In an elegant neighborhood of Brussels, precisely at rue du Châtelain the French couple Myriam and Amaury de Solages, have founded a non-profit organization that supports an interesting artistic project .  This unique initiative is nestled in an elegant Belgian townhouse that they have called  Maison Pariticuliere. 

In this private residence now open to the public since April 2011, temporary art exhibits are organized together with art collectors under different  themes proposed by Amaury and Myriam and shared for a period of three months.

As I am walking in the sunny afternoon I notice at my right an tall stunning African wood sculpture behind a large entrance glass door and a white curtain wall. Intrigued by a view of a green internal backyard  I sneak in and ask an elegant lady  if it’s possible to explore the space , I carry in my hand a press card.  I am asked kindly by an assistant to wait a few minutes in the impressive entrance hall.

Eclectic in style, the building was built around 1880 by architect Jean Léon Janlet and entirely renovated into the current art center. Natural light bathes the interior. Graced by the a small curving garden in layers of green and white designed by Jean Philippe Miest, the house is truly a gem of a showcase for art collections.

A young and charming lady with no make up on and  dressed  in a sober but very stylish skirt and sweater comes my way , it’s Myriam.  After checking my website out for a long while , Myriam offers to enjoy at my ease the distinctive floor plan featured by three stories with a series of interconnected sitting areas on each level , a library and a dining room.  She then invites me for a coffee in the cozy library once I will be done with my tour.

I walk into the luxurious elevator and arrive on the last floor. Passing by ”  The perfect woman is a lie  ” I immediately sense the intensity of the exhibition and atmosphere whose theme  ’ Femininity’ catches directly my psyche.  In a small flier I read  ” to combine the bipolarity of man and woman, of zero and one, is to bring together elements, not in contradiction, but rather inseparable ”

The art works is sensually provocative and  like magnets attract my attention traveling throughout  the pristine walled rooms of the residence. . The modernist furniture, exquisitely selected for this theme  by  Pierre Hoet and Didier Bindels of Instore  partners in the project,  is trendy and bright.

I am now ready for that coffee . In the cozy library whose fireplace is surrounded by collector’s pieces, impeccably white sofas , armchairs in cow skin and galuchat 1930 furniture, Myriam introduces me to her husband  the French financier Amaury de Solage. As it’s common in Europe not to share details about one’s personal life socially , Amaury  instead will discourse with passion about his devotion in sponsoring a space where the art dialogue and emotional experience derived are romanticized, lived and often enlightened among enthusiasts.

When asked at my last sip of delicious coffee what will be next ,  Amaury  pauses, crosses his legs on the comfortable couch, smiles at his wife Myriam  and answers me  ” what I am supposed to know by now know”  that when a man meets a woman for the first time they don’t kiss immediately…It’s a process of feelings,  learning , staring before he decides where the connection will take him .

Relatively  satisfied with his reply , I packing my camera into my handbag and  before leaving or say goodbye, I turn back for a last look in the direction of the beautiful untouched  old piano and I try quickly to recall where exactly my parents have kept that Giacometti  they had bough many, many  years ago.

The House: Maison Particuliere

Myriam de Solage Blog  ( Lovely!)  Saveurs en Balade

Banksy, Wall and Piece

One afternoon spent in a friend office in Sao Paulo, I was searching on the map a place where I could take a few pictures on the stung local street art among the most powerful in the world.  While bringing two Guaranas on a vintage wooden tray he smiles and tells me ‘ Little boss, don’t search anymore, what you want to see is the Beco do Batman ( Batman Alley)  , fetch you camera and Let’s go I will take you on my truck.”

‘Little angel’  (my friend’s nick name) and I  have traveled the world for my store in Sao Paulo many years ago, he quite knows what I am thinking just by the expression on my face. Beco do Batman, is a small alley of vibrant, lurid expression in brash colors and stark angles beating any any graphic novel.

Peter Greenaway

Born in Milan, I spent my childhood near the Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie.

When the weather permitted, my Catholic nanny Maria took me on long walks in the neighborhood, and often just before lunch we would stop at the monastery refectory to gaze at the renowned “Last Supper” mural by Leonardo da Vinci. The theme was a traditional one for refectories, although the room was not a refectory at the time that Leonardo painted it. The painting was commissioned by Sforza to be the centerpiece of the mausoleum.

The lunettes above the main painting, formed by the triple arched ceiling of the refectory, are painted with Sforza coats-of-arms. Leonardo began work on “The Last Supper” in 1495 and completed it in 1498—he did not work on the painting continuously.

5oo years later on December the 4th at the Park Avenue Armory on 66th street, close to where I now live in New York City,  I am once again on my way to admire “Leonardo’s Last Supper”,  this time through the vision of Welsh-born filmmaker and multimedia artist Peter Greenaway.

Armory president Rebecca Robertson’s press release describes the exhibition as a “Multimedia Reverie.”  Peter Greenaway’s premier of this epic and immersive multimedia work marks the first U.S. presentation of the artist’s installation.

Through his incisive manipulation of chiaro-scuro, sound, and theatrical illusion, Greenaway creates a series of dynamic audio-visual environments that provoke new ways of seeing Leonardo’s masterpiece.

Prior my visit at the armory, I have been reading several articles, points-of-view and interesting critical pieces on the controversial exhibit like Holland’s Cutter of the New York Times, some of whose excerpts I am sharing on this post for further discussion. Is this new era of showcasing art a genius-like display of innovation or an art form of its own?

“A Vision by Peter Greenaway” is part of the artist’s ambitious ongoing series “Ten Classic Paintings Revisited”, an exploration of works from around the world that encourages viewers to retrain their gaze when experiencing classical and Renaissance painting, and that creates dialogue between this age-old medium and modern technology.

“…From this we walk to a second, smaller enclosure, measuring the same size as the refectory of the Santa Maria Delle Grazie monastery, where “The Last Supper” still resides. Straight ahead is a replica of the painting, digitally scanned and printed on plaster, with its familiar image of Jesus seated among his perturbed apostles at a long table. A three-dimensional version of the painted table, replete with plates, knives and loaves of bread but with everything plaster white, sits in the center of the enclosure… ” ( via New York Times)

” … Special effects kick in. Images projected onto the replicated painting make figures look three-dimensional. The light in the depicted scene changes; sometimes seeming to come from above, sometimes from a mysterious background source. One group of apostles is momentarily spotlighted as the others fade into darkness; another group is set off with diagrammatic outlines. At regular intervals the whole scene goes dim except for the figure of Jesus, which radiates beams like a searchlight.” ( via New York Times)

Greenaway launched the series in 2006 with an evocative multimedia exploration of Rembrandt’s Nightwatch in the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam. In June 2008, he staged a one-night-only event with the original “Last Supper” in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan

In June 2009, Greenaway exhibited his digital exploration of “The Wedding at Cana” by Paolo Veronese during the 2009 Biennale di Venezia and the film “The Marriage” about the same painting and installation at the Venice Biennial Film Festival.

