Artist Statement: Shabbat Apocalyptica
🎨 The Birth of a Vision 🎨
In the simmering heat of summer 2023, I embarked on a creative journey that felt rebelliously punk. War, at that time, seemed a distant, almost abstract concept. Yet, there was an undercurrent, a sense that civilizational erosion or narrative collapse could happen. Jewish history whispers to us that it’s never the end of the world, just the end of an epoch, or perhaps just the week. 🌍🕯️
💭 Dreams of Tranquility Amidst Chaos 💭
Before delving into McLuhan’s insights, I had dreams—vivid and recurring—of Shabbat Dinners set against the backdrop of a nuclear war. There was something tranquil, an unconcerned aura that extended beyond the table. These dreams, absurd in their nature, remained unshared for years. Now, as the medium of AI art arose, I found the means to express this tension, this juxtaposition, in my art. 🎨💭
🖼️ The Series Emerges 🖼️
The “Shabbat Apocalyptica” series is a manifestation of these dreams, a visual exploration of serenity amidst chaos. My wife and I, having met in 2011—a time when many believed the world would end the next year—have always held the belief that endings are for words and seasons, never for life or meaning. 🌅💑
🔮 Art in the Face of Eerie Relevance 🔮
The first image of this apocalyptic Shabbat series emerged in 2022, but the collection you see now was born in July 2023. Following the events of October 7th, 2023, the series takes on a new, somewhat eerie relevance. Art, in its essence, should be uncomfortable, prescient, and thematically true, even if it’s objectively misleading. 🖼️🔮
📜 Influenced by McLuhan 📜
My vision is deeply influenced by the recurring dreams of my childhood and this profound passage from Marshall McLuhan:
“Our official culture is striving to force the new media to do the work of the old. These are difficult times because we are witnessing a clash of cataclysmic proportions between two great technologies. This clash naturally occurs during transitional periods. In late medieval art, for instance, we see the fear of the new print technology expressed in the theme The Dance of Death. Today, similar fears are expressed in the Theater of the Absurd. Both represent a common failure: the attempt to do a job demanded by the new environment with the tools of the old.”
Marshall McLuhan, The Medium is the Massage
This quote encapsulates the essence of my work. In “Shabbat Apocalyptica,” I invite you to witness a world where tranquility persists amidst turmoil, where the sacredness of Shabbat stands undisturbed in the face of apocalypse. These synthographs, created via MidJourney, are not just images; they are invitations to ponder, to feel, and to find peace in the unlikeliest of places. 🕊️🌆
Synthographs by me, via MidJourney. 🎨🖌️
