The endless Shadow (Between Plato's Cave and the HeSTeR PaNIM of BeZaLEL) 1985

The endless Shadow

(Between Plato's Cave and the HeSTeR PaNIM of BeZaLEL) 1985

The forbiddance of creating art objects in the Jewish tradition, {ref., SheMOT 20 (1-5) , DeVaRIM 4 (15-24), DeVaRIM 5 (6-10) } is stating that the Jewish community should not create an image whether it is a carved-image 'PeSeL', or any figure 'TeMUNaH', in the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth, and therefore one should not bow to a man made art object.

And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; Exodus, SheMOT -  20 (1-5)

Here then is the enigma, who can explain what is a 'PeSeL' or what is a 'TeMUNaH', and who dares to define a work of art, and in particular what is an art work which has been designed and produced for The Western Project?
and what is Jewish Art? or Christian Art? or Secular Art? etc.,

One thing is clear, to declare oneself an 'artist', 

is just a small part of the grand scheme of 'The Western Project'. 

In this context then, each and every artwork on display in 'The Western Project', is a re-presentation of a certain veil, and it is itself symbolic. So, in a curious way, one might argue that the Artwork itself symbolizes the very principle of symbolism, or perhaps it is already always a re-presentation of a promise which cannot be defined, neither be achieved.
This then is the concept of HeSTeR PaNIM (The Hidden Face of - (God));
The idea which The Western Project sets out to explore, and at the same time trying to conceal from its public. To assume then, without further discussion, that the idea of the idea of "The Hidden Face" (HeSTeR PaNIM) is nothing else but the concealed Source-Text - A veiled perfect Typography which explains and at the same time supports, the Western concept of Mystery. A certain mystery which is only Readable, if it is not readable, that is to say, the impossibility of miracle(s) to be repeated.

So, by returning to the question of what art means in the strategic plan of The Western Project, we should accept that each and every art work on display, is an extremely complex relationship between tradition, folk art, ritual art, mythology, spoken language, written language, and the very obscure vibrating horizon which defies as it were, the area behind The Western Project.

And in our context,
one must remember and to explore the significance behind
the foundation of the modern State of Israel. In this condition, then, the act of using symbols, and in particular Jewish symbols in the landscape of The Western Project - is becoming both, a fact and a fiction. 

Similarly, by the specific gesture of calling a certain artwork on display, a Jewish Art, or a Christian Art, or even a Secular Art, the public is forced to reflect upon it merely by obeying to a certain (accepted) Laws. 
And precisely because of this problem of obeying, that we must deliberately put into question, and to resist at all times, the list of vows which were created and designed by The Western Project.

This however bring us Back to Back with Plato's Cave, 

and with BeZaLEL's HeSTeR PaNIM. 

Please note:

the name of BeZaLEL is commonly translated as
"In the Shadow of God" or "In the protection of God". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bezalel

As often as not,
once a Name becomes a place, but cannot perceive itself without a PeSeL or a TeMUNaH, the Name itself will be represented as a symbolic structure. That is to say, that in our contemporary Cave, the artwork which has been designed and produced by BeZaLEL, is nothing but a system of an ever changing 'Measurement in MOED'. (Measurement in; Appointed time, Place, or Meeting).
In other words, the artwork which has been created by BeZaLEL, is in matter of fact, a system that calculates on a daily basis, the distance between the Shadow on the wall and the WALL itself. 

And in order to appreciate the significance of BeZaLEL's HeSTeR PaNIM in our contemporary reading, it is perhaps necessary, first of all, to look in details into the very layout, and the programmes of The Western Project. 
Therefore, one must proceed as one does - to look for the Source-Text; i.e., SeFaT EVer which is always being located behind the mechanical veiling of the Western concept of Mystery - The concept of Mystery as it emerges and exposes itself in The Western Project, till this very day. 

And step by step, of course, one must try and disentangle the notion of one's secular thought, from the complex impulses of Faith which appears to dominate our creative need.

To begin with, 
one should remember that the production and the displaying of an artwork in the context of The Western Project, is a certain responsibility, for it is inherently political, and this is regardless of the intentions or the motives which makes the breathing of the OTHER readable.

Joseph Semah, 1985