“… As we walk back out through the drill hall we see that “Italy of the Cities” has been replaced by Mr. Greenaway’s take on Veronese’s “Wedding at Cana”. It might have looked great in Venice — what doesn’t?— but it’s underwhelming here. Digital reproduction and video recording of art can be valuable, letting us see things we would otherwise never see.” (via New York Times)

“Leonardo’s Last Supper: A Vision by Peter Greenaway” fuses  elements from his extensive study of thousands of years of painting to create a spectacular and unforgettable encounter.

“…A front section of the drill hall is enclosed with scrims for a kind of sound-and-light warm-up act called “Italy of the Cities,” conceived for the Italian pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.

Onto the wraparound scrims are projected video shots of Florence, Rome, Venice and Milan, accompanied by a musical pastiche that includes, all too inevitably, the theme (French, 18th century) from “Masterpiece Theater”.

…There’s no question that at a time when a museum visit can mean little more than snapping pictures on the run, persuading people to stop and look is a good thing. But the question becomes whether jumpily edited copies of paintings are an improvement over jumpy viewers.

…Mr. Greenaway also allows that entertainment was a factor he kept in mind when producing the work now at the Armory, though with its limited range of recycled effects, it doesn’t score high in that department.

… Then there is the “Last Supper” itself. In irreversibly degraded condition, it may one day have to be taken off view to preserve what’s left. At that point copies are what most of us will know of it. (Whether those copies should be colorized as Mr. Greenaway’s “Last Supper” has been, presumably to recapture its original look, will be a matter for debate.)

…Most insistently of all — it’s right there in the title — “Leonardo’s Last Supper: A Vision by Peter Greenaway” asks to taken as art on its own, but that doesn’t work either. Even as a form of appropriation art, the piece neither illuminates its borrowed material nor has anything new to say on its own.” (via New York Times)

I  have enjoyed playing with the concept of  ‘appropriation art’ through posting  my own pictures of Peter Greenway’s work at the Armory show. I have  inserted texts appropriated from other colleagues and finally created my own form of cognitive, visual subjective expression about the matter.

The reader will evaluate, simply absorb, transcend the information into something visually new and organic in a blog, or maybe  share it on Facebook.

At this point, my final thought goes to Leaonardo da Vinci… Would he approve this visual tech chain evolution if he knew it?

“Leonardo’s Last Supper: A Vision by Peter Greenaway” is organized and presented by Park Avenue Armory, the Superintendency for Architectural and Environmental Heritage of Milan and the Comune di Milano/Cultura, Italian Trade Commission, and supported by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development.

Portions of the work were first produced by Change Performing Arts in Milan in 2008 as an initiative supported by I SALONI MILANO, in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities.

Additional support for the Park Avenue Armory presentation is provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, The Robert Lehman Foundation and New York State Council on the Arts, A State Agency.

The inaugural week will continue with the opening of acclaimed designer, director and visual artist Robert Wilson’s “Perchance to Dream”, a multimedia installation featuring a series of video portraits  in collaboration with internationally renowned Italian ballet dancer Roberto Bolle, Etoile at La Scala ballet and principal dancer with American Ballet Theater in New York City.

Joelle’s Picks:

The Exhibition: “Leonardo’s Last Supper: A Vision by Peter Greenaway”  643 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10065 (212) 616-3930 Park Avenue Armory

December 3, 2010 – January 6, 2011  Tuesdays – Sundays 11:00am – 8:00pm
(Showings are on the hour starting at 12:00pm and last approximately 45 minutes. Last showing of the day is 7:00pm)

The Film Director: Peter Greenaway

The Source :New York Times : Adding Bells …

The Lecture :Peter Greenaway: “Nine Classic Paintings Revisited”

The Book: “Last Supper” by the art historian Leo Steinberg (Zone Books; 2001)

The high-resolution photography and three-dimensional scanning: Factum Arte

Los Cabos

Through my pictures, and some helpful addresses, I have chosen to take you around Cabo San Lucas’ smaller but charming sister city, my favorite in the region of the Corridor.

The city has a refined air, with many shops in old colonial buildings just a short walk from the town’s Zocalo (central plaza). Every door has an imaginary horizon to explore and at times, staying in Luxury hotels in the UK, I have had the same sensation. Here time has stopped like in Cuba.

Before I go into the serious shopping information I insist in bringing to your eyes the pacific and decadent nonchalance of this place. Some of the most interesting shops are clustered within  patios, secret gardens and delicious restaurants.

Most of these shops you will find within a few blocks around Plaza Mijares, where Boulevard Mijares and  Avenida  Zaragoza both end at the remodeled Zocalo at the center of San Jose.

Cabo’s Hats: One of my favorites is Cabo’s Hats on Boulevard Marina and Madero.

The shop carries the exiting Scala collection in materials including raffia, sea grass, panama, crocheted cotton.  Such a great choice.

Jose, the shop manager, tells me proudly that genuine Raffia is made from the natural leaf fibers of the African Palm, Raphia Pedunculata, and is grown on the island of Madagascar.

The renewable raffia straw is hand woven in the Orient after which it is made into attractive and durable headwear, providing beneficial sun protection.

After several essays, with the help of a few clients and Jose, I pick my own – a thick Cowboy-style straw hat, packable and crushable – a perfect fit for my globetrotter lifestyle.

Now I am enjoying the color and creativity flowing from the old adobe buildings of the ever-growing ART DISTRICT in San Jose del Cabo.

Behind the main square and away from the busy main streets are many unique galleries featuring works of Mexican and international artists and artisans. Thursday nights from November through April are designated Art Nights, where galleries stay open until 9 serving drinks and snacks, with various performances, demonstrations, and dancing. Trust me, it’s magic!

Amber Gallery: An art gallery featuring the finest Chiapas amber collection, handcrafted by the owner (with the blue Hawaian shirt in the picture). It includes perfume bottles, jewelry and sculptures as well as Chiapas textiles and original local fine art.

The owner – from Texas and passionate about amber – was drawn to the El Dorado more than 20 years ago. Since then he’s lived in the city center with an old black dog, a large collection of jewelry made with amber and perfumed amber essential oils he created himself. A photographic exhibition about the region was created by his friend, the photographer Bruce Herman.

Jewelry and art are great buys here and it’s where you’ll find the best shopping for high quality Mexican folk art. Located right by Plaza Mijares is NECRI, a sure bet for quality pottery and ceramics.

The family-owned store is known for a wide array of Mexican pewter, which does not tarnish and can be used to hold any type of food. Items to look out for, besides dinnerware, are chandeliers and candlesticks.

Necri also carries Talavera pottery from Puebla that is hand-painted, signed and certified. One can find serving platters, coffee sets, bathroom sinks, vases and more made from this type of pottery.

Necri also carries different designs of Majólica ceramic, which, like Talavera, has European origins and has been admired for centuries. The most popular pieces are vases and plates. Necri has wonderful items, and couples can even register for their wedding gifts there — a great alternative to the usual ho-hum stores.

ARTE JULIAN GARCIA Julian Garcia’s paintings and metal sculptures are a must see when you’re in Los Cabos. Also featuring national and international art exhibitions.

Internationally-acclaimed abstract artist, FRANK ARNOLD GALLERY blends a virtuosic sense of color with an emotionally evocative impasto painting technique. Stop by his gallery to browse his latest works and special exhibits.

GALERIA DE IDA VICTORIA Fine art by local and international artists featuring paintings, sculpture, photography and limited edition prints. Exhibitions change often. Ongoing cultural events from November to May.

