Echo / Echo, Kunst in Kirchen Raum geben, Hannover, Germany 1993

Echo / Echo, Kunst in Kirchen Raum geben, Hannover, Germany 1993

Echo / Echo is a site specific art work in memory of the synagogue which was built next to the Ev.- Luth. Neustädter Hof- und Stadtkirche St. Johannis, Hannover.
The main synagogue of Hannover was destroyed during the Kristallnacht pogrom, 10.11.1938. The main synagogue of Hannover, architect: the German-Jewish Edwin Oppler (1831-80), inaugurated 1870.

Echo / Echo I
In the clock tower of the Ev.- Luth. Neustädter Hof- und Stadtkirche St. Johannis Hannover.      Bronze, (in bronze casted, 36 ShOFaROT, ram's horn used for Jewish religious purposes),          Height 600 cm
Please note: Echo / Echo I in the clock tower, disappeared without a trace, it has yet to be found.

Echo / Echo II,
(In the proximity of the Church) 4 x steel plates (The form is based on the ground plan of a synagogue), Bronze, Height 75 cm.
This art work is located outside the Church, in front of the Church Office, Landeskirchenamt Hannover.
Please note: The administrative center of the Luth. Church of Hanover has been built upon the area of the destroyed Synagogue in 1954. At a certain time it has been decided to change the location of Echo / Echo II, to the back side of the Church. A strange decision by the city. http://www.josephsemah.nl/…/d…/files/books/Echo%20EchoKL.pdf

 The main synagogue of Hannover

 the Ev.- Luth. Neustädter Hof- und Stadtkirche St. Johannis Hannover.

שלחן ערוך ShULChaN ARUCh, Set Table, (Laid Table)

שלחן ערוך  ShULChaN ARUCh
Set Table, (Laid Table), 2005
ORaCh ChaYIM (Manner of Life) - YOReH DEAH (If Teaches Knowlegde) - EVeN HaEZeR (Stone of Help) - CHOSheN MiShPaT (Breastplate of Judgement) - MaPaH / TOSaFOT (Tablecloth/ Extra) 
Collection: Bouwfonds Art Foundation, Hoevelaken, The Netherlands
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shulchan_Aruch

שלחן ערוך  ShULChaN ARUCh, Set Table, (Laid Table), 5x Parts, 2005

 שלחן ערוך  ShULChaN ARUCh, Set Table, (Laid Table), 5x Parts, 2005

 שלחן ערוך  ShULChaN ARUCh, Set Table, (Laid Table), 5x Parts, 2005
ORaCh ChaYIM (Manner of Life)
Wood, 2 saw-horses, copper,  2 x cast iron shoe lasts, 108 x 60 x100 cm

 שלחן ערוך  ShULChaN ARUCh, Set Table, (Laid Table), 5x Parts, 2005
YOReH DEAH (If Teaches Knowledge), 
Copper, glass, wood, 2 saw-horses, iron rings, 5x marble eggs, 108 x 60 x 100 cm

 שלחן ערוך  ShULChaN ARUCh Set Table, (Laid Table), 5x Parts, 2005
EVeN HaEZeR (Stone of Help),  
Glass, wood, 2 saw-horses, copper, 2 x horseshoe, 2 x stones from Jerusalem, 108 x 60 x 100 cm

 שלחן ערוך  ShULChaN ARUCh, Set Table, (Laid Table), 5x Parts, 2005
CHOSheN MiShPaT (Breastplate of Judgement), 
Wood, copper, 2 saw-horses, 117.5 x 60 x 100 cm

שלחן ערוך  ShULChaN ARUCh, Set Table, (Laid Table), 5x Parts, 2005
MaPaH / TOSaFOT (Tablecloth/ Extra), 
Wood, 2 saw-horses, white cloth material, threads, 74 x 60 x 100 cm

פתוחה / סתומה, (PeTUChaH / SeTUMaH), Open / Closed

פתוחה / סתומה, (PeTUChaH / SeTUMaH), Open / Closed ,1990
Neon light, electrical wire (104 Meters,) plexiglas, iron, 100 x 100 x 100 Cm.

OPEN PORTION / CLOSED PORTION
Please note: there are 290 'open portions' and 379 'closed portions', in TORaH's scroll.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parashah

As a matter of fact, the pyramid combination of the 10 circles above the word CLOSED, is a symbol of the Tetragrammaton https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetragrammaton .

