Tree Of Life Painting Brings Lightness To The Dark

Attempting to deal with the darkness in this world, I was moved to respond to the terror in the way I know best: through my art.

Tree of Life. Pittsburgh PA. 10.27.18 

Below were my thoughts and words as I created the painting.

Darkness 

Good morning. Today is Monday, two days after the horrific terrorist attack that took place at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh… where eleven souls were killed just for being Jewish and coming to synagogue to pray. I felt moved to create a painting that reflects my feelings and perhaps the feelings of others, to mourn and to celebrate the lives of those who were lost.

So, I’m going to begin with thick black, and paint a beautiful white canvas black. To create the mood. to create the environment that we live in, surrounded by darkness, surrounded by black. Yet somehow. we have to be that light in the darkness. So I’m creating the darkness in order that together we can create the light.

Tree of Life 

The second step in the process: we have a black background, now we have a silkscreen of a beautiful tree of life. We are taking gold, beautiful metallic gold to be used to create our tree using the silkscreen method. Now some bronze, different metallic colors to create an element of fire, a glow. These metallic colors stand out as they come up against the black, creating our tree of life.

Memorializing the Victims And Light 

Step three in the Tree of Life painting to commemorate the eleven murdered in Pittsburgh, is to memorialize each one of the victims on the painting itself.

(At this point I read out the name and age of each victim as I painted a flame on the tree in their memory)

Joyce Fienberg, 75, Murdered for being Jewish and praying in a synagogue. Richard Gottfried, 65, Murdered for being Jewish and praying in a synagogue. Rose Mallinger, 97, Murdered for being Jewish and praying in a synagogue. Jerry Rabinowitz, 66, Murdered for being Jewish and praying in a synagogue. Cecil Rosenthal, 59, Murdered for being Jewish and praying in a synagogue.

David Rosenthal, – they are brothers – 54, Murdered for being Jewish and praying in a synagogue. Bernice Simon, 84, Murdered for being Jewish and praying in a synagogue.

Sylvan Simon, – husband and wife – 86, Murdered for being Jewish and praying in a synagogue. Daniel Stein, 71, Murdered for being Jewish and praying in a synagogue.

Melvin Wax, 88, Murdered for being Jewish and praying in a synagogue. Irving Younger, 69, Murdered for being Jewish and praying in a synagogue.

These eleven souls that died Al Kiddush Haskem – sanctifying G-D’s name.

Now gold dust…

Now we have a responsibility to light up the darkness….

 (At this point I painted the spots of light, over the darkness)

May their memory be for a blessing.

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