BARRIO LATINO is  the perfect combination of fantastic Latin art and fine jewelry.

The afternoon is great, the sky is blue and every little shop is a discovery of its own! One of the nicest surprises to catch my attention is the colorful entrance door of LA PINATA BOUTIQUE.

The owner, Lorena de Basterrra – a beautiful woman a little suspicious at first with my camera activity, is a very polished and creative mind.

In this lovely, small but colorful charming boutique you can source everything from handmade children’s clothing to Mexican vanilla liquor. It packs in a variety of unusual and unique gift items. I suggest browsing the interesting beaded jewelry. It’s a must!

The ceiling is adorned with an enormous decoration made mostly of colorful papier mache: It’s named “7 picos”. It  represents the 7 carnal pecados (The Seven Deadly Sins), also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins.

It’s a classification of objectionable vices that has been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen humanity’s tendency to sin. The final version of the list consists of wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.

After an amusing visit, happy with my hands full of interesting gifts, a little drunk with the vanilla liquor and a small Tequila shot complements of Lorena, I walk in diagonals further down towards the local Mercado Municipal.

A fitting locale, as the restaurant’s ambiance evokes memories of an old Cabo San Lucas with its interior walls covered with faux faded and crumbling murals depicting old village street scenes.

The place is eclectic, with crude spindled wood chairs painted in vibrant colors of turquoise, parrot red and grass green.

There are painted concrete and tile floors, four palapa-covered patio dining levels among fruit orchards and Mexican bric-a-brac decor everywhere.

At night and for lunch, Mi Casa’s menu is a tour-de-force of Mexican cuisine with many delectable regional meat and seafood entrées for the visitor to savor. The patio is charming, strolling around gives you a very good  feeling of what went on the night before.

At Mi Casa Restaurant, Mariachi stroll and play favorite songs around the terraced dining patios.

The Day of the Dead is celebrated annually in Mexico on November 1st, coinciding with the Catholic observation of All Saint’s Day.

The Day of the Dead is a uniquely Mexican celebration, a cultural festival resembling Halloween in many ways, but with more cultural and spiritual meaning.

The holiday combines elements of Catholicism with ancient Aztec symbolism, and honors the spirits of departed ancestors and loved ones who are believed to return to earth to join in the celebrations.
Outlined below are some of the more common emblems of this important cultural holiday:

CALAVEIRAS Mischievous Dead. Calaveras (skulls) are probably the most recognizable emblems of the Day of the Dead. Calaveras are whimsical caricatures – most commonly drawings – of skulls or skeletons. In most cases, calaveras are depicted in humorous settings, often in scenes depicting traditional activities.

Common images include churches, weddings, musicians, dancers, politicians, policemen, and revolutionary soldiers. “Catrinas,” (wealthy women) mock anyone who takes materialistic pleasures too seriously.

CALACAS : Like Calaveras, Calacas are mischievous renditions of skeletal figures. Calacas include paper mache skull masks and figurines of popular calaveras, such as Catrina. They are popular items for tourists to purchase as souvenirs. Calacas are sometimes adorned with the names of deceased.

OFFRENDAS: Perhaps the most serious emblem of the holiday is the Offrenda, an altar honoring the dead. Offrendas are most often created in honor of one’s ancestors or loved ones, and contain a number of traditional elements, many drawn from indigenous Mexican traditions:

Crosses and other religious emblems, including statuettes of saints; Water, sacred to indigenous pre-Columbian cultures, and a symbol of baptism and new life in the Catholic Church;

Salt, a preservative and purifying agent; Copal, a native incense used by the Aztecs; Candles, whose light guides the dead; Flowers, particularly the Cempazúchitl, or flower of the dead – the marigold, sacred to Mictlantecuhtli, the Aztec god of the dead;

Offerings of toys and sweets for children, alcohol and cigarettes for adults, common food offerings include fruits and pan de Muertos, a sweet egg bread shaped to resemble skulls and bones.

PAPEL PICADO: Papel picado literally means “perforated paper,” and refers to the lacy, elaborately pierced tissue decorations popular during the holiday.

Papel picado are created from layers of colorful tissue (or sometimes even plastic), and feature many of the same themes as other Day of the Dead decorations.

HUICHOL: The beaded art is a relatively new innovation and is constructed using glass, plastic or metal beads pressed onto a wooden form covered in beeswax.

Common bead art forms include masks, bowls and figurines. Like all Huichol art, the bead work depicts the prominent patterns and symbols featured in the Huichol religion.

The old buildings of the historic center, the overwhelming presence of the Parroquia San José church along with the inviting atmosphere of the main plaza, sombreros, Tequila and cigars, all share in the responsibility for this very appropriate description of the city.

San Jose del Cabo instills a sense of old Mexican charm into the harsh desert landscape and beautiful coastline that surround the city. Old customs and traditions prevail here and time seems to be nothing more than a symbol of the modern world…a symbol that is very easily ignored by many of the locals and visitors alike.

The boutiques:

Necri Boutique Boulevard Mijares, No. 16, Plaza Mijares
San Jose del Cabo BCS CP 23400 Mexico Phone: (624) 130-7500; Fax: (624) 130-7501;

La Pinata: Plaza Mijares, Art District – San Jose del Cabo 624-146-9728

The Restaurant: Mi Casa Cabo San Lucas Avenue, corner Lazaro Cardenas.
Phone (from the US) 001-52-624-14-31933, Email: salesmicasa@gmail.com

The Source: Frommer’s Guides/Los Cabos Guide

The galleries: The Art District San Jose Del Cabo

“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” - Pablo Picasso

Talking about washing people’s souls off from daily life: bidders defied grim market sentiment this month, with the majority of lots attracting enthusiastic souls bidding at Damien Hirst’s “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever” sale at Sotheby’s, London.

The highly publicized sale, which took place over two days, realized $207,169,510 above the high estimate, and included a new auction record for the artist with “The Golden Calf“, which sold for $19,227,777 to an anonymous collector.

“We are born with a scream; we come into life with a scream, and maybe love is a mosquito net between the fear of living and the fear of death. ” – Francis Bacon.

A 1976 Triptych by Francis Bacon brought $86.3 million at Sotheby’s last May, becoming the most expensive work of contemporary art ever sold at auction and a retort to doomsayers who had predicted that the art market would falter seriously this season because of broad economic anxieties. “Recession? What recession?” Barbara Gladstone, a Chelsea dealer, said jokingly as she was leaving the salesroom.

Although the sale had top-quality art and dealers predicted it would be a success, it went well beyond even the auction house’s expectations, bringing in $362 million, above the sale’s $356 million high estimate. Three telephone bidders went for the painting, the most expensive postwar work of art ever sold at auction and sold by the Moueix family, producers of Château Petrus wines.

“Don’t pay any attention to what they write about you. Just measure it in inches.” - Andy Warhol.

Andy Warhol’s Two Marilyns (Double Marilyn) at Christie’s auction house in London October 14, 2008. The picture was expected to fetch up to 6.5 million pounds ($11.4 million) at the Christie’s post-war and contemporary art sale on October 19.