Breaking News

Breaking News, 1990
Bronze, 3x iron circle planning industrial, hight 70 Cm.

SIR HaBaSaR (meat pot)

SIR HaBaSaR (meat pot), 1983
10 x Cooking Pots, 4 x ShOFaROT (an ancient musical instrument made of ram's horn  -  it is also used for Jewish religious purposes)

The Wandering Jew / The Wondering christian

The Wandering Jew / The Wondering Christian, 1987
2 x bronze castings of a stuffed goat, 10 x fluorescent, 10 x transformers, electricity wire,
400 x 400 Cm.

The Wandering Jew / The Wondering Christian, 1987-90
Black piano, 4 x bronze castings of a stuffed goat, 20 x fluorescent, 20 x transformers, 20 x starters, electricity wire, 170 x 300 x 600 Cm.

Read Full Text

Read Full Text, 1983
Two school chairs, a school map entitled: 'Palestina at the era of the Bible',
a wood folding table, hight 75 Cm.
Collection Museum van Bommel van Dam, Venlo
Photo: Arend Velsink

Please note: The chess pieces are based on the form of תפילין TeFILIN / Phylacteries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tefillin
https://toldotyisrael.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/probing-the-earliest-origins-of-tefillin-phylacteries-part-i/

Reading in Reverse

Reading in Reverse, 1990

Bronze, height 50 cm, 

Photo: Rüdiger Lubricht, Worpswede

קדיש קד איש מני אז מניין תשע בו פחות אחד KaDISh (Prayer for the dead): One man bowed out/ Now the quorum of ten (MiNYaN) only has nine/ One too few

קדיש קד איש מני אז מניין תשע בו פחות אחד

KaDISh (Prayer for the dead): One man bowed out/ Now the quorum of ten (MiNYaN) only has nine/ One too few, 1979

KaDISh KaD ISH MiNI AZ MiNYaN TeShA BO PaChOT EChaD

22 x european typewriters + 1 x hebrew typewriter,  2x steel boxes (the form is based on the image of TeFILIN - Phylacteries, white band, 250 x 50 x 50 Cm.

Photo: Rüdiger Lubricht, Worpswede

SeFaT IMI SeFaT EVeR My mother's tongue is the Hebrew tongue

SeFaT IMI SeFaT EVeR
My mother's tongue is the Hebrew tongue, 1985
Iron, leather, wood, books
250 x 250 x 250 Cm.
Collection Israel Museum, Jerusalem

ref: TeFILIN, phylacteries,

ירושלים הרים סביב לה YeRUShaLaYiM HaRIM SaVIV LaH JERUSALEM SURROUNDED BY MOUNTAINS

ירושלים הרים סביב לה 
YeRUShaLaYiM HaRIM SaVIV LaH
JERUSALEM SURROUNDED BY MOUNTAINS 1987


Ten cast bronze dogs painted in a gold color, 
ten glass plates
40 x 450 x 700 cm.

Please note: This work is based on the ground plan of a synagogue, namely the one that was destroyed in Germany in the Kristallnacht, 9 November 1938

Restraining oneself by demanding nothing in return, 1984

Two cast bronze dogs painted in gold color, five glass plates 150 x 150 Cm.
Collection, Hällisch-Fränkische Museum für Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte Schwäbisch Hall, Germany

Joseph Semah, Restraining oneself by demanding nothing in return, 1982
Water colore, ink 40 x 30 cm.

According to this descriptive level the dog had been isolated by the iceberg – the Geopolitical concept (Germany), Caspar David Friedrich; the Hope, contributing as it were, a constant perspective (although restricted) by asserting the link between Christianity and Judaism. There is something bluntly deliberate in one’s logical scheme, the distinct operation which administers the lingering conflict situated between the good and the bad, between the immaculate / the pure and the wicked, between the person’s innocent love and the cynical attitude towards the whole human being. Between compassion (Christianity) and cruelty, blood etc., (Judaism). The dog is (the unabridged reality) a companion, a wreath, a friend, that is, in the comprehension of the Christian. The dog is the evil, the stranger, the constant fear for the Jew. The human spirit, the pigeon, the bird, the angel, the desires and the inclinations (to eradicate the Self). 

Restraining oneself by demanding nothing in return. Restraining oneself by demanding nothing in return. Restraining oneself by demanding nothing in return. Restraining oneself by demanding nothing in return. Restraining oneself by demanding nothing in return Restraining oneself by...

