THE STORY OF THE WRONG PRAYER BOOK (frescoes at the Chirch of Holy Mary)
Some twenty km north of Jerusalem a picturesque Arab town nestles in between the green Judea hills. It is called Abu Gosh after its founders the Abugosh family. They were Muslim. Funny enough the place is presided over by an ancient church and a monastery, sitting on the highest spot in the valley on top of everybody else, - obviously an old fortress. The whole aria goes by the Hebrew name of Kiriat Yearim - meaning the wooded place. It is run by a Catholic Order and is a beautiful assembly of early Gothic architecture, surrounded by well tended English gardens.
A while ago, a friend, a Catholic nun suggested a day trip to Abu Gosh, tickling my never resting curiosity. Strolling around we were joined by the Mother Superior of the convent, who enriched the architectural experience with her intimate knowledge of her Order and its activities throughout the centuries in the Holy Land.
The whole atmosphere and especially the white walls exuded a strange and equally strong attraction on me, after all: I am an artist and a painter. In my mind I already saw these white spaces enhanced by frescoes in the Russian iconic tradition. What a beautiful task it could be, to do the work.
So - in my innocence, I proposed to Mother Superior, describing my artistic fantasies. A face, all of the sudden seemingly turned into stone looked back at me out of the holy Catholic garments - more than a bit from high above: end of fantasy and story.
But I am Jewish not only by faith but by nature as well. Jews always liked to try out things against all odds. Doing something "dafka" is the Hebrew word for it. So, next day I went to buy big long canvases and started a series of "holy" paintings, inspired of Holy Mary in Kiriat Yearim, just to get an idea how they could have looked.
In the end it turned into some kind of obsession, painting more than hundred variations on the subject.
THE STORY OF THE WRONG PRAYER BOOK (frescoes at the Chirch of Holy Mary)
Some twenty km north of Jerusalem a picturesque Arab town nestles in between the green Judea hills. It is called Abu Gosh after its founders the Abugosh family. They were Muslim. Funny enough the place is presided over by an ancient church and a monastery, sitting on the highest spot in the valley on top of everybody else, - obviously an old fortress. The whole aria goes by the Hebrew name of Kiriat Yearim - meaning the wooded place. It is run by a Catholic Order and is a beautiful assembly of early Gothic architecture, surrounded by well tended English gardens.
A while ago, a friend, a Catholic nun suggested a day trip to Abu Gosh, tickling my never resting curiosity. Strolling around we were joined by the Mother Superior of the convent, who enriched the architectural experience with her intimate knowledge of her Order and its activities throughout the centuries in the Holy Land.
The whole atmosphere and especially the white walls exuded a strange and equally strong attraction on me, after all: I am an artist and a painter. In my mind I already saw these white spaces enhanced by frescoes in the Russian iconic tradition. What a beautiful task it could be, to do the work.
So - in my innocence, I proposed to Mother Superior, describing my artistic fantasies. A face, all of the sudden seemingly turned into stone looked back at me out of the holy Catholic garments - more than a bit from high above: end of fantasy and story.
But I am Jewish not only by faith but by nature as well. Jews always liked to try out things against all odds. Doing something "dafka" is the Hebrew word for it. So, next day I went to buy big long canvases and started a series of "holy" paintings, inspired of Holy Mary in Kiriat Yearim, just to get an idea how they could have looked.
In the end it turned into some kind of obsession, painting more than hundred variations on the subject.