The death of Marilyn provided Andy Warhol with the perfect pretext to capture, in a range of monochrome and multi-colored works, her celebrated visage smiling out with a pout rendered slightly ridiculous by association… In Two Marilyns (Double Marilyn), one of the early images on this theme executed in the months immediately following the star’s death, these features have been printed in black on the primed canvas, creating an elegant, even austere Pop stele to the tragic star. It was Two Marilyns and its sister-pictures that both ushered in Warhol’s own fame while cementing that of the star.

Nobody has done more to capitalize on Andy Warhol’s increasing popularity than Mr. Mugrabi. Together with his two sons, this self-made former cloth merchant from Bogotá, Colombia, says that over the past 20 years he’s amassed about 800 of the artist’s works, a stake that’s easily three times larger than any other private Warhol collection in the world and nearly as large as the paintings collection owned by the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. Dealers and major auction houses rarely buy or sell a Warhol without Mr. Mugrabi’s knowledge, and anyone who wants to buy one at auction must be prepared to outbid the family.

Tonino Cacace’s story is a little different and more inventive and creative than the aggressive Mugrabi family approach. The owner of the luxurious Capri Palace & Spa commissioned the Italian artist Giorgio Tonelli to paint the bottom of two of the hotel’s private swimming pools: Andy Warhol and the Rene Magritte in the gardens facing the Monte Solaro with the inspiration of the artist’s works in the rooms and bathrooms. The Mondrian and Kandinsky suites have some of their walls painted with the same concept.

The hotel is an art gallery on its own. Tonino Cacace makes a point to share his refined taste on Italian post-modern and contemporary art collection with his guests. After all, there’s a reason that guests receive on arrival a “Welcome to your home ” key holder booklet on their way to the rooms.

Among the large collection of interesting art works, I decided to mention a few, especially as I loved the context in which each one has been carefully placed.  The five-star hotel owner’s passionate involvement with life and the space he created, visibly transcend through the artist’s own understanding about the present space, the atmosphere, and finally the cultural background. The result is a natural and harmonic blend of cognitive and unconscious associations of personal and intimate well-being and exclusive, almost private hospitality.

A beautiful painting by Giorgio De Chirico, founder of the “Metaphysics School” in 1960, “Ettore and Andromaca” stands close to the reception desk almost implying the longing for the guests’ arrival.

Renowned Italian sculptor and recognized worldwide for his particular spheres and discs, both made of bronze, Arnaldo Pomodoro’s “Disco” invigorates the hotel’s main living room creating around a dynamic  perceivable movement of people socializing. A Keith Harring lithograph of people dancing in the middle of a pair of ormolue Louis xv style wall lamps reinforces the energy.

The intriguing and gigantic bronze helmet “Elmo” by Mimmo Paladino has been exclusively created for the Capri Palace lobby entrance. The artist who represents silence made up of shadows and mysterious magic declares: “Art is not a superficial thing, nor a poetic storm. Art is a process around a language of signs.”

I have often noticed children playing around the eyes and openings of the art piece almost perceiving with gentleness how Mimmo Paladino, the painter/sculptor, regards his work as nomadic art, based on repeated passages, and explains that by nomad he means a crossing of the various territories of art – both in a geographic and temporary sense – with a great technical and creative freedom. Children realize their stay in “Paradise” is provisional and they’ll be back home and to school soon.

British artist, Allen Jones’ “Believe It or Not”, whose inspiration by European avant-garde movement and Pop Art honored him with numerous international prizes and awards reigns over the bar near the terrace.   Jones’s art takes the form of paintings and sculptures. It’s easy to notice with a Bellini in one’s hand and enjoyable company, how his work connects a woman’s threads: As an object, as a subject, with long legs on elongated stiletto heels, the absolute symbol of a timeless eroticism and, in particular, a mirror on our age. But we are soon reminded we are on the island of Capri and everything else like in a fantasy is okay.

One of my favorites is Fabrizio Plessi’s “Azzurra”. This exclusive installation realized by the artist for the Capri Palace Hotel represents a typical Caprese boat used by the local fishermen to go into the most famous and romantic Blue Grotto.

Five monitors projecting a water flow are arranged inside the boat. Water and video, frequent characters in Fabrizio Plessi’s work, have the same blue surface, the same capability to carry objects and ideas, they both acquire their beauty from the reflection of the light. Again living the contrast of reality versus fantasy and possibly be so powerful to be able to enjoy both in the morning at sea and the art work at night in the TV room. Which is real and which is fantasy?

Fabrizio Plessi’s work represents a point of contact between technology and humanity: old elements, images coming from our memories and new video-electronic flow are greatly combined to recall a hardly ever seen neoclassical balance. He is one of the major interpreters of video-art.

“Uomo-Corno” (Horn-Man), in polished bronze with an iron hook structure is the symbol and emblem of a mythological world in which past and present, irony and tragedy, tradition and modernity take concrete form in a new vision of the amulet - a good luck charm and artifice of its own destiny. We all know how superstitious Neapolitans are.

His bronzes are worked as if they were made of clay with scratches and furrows, or modeled to highlight the refractive qualities of their smooth surfaces.

The artistic quest of Pignatelli in “Eroi Melanconici” (Melancholic Heroes) forges a path of fascination between archaeology and the exploration of myths – hemp canvases sewn together depicting skies of ash and dust that come alive with rips and stitches in huge spaces immersed in shadow. Depicting the icy face of a sad Aphrodite or the monumental, poetic countryside of reconnaissance flight, Pignatelli’s paintings are like mute images from a film projected onto a lacerated screen. I could personally feel Anacapri’s landscape, archeological importance but mostly my own global condition of being an almost rootless gypsy (like most of today’s travelers) through this artist’s canvas.

I will end with Arman Fernandez’s L’Envers de Desir, potent and at the same time almost imperceptible among the small trees in planters and gray wicker furniture.

Influenced by Dada, and later by much of the Pop Art movement, Arman’s works stand out through their aesthetics; he was the master of composition and this provides even his most absurdest works with beautifully realized compositions. Whether paint on canvas or garbage in Plexiglas, Arman saw the beauty and relevance of the everyday world and created art to reflect his own imaginative ideas on the world. He dared to question traditional views on the nature of art, but stands out as he never abandoned the sense of beauty in composition that has been art’s foundation since antiquity. Apart from the incredible title, he is a Scorpio (as am I) and the intensity of this feminine sculpture is unique.

Many more can be examined and appreciated individually. The Capri Palace Art Gallery, Mario Schifano, Velasco, Domenico Cantatore, Alessandro Papetti, Stefano Cantaroni, Aldo Mondino, Jakub Nepra - different artists with different styles, works of creativity that reflect a thousand shadings and life experiences that become the dominant elements within the eternal common denominator of artistic expression.

Apart from the Capri Palace’s complimentary acquarello (watercolor) painting classes conducted by painter, illustrator and art therapist Michele Costantini (for guests as well as outsiders), the different art exhibitions that take place in the welcoming space also include a forthcoming project with the New York Guggenheim and Whitney Museums that consist in sponsoring trip expenses and stays in the hotel for young international talents so that they can be provided with ideal conditions to create their art. The world is teeming with art events this season. I will enumerate a few in Joelle’s Tips (below).