 
The Sea of Ice ( The Wreck of Hope ) FRIEDRICH, Caspar David 1823–1824

YaKNeHa'Z יַקְנְהַ״ז

YaKNeHa'Z,
יַקְנְהַ״ז 1983
Plumb with line, bronze, 400 cm.

YaKNeHa'Z is an abbreviation composed of the initials of 5 x Hebrew words (The praying of HaVDaLaH  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havdalah );

Ya - YaYiN - Wine
K - KIDUSh - Sanctification
Ne - NeR - Light
Ha - HaVDaLaH - Separation
Z - ZeMaN - Time


YaKNeHa’Z is a mnemonic device to help remember the sequence of the prayer of HaVDaLaH when PeSaCh SeDeR (meal) is held on Saturday night; 
TaLMUD BaVeLY, tractate PeSaChIM.

YaKNeHa’Z: 
(Ya) YaYieN (Wine), (K) KIDuSh (Sanctification), (Ne) NeR (Candle), (Ha) HaVDaLaH (Blessing over fire), (Z) ZeMaN (Season).

Please note:
the prayer of HaVDaLaH on ShaBaT (Saterday) has a diferent mnemonic device: 
YaBNeH:
(Ya) Wine (B) Spices (Ne) Candle, (H) HaVDaLaH. 
1.Blessed are You, HaSheM [the Name, TETRAGRAMMATO] our God, King of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine. 2. HaSheM, our God, King of the universe, Who creates species of fragrance. 3. Blessed are You, HaSheM, our God, King of the universe, Who creates the illuminations of the fire. 4.Blessed are You, Hashem our God, King of the universe, Who separates between holy and secular, between light and darkness, between Israel and the nations, between the seventh day and the six days of labor. Blessed are You, HaSheM, Who separates between holy (Saterday) and secular (the rest of the week).

Hare Hunting 1982
Ink, pencil, paper 30 x 22 Cm.

72 Privileges [.....]: ‘It is precisely this balance between exile and the emotion of the privileged which forms the unique originality of our Breathing in Reverse. As will be clear already, there is no past or future in Exile, only an immediate present’. ...........................Please note: From now onward, it will be known as - ............................ 72 Privileges [.....] - [A second chance]: ‘It is precisely this balance between exile and the emotion of the privileged which forms the unique originality of our Breathing in Reverse. As will be clear already, there is no past or future in Exile, only an immediate present’. 2012 - 2013

72 Privileges [.....]:   

‘It is precisely this balance between exile and the emotion of the privileged which forms the unique originality of our Breathing in Reverse. As will be clear already, there is no past or future in Exile, only an immediate present’. 2012  

Please note:

From now onward, it will be known as - 

72 Privileges [.....] - [A second chance]: 

‘It is precisely this balance between exile and the emotion of the privileged which forms the unique originality of our Breathing in Reverse. As will be clear already, there is no past or future in Exile, only an immediate present’. 2012 - 2013  

The first Kochi-Muziris Biennale, 2012-2013, India.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/kochi-gets-ready-for-a-dutch-treat/article4180329.ece

http://shevlinsebastian.blogspot.nl/2012/12/a-rulers-magnanimity.html
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/artists-should-give-political-issues-a-wide-berth-semah/article4024605.ece
Interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMZ0pMufbHs

.....When issues of religious intolerance are rocking Europe, it is wonderful to see here in Kochi, India, a laboratory of tolerance, where Hindus, Muslims, Jews and Christians co-exist in perfect harmony.  

Here we can see how the concept of tolerance took shape by promoting a kind of balance between different religious groups. This could be an example for us in the West.  

Please note: 
After being in such a close proximity to the history of Kochi and bumping into the story of the copper plates which tells us about the 72 privileges that were granted to the Jewish and Christian communities by the last king of the Chera dynasty, Cheraman Perumal (962-1019 AD) - I have adopted  the number 72 to be the main measurement of my work.   

The 72 Copper plates (42cm x 30cm) are pierced with the star constellations found in the cosmos above the city of Jerusalem, and arranged diagonally on a long 22 meter wooden table that dissects the room. Woven throughout is 5000 meters of tangled white cotton thread that represents the circumference of the old city of Jerusalem.

Brahmin king Cheraman Perumal, the last of the Chera Dynasty, granted 72 privileges to the Jews and Christians of Kochi, and inscribed them in ancient Tamil onto copper plates.   

