UDHR Article 5 Study

Another in the series of b/w studies for the UDHR paintings. The studies were done in 1990 (December, as I recall), the paintings were done in 1991. This is Article 5:



"No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

You can see the painting that resulted from the drawing in the October 24th entry of this blog.

UDHR Article 12 Study

This is another of the pencil/ink wash studies for the UDHR series from 1990 (see also below):



"No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks."

UDHR Article 4 Study

Here is one of the original pencil & ink wash drawings for the UDHR series, done in 1990:



"No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms."

UDHR Article 14

Below is an image from my 1991 series of 30 paintings (one to illuminate each article) of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human rights. Next year is the 60th anniversary of the signing of the UDHR, so there may be various exhibitions & so forth (details will be published online when available). I recently had several of the paintings professionally photographed for a magazine article. Below is the painting of Article 14, and below that is the text of the Article.

(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Woodcut "Shrouded"

Here's another of the new woodcuts:



On rice paper, 9" x 7" approx, 2007. I'm still getting a handle on the medium. I kind of like the imperfections in the printing process, so each one is slightly different. I'm also toying with the idea of colorizing or customizing some of them in some way. Thanks are due to Jim Stevenson for his help with this project.

Jürgen Waxweiler & Sun Furong

Here's a photo that Jürgen sent on a CD packed with images of Jerusalem & the Museum on the Seam, which arrived a few days ago:



Just another reminder that you should check out the Bare Life exhibit at the Museum. Sun Furong is the Chinese artist who created the "Nibbling" installation of ripped & eroded clothing.

An excellent show. The swing upon which the bottle of mineral water sits is by Carsten Höller, by the way.

Untitled Woodcut

This is the proof from a new woodcut, in fact my first:


Oil-based ink on rice paper, 9" x 7" approx, 2007.

This woodcut was carved & printed by my friend, Jim Stevenson (take a bow, Jim), who knows more about this kind of thing than I do. This was a test, & as it looks pretty good, I'm working on some more, which I'm carving out myself. Jim is also working on another one. All of them are anonymous heads, which is kind of a theme of mine. The characteristics of Jim's carving give my work a different look, I think.

People have been saying for years that my ink drawings looked like woodcuts, that I should do woodcuts, & so on. So now, I finally am. So far so good.

I'm having an open studio event next Saturday, so these will be on show then, I hope. We plan to mat some of them. I may hand-color some, also. It's an interesting new direction. I'll upload some more images if & when I have them.

Trade Imbalance in Shrink-Wrap

The book with UDHR Article 23 "Everyone has the right to work..." just arrived via FedEx. My first "real" book cover image:



Thanks to Cambridge University Press for sending that along.

I haven't managed to force myself to tear off the shrink-wrap yet, as you can see.

The colors have come out slightly lurid because of my scanner. It's a little more muted than this in actual fact. Especially the green.

I found out the other day that the book has a web site here.

The War Room at the Museum on the Seam

Today I got the following photo via email from Jürgen Waxweiler:



Nice shot of the installation with unknown observers. From the opening of the exhibition, I presume (Oct. 12, 2007). The artwork visible in the glass case below my War Room studies is "Carpet" by Katarzyna Józefowicz from Poland. Click here to see that work on the Museum on the Seam web site.

UDHR at Middlebury

I have a show of the UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights) paintings that I did back in 1991, at Middlebury College in Vermont, starting in a couple of days. The 60th Anniversary of the UDHR is coming up, which explains the renewed interest, I guess.

Here's Article 5:


"No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

You can see the complete set of 30 UDHR paintings here. You can use the arrow buttons to navigate through the paintings.

You can also see them here. This web site didn't ask permission, but if it's for a good cause & not-for-profit, I don't mind. A link to my own site would have been nice, if only so that interested parties could book the show, etc...

The Swing on the Roof

This is a shot from the roof of the Museum on the Seam during the opening for the "Bare Life" show. Left to right: Diana Ayton-Shenker (aka my much better half, goddess & muse), Jürgen Waxweiler (German sculptor featured in the show), myself, a Museum Guy (I will have to ask Raphie for the guy's name). The swing is by Carsten Höller from Belgium, & is not recommended for actual use, as it's 4 stories up, above a busy street. But that, as they say, is the whole point.

Some more links:

Jürgen Waxweiler's page on the Museum web site.

Jürgen Waxweiler's own web site.

Carsten Höller's page on the Museum web site.

Jerusalem, October 12, 2007

Here I am, outside the Museum on the Seam, 4 Chel Handasa St., Jerusalem, about to enter the exhibit, "Bare Life" (curated by Raphie Etgar). Lovely day, great show. About 450 people came for the opening, apparently.

Related links:

Museum on the Seam home page.

Bare Life exhibit overview.

Ayton page on Museum web site, with War Room image, The Witnesses.

The Face of Hiroshima

New small painting in the occasional "Hiroshima" series:


Acrylic on board, 2007, 10" x 8".

It's a kind of misuse of pointillism, here used to depict the atomization of human life, etc. Also reminds me of Gerhard Richter for some reason, the treatment of the paint. I was "inspired" to paint another image in this series (if series it is) by the inclusion of the "Hiroshima: Ground Zero" piece in the Museum on the Seam show, "Bare Life" -- see blog entry below this one. Here is that particular piece:


Acrylic on masonite, 2004, 12" x 9". Currently on display on the second floor of the Museum on the Seam.

Bare Life catalog

Just got back in from Jerusalem (via Kiev) late last night, exhausted but happy. The show was a success & I got my 15 seconds of fame on Israeli TV, in a news segment on the Bare Life show. It was also good to see Raphie Etgar (curator) & Merav Maor (museum director) again. I met German sculptor Jürgen Waxweiler and Chinese artist Sun Furong, among many other people.

The show contained work by 42 artists from all over the world, including big names such as Anselm Kiefer, Bill Viola, Bruce Nauman, Paul McCarthy, William Kentridge, Sophie Calle & so on. It was good company to be in.

Below is the catalog cover:



Cover image is "Cain Mark" by Israeli artist Haim Maor (color print photograph & collage)

Below is my double-page spread (pp. 86-87):


Click on image for larger version.

Images are (left) "The Witnesses", 2003 (War Room study) & "Hiroshima: Ground Zero", 2004, painted after the 2001 illustration commissioned by the New York Times Op-Ed page.