“I have been lucky enough to be able to live on my obsession. This is my only success.“ - Francis Bacon

The rest is up to you.

Joelle’s Tips:

Get your art Fix in the world next season events:

3rd Biennial of Contemporary Art of Sevilla – 3/10-11/1 (Sevilla)
Van Gogh at MOMA – 9/10-9/11 (New York)
Frieze – 16/10-19/10 (London)
Contemporary Istanbul – 16/10-19/10 (Istanbul)
SCOPE - 16/10-19/10 ( London )

Throughout the centuries it has been a tradition for Italian nobility to be patrons to great artists. Villa Mangiacane stays true to this tradition, sponsoring on-site artists from Zimbabwe and abroad, and numerous art exhibition openings.

The best time for a walk is in the early evening, prior to sunset. Colors reach a degree of saturation which is ideal for photo-shoots or for just admiring the splendid collection of art and sculptures integrated in the composition of centennial trees, water basins, small lemon trees in terracotta vases, and iron benches in a quiet retreat, not to mention the vast, almost infinite renaissance perspective of olive groves upon San Casciano’s hills.

Most of the profits go to deserving African charities and the remaining profits are reinvested to support the Shona Art Sculptors in Zimbabwe and to promote their work by enabling them to gain international recognition and exposure.

As you pace amongst the myriad masterpieces in the ‘Giardino della Scultura‘ with its backdrop of nature, your eye travels in time as it moves across a spectrum the includes Lithuanian cubism and Zimbabwean Shona Sculptures.

The Villa Mangiacane Estate stretches over 300 hectares with very versatile locations for any photographic or film shoot. This Renaissance haven is an efficient location that offers a high variety of  “ready to use” settings with great props: opulent chairs, artworks, textures and materials indoors as well as the Tuscan forest, vineyards, olive groves and the famous sculpture garden outdoors.

I realize that not only myself and Cosmopolitan magazine, but also Award winning Norwegian photographer Petter Hegre — who studied at the Brooks Institute of Photography in California and worked for Richard Avedon before returning to Europe — that have enjoyed the inspiration of the magical garden at the Villa. Hegre, who published six books and whose work has been exhibited internationally, is known for being the pioneer of a new photographic genre called ‘The New Nude’, challenging ingrained views on the female nude.

Just as the Renaissance sculptors believed that a masterpiece lay dormant in every stone, and that artist simply awakens it- Villa Mangiacane itself has awakened to embrace a new era…

By the way if you happen to be in the neighborhood check out the Giardino because a container full of new art work in on its way at this time, to live by the Olive trees through eternity…

Giotto

Dour and medieval from the outside, Florence is so steeped in the fabulous Renaissance that it’s easy to mistake that she’s actually rather a stylish little kitten. So go on get art and about.

Exquisitely walkable, Florence is divided nicely down the middle by the Arno River, the north side of which is home to most of the main monuments and museums; The tourist-swamped Ponte Vecchio, Uffizi and Centro Storico (World Heritage UNESCO) at dead center. Santa Maria Novella and label-land Via Tornabuoni to the west, the Duomo and San Marco to the north, and Santa Croce due east. The south side of the Arno, Oltrarno is the city Rive Gauche, packed with artisan shops and atmosphere.

Here are some tips in case you decide suddenly to visit; by the way, you’ll need to know only two Italian phrases: Ciao Belloccia/Belloccio (Hello Gorgeous) and Vien Via, andiamo (come on, let’s go)

The Restaurants

Enoteca Pinchiorri: Serious occasion dining, calls for 3 Michelin stars, a 150,000 – bottle cellar, over 200 wines by the glass, abundant crystal and pale pink linen and tasting menu that starts st 225 Euros. Via Ghibbellina, 87 r Santa Croce +39055242757

BSJ: Designed by Mr. Bonan (a darling of Ferragamo’s) the chic-temporary whites and dark woods, pictures window over the Arno, and tiny, two table terrace (perfect for moon spooning) make for a relaxed sophisticated eve. Lungarno Hotels-Borgo San Yacopo. 62r Oltrarno/ +39 055 281661

Trattoria 4 Leoni: Teal and tiles and orange tablecloths inside, but snag a parasol table on the delightful piazza terrace and hoover the classical local treats, divertimento. Via de Vellutini,1r (piazza della Passera) Oltrarno /+ 39 055 218562

Coffee, Cake & Chocolate

Rivoire: My favorite, this peach tablecloth and woven chair haven of artisan cacao and scandalous pastries serves probably the finest hot chocolate (cioccolata con panna ) in the world. Via Vacchereccia, 4r/ Piazza della Signoria /+39055 214 412

Dolci e dolcezze: Assuming no responsibility for your figure after visiting. Disgracefully decadent, ultra-dense, fudgy chocolate cake, made with fine Swiss and Belgian ingredients and creamy Maremma butter, the best in town. Stay away at all cost! Piazza Beccaria, 8r/ Sant’ Ambrogio +39 055 234 5458

Ice-cream

Forget the fluorescent dollopy rubbish you see all over town, the fresh, additive-free, handmade ice-creams you will find at the emporium below, are the finest in the city.

Badiani: Take the best Vanilla ice cream you’ve ever tasted multiply it by eight, and you have patented ‘Buonvalenti’ flavor. The taxi you need to taste it is well worth it…Viale dei Mille, 208 / +39 055578 682

Sites, Museums & Activities

Florence has no museum pass system. This pathetic state of affairs can be seriously deleterious to your enjoyment unless you are organized. Two words, book ahead — you’ll reduce your queueing time considerably. Have your passport or driver’s license if you wish to hire an audio guide or better yet, hire a personal one! This city is literally one huge, glorious, easily walkable treasure chest. Here are the favorite, big, small, famed and lesser so. Have yourself your very own Renaissance but do not try to do everything at once. After all it took more that 60 years for an artist to accomplish one single door.

The Uffizzi: Despite being poorly laid out and presented, with its perilously ‘organized’ entry queueing system, it’s nonetheless completely unmissable. Piazzale degli Uffizzi ,6/+39055 294883

Accademia: The David is one of those unique life moments, and while Michelangelo was the classic ADD artist, even his unfinished work amazes — the prisoners emerging from their blocks of stone are haunting. The plaster gals in the Bartolini Gallery are destined to be forever wallflowers. Via Ricasoli, 58 /+39055238609

Santa Croce: Giotto’s divine 14th Century Bardi Chapel frescoes, the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo, the soothing serenity of the Pazzi Chapel, and the Museo dell’Opera accessible from inside the complex in the Leather School. Piazza Santa Croce /+ 39 055 246 61 05

Bardini and Boboli Gardens: The Bardini‘s manicured tiers provide prime peeps of the city and the ticket price include the entrance to the adjoining Boboli Gardens, the Pitti Palace costume museum and glitzy Medici treasury. Enter Bardini at Via dei Bardi /+39 055 265 1816

Shops I Like

Borsalino: 150 years of making hats and still way ahead of its time for flawless panamas and smoking motorbike helmets. Via Porta Rossa, 40r Centro / +39 055 283 354.