1. Ambari (Howdah on an elephant) 2. Ankaram (courtyard) 3. Antholam (palanquin) 4. Ammoolam (tax gathering) 5. Arpu (cheers) 6. Aala vattam (Peacock feather fan) 7. Aana savari (Elephant riding) 8. Uchippoovu (Head Turban) 9. Kacha (Robes) 10. Kacha puram (Over coat) 11. Kankanam (Bangles) 12. Kaal thala (Anklet Rings) 13. Kaal chilambu (Anklets Bells) 14. Kurava (Tongue Cheers) 15. Kuthirasavari (horse ride) 16. Kuzhal (Bugles) 17. Kodi (Flag) 18. Kaikara (Hand Ornaments) 19. Kaithala (Bangles) 20. Cheli (a kind of tax) 21. Chemkombu (another tax) 22. Chenda (Drum) 23. Thamburu (String Instruments) 24. Thazha kkuda (Royal Palm Umbrella) 25. Ner vaal (Straight Sword) 26. Pattu chatta (Silk Coat) 27. Patturumal (Silk Handkerchief) 28. Pattumundu (Silk dothi) 29. Pakal vilakku (Day Lamp) 30. Padi pura (Entry Gate House) 31. Pathakkam (Necklace) 32. Panni pudava (Embroidary Robes) 33. Paravathani (Carpet) 34. Pavaada (Royal Cloth) 35. Pallakku (Palanquin) 36. Pavada (Royal Cloth) 37. Panchavadyam (Five Instrument Orchestra) 38. Pandal Vithanam (Pandal Decoration) 39. Pathinezhu Parichamel Kathruthwam (Control over the 17 Low castes) 40. Maddalam (Hand Drum) 41. Manarkolam (Platforms) 42. Mudi (Crown) 43. Mudikuzhabharanam (Head ornaments) 44. Mammoolam (Tax) 45. Methi adi (Wooden Chappels) 46. Raja vaadyam (Royal Orchestra) 47. Raja Sankham (Irippu) (Honour to sit in court with the King) 48. Rajabogham (Honor to eat with King) 49. Veena (String Instrument) 50. Deevetti (Indigenous Torch) 51. Thookku manchal (Swinging Cot) 52. Thondon 53. Thoranam (Decoration) 54. Thol vala (Armpit Bangle) 55. Theendalkattal (untouchability) 56. Nada (Cheers) 57. Nayattuhubhogam (Privilege for hunting) 58. Naikudiparisha 59. Nedizakuda (Royal Umbrella) 60. Nettipetti (Cloth Box) 61. Nettikettu (Head Dress) 62. Veera vaadyam (Heroic Bugles) 63. Veera madalam 64. Veera srimkhala (Royal Chain) 65. Viri panthal (Honour to errect Pandal) 66. Venchamaram (Royal Fan) 67. Sankhu (conch) 68. Sangu Edam Piri (Conch with left screw) 69. Sankhu Valampiri (conch with right screw) 70. Bhoomi Karamozhivu (land tax evation) 71. Nayattu (Hunting) 72. Paalamarangal (Forest concession)

The accompanying 72 shadow drawings (42cm x 30cm), which were drawn with a black indian ink on various tracing papers are sawn together with white thread into a sheet of music notes.   The 72 drawings are in fact a visual guide to the history and the significance of the 72 privileges.

PERFORMANCE
The performance featuring 8 public figures of diverse religious denominations and a secular person, who are reading aloud, Back-to-Back, from their scriptures /book of influence in an impromptu fashion. 
At the same time, 72 pupils from diverse religious denominations took an active role by reading aloud and burning the 72 privileges inside 72 wine glasses.

Remember, the new sound created by the reading of the 8 persons, together with the 72 pupils is already advancing into 'a ready to hand' meaningful gesture; This is the language of Art. There is no doubt, 
Breathing by Breathing, 
one is coming closer and closer to the impulses of the tradition of secularity which appear to dominate our creative desire. 

Please note: to reach the full effect of the Performance, one should watch the 2x registration videos at the same time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jssNAgGBuO0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wocZraGifBE

The Secret
To understand the inner meaning of this art-work, 
one should lie on the floor under the wooden table.

72 Privileges [.....] - [A second chance]: 

‘It is precisely this balance between exile and the emotion of the privileged which forms the unique originality of our Breathing in Reverse. As will be clear already, there is no past or future in Exile, only an immediate present’. 2012 - 2013