Here's what Aaron Roller, write and layout editor of Mima'amakim, has to say about his decision to be involved in the journal:
Though professionally I work in government, I consider myself a poet, a writer and an advocate for the arts. I became involved with the Mima'amakim journal and the community surrounding it during college. There was a natural connection, because almost all of my work incorporates elements, ideas or concerns from my life as a religious Jew. When I write, I write with a Jewish voice and Mima'amakim provided a venue where I didn't have to explain or apologize for the kind of work that I do and where I could meet a cohort with similar interests.More information on the artists showing in the Mima'amakim exhibit after the jump.
Over the last three years, my involvement with the journal increased. I was elected to the editorial board, took over layout for the journal and helped organize a bunch of events. Even though we've decided that the journal we just published will be our last print journal, I think that the mission of the organization - to maintain a space for religious and creative expression to coexist - is more important than ever and that we're going to find new ways to accomplish that. I can be reached at @aj_roller on Twitter.
Ritual Objects- Shabbat Candles, is the first in a series of paintings that juxtapose traditionally associated ritual objects with their more commonplace counterpart. Chassidic thought teaches us that everything in this world can and should be used for a higher purpose. I use everyday Jewish and Chassidic images in a Pop Art style to question the assumed divide between the spiritual and the commonplace. Ritual Objects- Shabbat Candles features on the front cover of the latest volume of the Mima'amakim Journal.
Shlomo Rydzinski (Tumblr, website). Title of work: Panel Collage with Burnt Sienna. Acrylic, 16" x 20".
Dorene Schwartz-Weitz. Title of work: Shema. Photograph, 9 1/4" x 7 1/4".
I am my work. My work is a gift from Hashem on borrowed time. It is one of the most powerful of vehicles by which I endeavor to return my neshama back to His white space.
Elke Reva Sudin. Title of work: The Scribe, Brush and Ink, 16" x 20".
Drawing, like life, should be a fast process, and you have to keep up with your subject. People are naturally in motion, so capturing a single image is a illusion of reality. Ink is fluid, and expresses the essence by immediately contrasting the presence of a mark versus the lack of it. It is a commandment for all Jews to take part in the writing of a Torah, but to witness a scribe putting the finishing touches on one is a rare sight. As he puts ink to parchment to complete his uniquely Judaic art, I am joining him by transcribing the moment using the same tools. But The Scribe is not Judaic art because of the subject, rather because of the love I bring to it as a Jew.
As the founder of JewishArtNow.com and an active member of the Jewish Art Salon, finding connections between Judaism and art is a constant source of inspiration to me, and I strive to provide a venue for others to do the same.
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