Loretta Caponi: “Aristoctratic embroidery” Not bad right? The softest silk and cashmere classic lingerie, bed, bath, trousseau and even baptismal gowns. Piazza Antinori, 4r Centro + 39 055 213 668

The Mall: The outlet for Gucci, Pucci, Valentino, Armani, Hogan and other made in Italy brands Via Europa 8, Leccio/Reggello /+39 0558657775

Simone Abbarchi: Made to order, custom-measured men’s shirts using Italian silks, Irish linens and Egyptian cotton from 100 Euros. Borgo San Frediano, 143r/ +39 055 210 552

The perfect Travel Guide: Luxe City Guides/ Florence from which I have been inspired and my precious source for this post.

Divertitevi! (have fun!)

Judaism is a comprehensive way of life, filled with rules and practices that affect every aspect of life: What you do when you wake up in the morning, what you can and cannot eat, what you can and cannot wear, how to groom yourself, how to conduct business,

who you can marry, how to observe the holidays and Shabbat, and perhaps most important, how to treat G-d, other people, and animals.

This set of rules and practices is known as Halakhah.

The word “Halakhah” is usually translated as “Jewish Law,” although a more literal (and more appropriate) translation might be “the path that one walks.” The word is derived from the Hebrew root Hei-Lamed-Kaf, meaning to go, to walk or to travel.

Halakhah comes from three sources: from the Torah, from laws instituted by the rabbis and from long-standing customs.

Halakhah from any of these sources can be referred to as a Mitzvah (commandment; plural: Mitzvot). The word “Mitzvah” is also commonly used in a casual way to refer to any good deed.

Because of this imprecise usage, sophisticated Halakhic discussions are careful to identify Mitzvot as being Mitzvot d’Oraita (an Aramaic word meaning “from the Torah“) or Mitzvot d’Rabbanan (Aramaic for “from the rabbis”).

A Mitzvah that arises from custom is referred to as a Minhag. Mitzvot from all three of these sources are binding, though there are differences in the way they are applied. The term Mitzvah has also come to express an act of human kindness and Tzedaka. (Charity)

According to the teachings of Judaism, all moral laws are, or are derived from, divine commandments. The opinions of the Talmudic rabbis are divided between those who seek the purpose of the Mitzvot and those who do not question them.

The latter argue that if the reason for each Mitzvah could be determined, people might try to achieve what they see as the purpose of the Mitzvah, without actually performing the Mitzvah itself.

The Rabbis came to assume that the Law comprised 618 commandments. According to Rabbi Simlai, as quoted in the Talmud, this enumeration of 618 commandments was representative of the following.

“  365 negative commandments like the number of days in the solar year, and 248 positive commandments corresponding to a person’s limbs”

Inspired by the the Rabbinical Mitzvots,  Moshe Mizrahi and Eitan Nissanian of MDM Judaica created exclusive one of a kind art pieces allowing every Jew in the world to remember and practice freely in their own homes the rituals present in the Talmudic teachings.

Among the 630 Mitzvots, I have chosen to enumerate a few basic ones to give you a good idea of what it takes today, to understand the basic principles of Jewish Faith the how the inherited knowledge from past generations is manifested through simple and sometimes more complex rituals.

And the greatest privilege for me is to illustrate in this case, the needed basic tools through beautiful uniquely precious works of art described below each Miztvah each one of a kind and all created with love and devoted care. And the Mitzvoths are:

And the  Mitvots are: Put a Mezuzah at the door frame of your home,

Below a collector’s case in Silver and wood inlay  a small key for Parnassa is hidden inside

To recite a blessing for each enjoyment ,

This hand painted illustration on parchment is from the beautiful Book of Perek Shira ( The song of creation) by Rabbi Eliezer.

To ritually wash the hands before eating ,

I am holding a gorgeous embossed and engraved silver Mayyim Acharonim in my hand.

Very good to put in my suitcase on my travels throughout the world.

To prepare lights in advance of Shabbat

A portable gold prayer book, scribed with Kosher Ink and hand sown with 24 k gold thread

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7tLqMOXSPm8/Rf_wuENDL4I/AAAAAAAAAYo/6iTDDR1gFxA/s400/dubrov.jpeg

To recite the Hallel psalms on holy days,

To light the Hanukkah lights,

I have displayed on a table in front of an 18th century Venetian mirror in my bedroom two beautiful examples of Menoras.

The first is a collectible,  25 years old in pure Silver.

It carries a small doors with a silver tray for an incorporated driedel game, a small drawer for the extra candles , and containers for the oil.

The second is a replica of an old Moroccan tradition of inlay .

To read the Scroll of Esther on Purim

This 9 meters (27′ length and 2′ wide) Kosher Meguilhat Esther is entirely hand painted and scribed by expert artisans in Israel. It took more than three years to be crafted. At the left hand-side a scroll of Esther case in silver inlay and the shape of a Castle.  The silver inlay representation of the brave chevalier Mordechai  riding a horse lays on the left at the bottom of the castle’s door.

Observe Jewish Holidays: Rosh Hashana

A very rare serving plate made in silver and gold with  hand painted in porcelain plates  for the Simanim (symbolic foods) .

Blessings are engraved all around the pedestal

and two drawers on the side contain the instruments to work on the dishes

Keep  Shabbat ( Kiddush)

Sheva Brachot/Brit/ Bar-Mitzva /  7 Blessing Cup. First of it’s kind. It is all engraved by hand with a magnifying glass.

Pure Silver inlay with 24 karat Gold. Includes the engraving of all Seven blessings.

A flower ruby encrusted in gold wine leaves on a Spice container for Havdalah. Another silver Spice Box. Wood inlay. Both Collector’s items

Keep Shabbat ( Havdalah)

One of the richest works of MDM. a pyramid Havdalah set. Made of white and red Afghan onyx and or-moulu silver and enamel

A kiddush cup and a spice box are part of this magnificent set

Another spectacular, Havdalah Set.  It is completely hand made.

3-D engraving in silver gold plate. Unique enamel color. All stones are pure-quality rubies.

The or-moulu tray has  a beautiful representation of the Shabbat ceremony in a Jewish household, blessings engraved on the borders.

These seven rabbinical commandments are treated like Biblical commandments insofar as, prior to the performance of each, a benediction is recited.

“Blessed are You, O LORD our God, King of the universe, Who has commanded us …”

Joelle’s Tips:

Several pieces like the ” Flower of Mitzvots ” and the Piano of Mitzvots” have  all year round  Mitzvots incorporated. Some are pieces like  inspired in the Spanish Marranos where they are hidden like the telephone Havdallah set

All hand painted illustrations as well as the Judaica works of art are from the Jerusalem private collection of MDM.

They can be made to order if not available in stock, price is on demand and can be delivered personally to your home.

MDM : Original Judaica on Parchment and Silver

Contact Info in the US :  Eitan Nissanian eitan126@yahoo.com  / Tel +1( 718) 544-0180 / cell +1 ( 917) 582 57 51 /(646) 270-0680

Rabbis photo Copyrights : common  writes / Wikipedia

Photo wedding copyrights :

In 15 days is the Jewish holiday of Passover. ( Hebrew: Pessah)

The miracle of the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt is perpetuated in Jewish tradition of the holiday of Pessah.

The holiday symbolizes the release from slavery and the gift of freedom, the journey from Egypt to the land of Israel.

