Description
Another technique I developed for the pots was to create a style of lettering which employed little geometrical islands filled with pueblo-style designs to form the negative spaces between Hebrew letters. In this print “East meets West” literally as the four Hebrew letters, Mem, Zayin, Resh, and Chet appear in the white spaces between these islands and spell out the Hebrew word Mizrach which means “east”.
The Mizrach plaque is a traditional Jewish object that was placed on the eastern wall of the synagogue or home to indicate the direction of prayer towards Jerusalem. These plaques would often take the form of intricate calligraphic works employing micrography or papercuts, and became a virtuoso object of Jewish folk art. Often each of the four letters are associated with the first letters of the phrase: Mitzad Zeh Ruach Chaim, meaning, “From this direction comes the spirit of life.”
Edition of the Pueblo Portfolio
