconciliation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wohl began the Shabbat Project after Birds of Longing, which had been an intense process. \u201cI was somewhat exhausted spiritually \u2013 there seemed to be no end in sight to the fighting and misunderstanding in the Middle East, and xenophobia was heating up against immigrants and refugees coming to our borders,\u201d she said. \u201cI felt a need for spiritual renewal and turned to our tradition. The Kabbalat Shabbat service at my own synagogue \u2013 Stephen Wise Free Synagogue [SWFS] in New York City \u2013 is a wonderful blend of reflective and joyous music. Through wordless music \u2013 the niggunim \u2013 and through prayerful words set to music, we are invited to enter into the spiritual, the transcendent, both individually and in community.<\/p>\n

\u201cMusic has long been an important part of my art practice. The pieces in the Shabbat Project embody prayers and psalms of the Kabbalat Shabbat and Shabbat morning services, both in terms of the texts inscribed and the form of each piece, which evokes \u2013 hopefully \u2013 the spiritual texts. I was fortunate to collaborate with Cantor Dan Singer at SWFS for a soundscape that is integral to and accompanies the project.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wohl shared the meaning behind a few of the works from the Shabbat Project. \u201cThe piece \u2018Kabbalat Shabbat\u2019 is a circular piece suspended from the ceiling,\u201d she explained. \u201cWith this form, and using semi-transparent materials, I try to evoke the mystery and beauty of the Shabbat bridge. There are references to many prayers and melodies embedded in the piece: Y\u2019did Nefesh, Ahavat Olam, V\u2019al Kulam, L\u2019chu N\u2019ran\u2019na.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"image<\/a>
\u201cSanctuary: Mishkan\u201d by Laurie Wohl, who explained: \u201cThe partially unwoven centre alludes to the bima and altar, and the piece includes words from Psalm 19, Yih\u2019yu L\u2019ratzon: \u2018May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to You\u2026.\u2019\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another example she gave was \u201cHashkiveinu: Evening Prayer,\u201d which, she said, \u201csuggests a tallit or prayer shawl and embodies words from an ancient prayer. \u2018Cause us to lie down in peace and raise us up, our Sovereign, to life renewed\u2019: \u2018Hashkiveinu, Adonai Eloheinu, l\u2019shalom. V\u2019haamideinu shomreinu l\u2019chayim.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Romemu\u2019 also echoes the form of a tallit or prayer shawl, and incorporates the praise text from Psalm 99:9: \u2018Let us exalt Adonai our God\u00a0 \/ and worship at His holy hill \/ for holy is Adonai, let us exalt.\u2019 (\u2018Romemu Adonai Eloheinu \/ V\u2019hishtachavu l\u2019har kodsho \/ Ki kadosh Adonai Eloheinu, romemu.\u2019)\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In total, 12 pieces comprise the Shabbat Project and the Meditation Project encompasses 11 pieces.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor many years, the process of unweaving and working with spiritual texts has been a form of meditation for me,\u201d said Wohl of the latter project. \u201cLiving in New York City at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the incomprehensible numbers of those dying daily caused me to search for a way to find solace in a world turned upside down. Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, the senior rabbi at Central Synagogue in Manhattan, started a daily meditation practice on Zoom just then. I found comfort in her teachings and in the communal aspect of the meditation. Rabbi Buchdahl has continued the communal meditation once a week, and I have continued my meditation practice. The pieces in the Meditation Project draw on the teachings from her sessions and my responses to them. My hope is that the thoughts I held as I created the work will project a sense of mindfulness and serenity that viewers can carry with them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cRomemu\u201d by Laurie Wohl. Laurie Wohl\u2019s \u201cunweavings\u201d are currently on display at the Zack Gallery, until Nov. 8. The exhibit, Journeys, features two of the New York artist\u2019s collections: the Shabbat Project and the Meditation Project. \u201cBy unweaving the fabric, I make manifest what is hidden within the material \u2013 liberating the threads to create […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39759,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[989],"tags":[2466,218,21848,21849,7885,21847,40],"class_list":["post-39758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-visual-arts","tag-art","tag-judaism","tag-laurie-wohl","tag-midrash","tag-textiles","tag-unweaving","tag-zack-gallery"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}