The core of the holiday is the “Seder night”, during which the story of the Exodus is told as it was written in the “Pessah Haggadah”.

During the eight days of the holiday, it is forbidden to eat leavened bread and most baked goods, for the Torah commanded Jews to eat only Matza, which is unleavened bread, during Pessah.

In Jewish communities the holiday was celebrated according to all the laws and several important folklore symbols were added to it, which made the holiday very special.

On my trip to Europe, a gentleman called Eitan with a strong Israeli accent calls me on the phone.  ” Miss Joelle? My name is Eitan and I would like to introduce you to MDM, we have one of a kind line of Judaica from Israel, the- kind of- things- I- assure -you will like.

” Busy with the Brussels edition at that time , my answer was ” And Mr Eitan, how exactly would you know about  the kind of ‘ stuff’ I’d like?”

Eitan who I was referred to by an  Israeli architect living in New York who happens to know me well and  my taste for luxury and impeccable craftsmanship,  promised to say no more words until I saw some pictures of the pieces and met personally his associate Moshe Mizrahi who lived in Jerusalem.

They would both come to New York before Pessah and I will be presented ” G-D willing to some pieces of the  valuable collection, mostly in 22k in silver, 24k gold and  semi precious stones ” Wow!

In the meantime, on my arrival to New York, the countdown is approaching and as the Jewish world bravely confronts the great holiday of Pessah myriad preparatory requirements. Among them is the pre-Pessah  ritual in Jewish households of house-cleaning frenzy overwhelming  families.

I too do my part, carefully cleaning and dusting inside out closets, kitchen shelves, cupboards,  fridge and freezer for the legendary eradication of the so called Chamez. This specific  eradication  (“leavening”) refers either to a grain product that is already fermented ( yeast breads, certain types of cake, and most alcoholic beverages), or to a substance that can cause fermentation (yeast, sourdough or high fructose corn syrup -

Believe it or not, no matter how many year have passed every Jew has never total certainty about what he should keep and what he should put away during this frenetic cleaning.

The consumption of Chametz is forbidden during Passover in most Jewish traditions. According to Halakha, the ownership of Chametz is also proscribed from the house. It is the symbolic drive to put everything in the house in its proper place, shiny, spotless and dusted. Mine is ready. I can now receive the  ” Jerusalem boys” .

Eitan, announces his arrival in the city on an e-mail.  Before we talk further I ask if he and his partner can bring along  some of the impressive Seder Plates I saw in the pictures as well a selection of their valuable hand written , and marvelously  hand-painted painted  leather Haggadots .

Since the holiday is approaching the traditional table full of symbols has to be set in place ; nothing better than  finding some inspiration from Jerusalem experts coming to the Big Apple just to be at my total service in my own house!

The two men dressed in dark, are at my do0rway with a bunch of dark suitcases, one of them is wearing a formal hat that goes perfectly well with his dark beard.

” Joel? This is a name of a man! ” – he says- Your name in Israel is Yael!  Shalom Miss Yael, my name is Moshe Mizrahi, nice to meet you I am Argentinian of origin, could you please tell me where my assistant Eitan can leave the content of these suitcases, as you see the Seder Plate I have brought for you to see weights 20 kilos.

The beautiful pieces come out from the suitcases  one after the other in a Houdini manner and then carefully mounted over a wooden table in my living room facing Central Park.

Six ormolu silver cups are placed on top of a tray placed over a box with  six small silver inlaid gate doors . Behind beautiful hand painted scenes of the Seder ritual and a three shelves container for the three Matzot kept for later blessings.

Semi precious stones and Hebrew letters engravings embellish the composition of the piece. A  majestic Kiddush silver and  24 k gold goblet, is reserved for  the prophet Eliahu Hannabi possible appearance at the family dinner .

You see Miss Yael, a Seder table must look precious..it is traditional of Jewish families to gather on the first night of Pessah (first two nights in communities outside the land of Israel) for the special dinner, called a Seder (derived from the Hebrew word for “order”, referring to the very specific order of the ritual).

The table must be set with the finest china and silverware to reflect the importance of the meal.

During this meal, the story of the Exodus from Egypt is retold using a special text called the Haggadah. Four cups of wine are consumed at various stages in the narrative.

The Haggadah divides the night’s procedure into 15 parts: Kadeish – recital of Kiddush blessing and drinking of the first cup of wine , Urchatz - the washing of the hands – without blessing, Karpas - dipping of the karpas in salt water, Yachatz - breaking the middle Matzo; the larger piece becomes the Afikoman which is eaten later during the ritual of Tzafun, Maggid - retelling the Passover story, including the recital of  “the four questions” and drinking of the second cup of wine,

Rachtzah - second washing of the hands – with blessing , Motzi - traditional blessing before eating bread products, Matzo – blessing before eating Matzo. Maror - eating of the maror, Koreich – eating of a sandwich made of matzo and maror,  Shulchan oreich – lit. “set table”—the serving of the holiday meal, Tzafun - eating of the afikoman, Bareich – blessing after the meal and drinking of the third cup of wine, Hallel - recital of the Hallel, traditionally recited on festivals; drinking of the fourth cup of wine, Nirtzah – conclusion

Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nissan (equivalent to March and April in Gregorian calendar), the first month of the Hebrew calendar’s festival year according to the Hebrew Bible. In the narrative of the Exodus, the Bible tells that YHWH inflicted ten plagues upon the Egyptians before Pharaoh would release his Hebrew slaves, with the tenth plague being the killing of all of the firstborn, from the Pharaoh’s son to the firstborn of the dungeon captive, to the firstborn of cattle.

The Hebrews were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a spring lamb and, upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord passed over these homes, hence the term “passover”. When Pharaoh freed the Hebrews, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread to rise.

In commemoration, for the duration of Passover, no leavened bread is eaten, for which reason it is called “The Festival of the Unleavened Bread”. Matza (unleavened bread) is the primary symbol of the holiday. This bread that is flat and un-risen is called Matzo.

The Seder is replete with questions, answers, and unusual practices (the recital of Kiddush which is not immediately followed by the blessing over bread, which is the traditional procedure for all other holiday meals) to arouse the interest and curiosity of the children at the table.

The children are also rewarded with nuts and candies when they ask questions and participate in the discussion of the Exodus and its aftermath. Likewise, they are encouraged to search for the afikoman, the piece of matzo which is the last thing eaten at the Seder. Audience participation and interaction is the rule, and many families’ Seders last long into the night with animated discussions and much singing.

The Seder concludes with additional songs of praise and faith printed in the Haggadah, including Chad Gadya (“One Kid Goat”).

The Haggadah ( “telling”) is a Jewish religious text that sets out the order of the Passover Seder.  As Moshe explains the different stories I contemplate speechless the MDM Haggadots . Fully hand-painted, scribed with Kosher ink on carefully selected parchment  they are sown by pairs to another with blue silk thread and gold. Mostly, Eitan tells me, take up to 4 years to be completed.

Reading the Haggadah is a fulfillment of the scriptural commandment to each Jew to “tell your son” about the Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt as described in the Book of Exodus in the Torah.

Beginning on the second night of Passover, the 16th day of Nissan Jews begin the practice of the Counting of the Omer, a nightly reminder of the approach of the holiday of Shavuot 50 days hence.

