Sukkot Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal The Torah commands no less than three times to rejoice and be happy on Sukkot, the celebration of the fall harvest (Leviticus 23:39-40; Deuteronomy 16:14-16). Symbols of the harvest, the lulav (palm branch, myrtle, [...]
Ushpizin Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal According to rabbinic tradition, Jews build a sukkah (booth) on the festival of Sukkot to recall the Israelites’ fragile dwellings during their forty years of wandering after the Exodus from Egypt (Leviticus 23:33-43). Tents [...]
Shabbat Shuvah Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal Shabbat Shuvah (The Sabbath of Return) occurs between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur during the Ten Days of Repentance. These ten days are regarded as one’s last chance, through one’s actions, to be [...]
Rosh Hashanah Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal The shofar (ram’s horn) is blown on Rosh Hashanah (the New Year) to fulfill the Torah’s commandment, “On the first day of the seventh month, you shall observe complete rest, a sacred occasion [...]
Megillah in Empty Wine Bottle Mark Podwal (b. Brooklyn, NY 1945) USA, 2017 Colored pencil on paper, h. 16 x w. 20 in, Cincinnati Skirball Museum, gift of the artist, ©Mark Podwal, 2018.5.15 Inspired by this miniature Scroll of Esther in the Skirball collections, the artist has made a playful reference to the Purim [...]
Prayer Book and Other Books Mark Podwal (b. Brooklyn, NY 1945) USA, 2017 Acrylic and colored pencil on paper, h. 16 x w. 20 in. Cincinnati Skirball Museum, gift of the artist, ©Mark Podwal, 2018.5.6 Inspired by this prayerbook in the Skirball collection printed in Amsterdam in 1766, the artist has placed the hammered [...]
Simchat Torah Flag with Torah Shield Design Mark Podwal (b. Brooklyn, NY 1945) USA, 2017 Acrylic and colored pencil on paper, h. 16 x w. 20 in. Cincinnati Skirball Museum, gift of the artist, ©Mark Podwal, 2018.5.12 Inspired by this Torah breastplate or shield in the Skirball collection, the artist has incorporated it as [...]
Light Bulb with Bloch Hanukkah Menorah Mark Podwal (b. Brooklyn, NY 1945) USA, 2017 Acrylic and colored pencil on paper, h. 16 x w. 20 in. Cincinnati Skirball Museum, gift of the artist, ©Mark Podwal, 2018.5.3 Inspired by this Hanukkah menorah in the Skirball collection, the artist has inserted Babette Bloch’s modern Hanukkah lamp [...]
Six Shofars Mark Podwal (b. Brooklyn, NY 1945) USA, 2017 Acrylic and colored pencil on paper, h. 16 x w. 20 in. Cincinnati Skirball Museum, gift of the artist, ©Mark Podwal, 2018.5.8 Inspired by this shofar in the Skirball collection, the artist has linked together six twisted ram’s horns to create a Star of [...]
Oil Hanukkah Lamp with Plug Mark Podwal (b. Brooklyn, NY 1945) USA, 2017 Acrylic and colored pencil on paper, h. 16 x w. 20 in. Cincinnati Skirball Museum, gift of the artist, ©Mark Podwal, 2018.5.5 Inspired by this Hanukkah lamp in the Skirball collection, the artist has cleverly modernized a nineteenth-century oil lamp by [...]