Each night after the evening prayer service, men and women recite a special blessing and then enumerate the day of the Omer. Moshe and Eitan very proudly showcase a spectacular piece in massive silver with a beautiful enamel clock and suggestive prayers describing the different stories related to the 49 days of the Omer counting.

When the Temple stood in Jerusalem, a sheaf of new-cut barley was presented before the altar on the second day of Unleavened Bread. Since the destruction of the Temple, this offering is brought in word rather than deed. One explanation for the Counting of the Omer is that it shows the connection between Passover and Shavuot.

The physical freedom that the Hebrews achieved at the Exodus from Egypt was only the beginning of a process that climaxed with the spiritual freedom they gained at the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.

Another explanation is that the newborn nation which emerged after the Exodus needed time to learn their new responsibilities vis-a-vis Torah and mitzvot before accepting God’s law. The distinction between the Omer offering—a measure of barley, typically animal fodder—and the Shavuot offering—two loaves of wheat bread, human food—symbolizes the transition process.

Joelle’s Tips:

All hand painted illustrations as well as the Judaica object d’ art are from the Jeruslame private collection of MDM.

They can be made to order if not available in stock, price is on demand and can be delivered personally to your home.

MDM : Original Judaica on Parchment and Silver

Contact Info in the US :  Eitan Nissanian eitan126@yahoo.com  / Tel +1( 718) 544-0180 / cell +1 ( 917) 582 57 51 / (646) 270-0680

Desert photo Copyrights : common  writes / Wikipedia

“Its pillars he made of silver, its couch of gold, its curtain of purple, its interior inlaid with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem.”

Shir-Ha-Hashrim — Song of Songs Chapter 3

Once upon a time a young Jewish boy who lived in a modest neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina with four sisters, four brothers and his parents  had a great dream.

At only seven years of age, in his nightly prayers Moshe Mizrahi — that was his name — only had one wish… to one day be offered the opportunity to “make beautiful things”.

He had no idea what these beautiful things would be, but he knew for a fact that they would be one of a kind in the whole world.

At the age  18 he flies to New York and attends a Yeshiva school in Brooklyn.

As a good scholar Moshe learns in depth the religious teachings of his ancestors, the Hebrew alphabet and calligraphy , the scriptures in which valuable Jewish laws and ancient traditions have been meticulously kept and perpetuated throughout generations since the Old Testament times.

After the Yeshiva studies in Brooklyn, the scholar’s first trip to the promised land offers a promising future and a promised wife who wisely invites the young graduate, now her fiancee, to “stay”  a while longer in Jerusalem and study some more Torah.

And it’s near the traditional neighborhood of Mea Shearim in the heart of the old city that Moshe’s  prolonged stay makes of him a great husband as well as one of the most renowned scribes in all Israel, and one of only an estimated 300 worldwide.

The day becomes busy as early as 6 AM, and like Moses the first scribe, with impeccable precision Moshe scribes sacred texts on Torahs, Tefillins, Mezuzahs, Haggadas and Megillahs, attends Shul three times a day and in the evening enjoys being a father to his three young children.

His responsibilities grow with age as it is important to acknowledge that Jewish law dictates every Torah, the holiest of all Jewish books, should be meticulously written out by hand rather than mechanically reproduced.

He understands that the writing of a single Torah can take up to one year and cost a synagogue very high sums. This is because, as with everything in Judaism, it must be created according to strict rules.

Moshe knows that a scribe can make no mistakes in a Torah or in any other holy scripture as they are carefully proofread after completion. Considered a living document, the Torah and other important scriptures must be made entirely of natural materials.

That means using kosher ink, made from the crushed outer bark of a wasp’s nest, a quill made from a turkey or goose feather, and cloth made from a calf killed for food.

With the years, slowly Moshe gets acquainted with those precious rules, along with writing letters out by hand in a calligraphic style identified as Spanish, sometimes a painstakingly long process. He also learns how to meticulously select individual parchment sheets by color,  density, texture and size for his different works.

He then cuts , collects and separates the sheets in groups depending on the  different manuscripts,  wears white gloves while working so that the oils of his skin don’t get on the parchment, and finally seals the completed and carefully revised work with  perfumed natural Israeli beeswax.

During the time of apprenticeship of the secular techniques, several Jewish artists who immigrated to Israel from different countries approach our scribe with beautiful illustrations and art works to be incorporated as per their suggestion into his sacred manuscripts.

Moshe agrees with the new experience proposal and after about 6 months, the first prototype comes out.  The content, very precious in Jewish faith, is called in Hebrew Shir ha-Shirim (Song of Songs) a book of the Hebrew Bible — one of the five Megillot (scrolls) also known as the Song of Solomon, or  Canticles.

The protagonists are a woman and a man, and the poem suggests movement from courtship to consummation. Additionally, the Song includes a chorus, the “Daughters of Jerusalem.” With no explicitly religious content, the Song is often interpreted as an allegorical representation of the relationship of God and Israel, as husband and wife.

According to Ashkenazi Jewish tradition, it is read on the Sabbath that falls during the intermediate days of Passover. In the Sephardi community it is recited every Friday night.

We are now in the 1970s, and a wealthy Jewish collector of Judaica calls Moshe on the phone to Jerusalem and flies him over to “check” upon a Torah he recently purchased. Very happy with the result, the collector and Moshe become good friends and apart from selling his first Shir Hashrim he comes back with a list of made-to-order commissions with the Jewish holidays as the theme.

Very quickly, encouraged by the unexpected endorsement from his wealthy new client, Moshe gathers a valuable community of devoted artists around himself in Israel, who anxiously waited for his return from the States.

Some of those were just starting their career; some others were famous, including Yuri Haissman — an extremely respected painter and sculptor of that time.

A large number of artistic creations are set in production as a result of a collaborative and integrated efforts among those artists and Moshe’s creative vision and initial capital.

In a few months,  top of the line Russian silversmiths, engravers from Poland, Armenian jewelers, and Moroccan painters become part of Moshe’s daily routine. Some of them live in the North near the Golan, others in the Neve Tzedek neighborhood of Tel Aviv, others in the Negev desert region.

Moshe is not afraid to enterprise long driving journeys across the stunning Israeli landscape to supervise the different stages of each of his “mission-impossible creations ” whose process will take 18 months to sometimes 4 years of devoted and persevering attention to detail.

And  from a distant passion of a young boy’s visionary dream in Argentina, a new brand was born in Israel that will reveal masterpieces of art and crafts for more than 40 years to present times, simply signed with three small initials :  MDM.

(To be continued)

Joelle’s Tips:

Photo credit Armenian Jewish Silversmith: Chayas. com / and Photo of Mr. Curtis courtesy Society of American Silversmiths

All hand painted illustrations as well as the Judaica objects d’ art are from the Jerusalem private collection of MDM.

They can be made to order if not available in stock, price is on demand and can be delivered personally to your home.

MDM: Original Judaica on Parchment and Silver

Contact Info in the US:  Eitan Nissanian eitan126@yahoo.com  / Tel +1( 718) 544-0180 / cell +1 ( 917) 582 57 51 / (646) 270-0680

Desert photo Copyrights: common rights / Wikipedia. The image has been released into the public domain by its author, Roybb95.