Art & Inspiration Blog

The basic theology that Post Conceptual UnGraven Image Art theory is founded upon is absolutely held by all branches and denominations of Christians and Jews. Since Christianity is born from Judaism and Jesus and all of his disciples were Jewish, the two religions agree and share certain core theology.

Recently I was asked on Twitter by a Catholic friend, Christine Ryan, if I had any Christian art. My reply was that all of my UnGraven Image Art is Christian since it is based on Christian theology!

My art may also be classified as Jewish as it is also based on Jewish theology.

That theology is that the Creator speaks the physical universe into existence, beginning in Genesis 1:7 with, “Let there be light.”

The theology also holds that the letters of the words spoken by the Creator are the essences, the very basic stuff of the physical universe. Thus, theologically the letters of those words can be understood as the smallest waves and pre-particles of science.

I use biblical letters as strokes to symbolically represent the basic essences that elementary physics calls “strings” makes my work both religious and scientific, or secular art.

The amazing discovery about the special font, known as torah font, the Bible’s original font and the one that Jesus and his disciples were familiar with, is actually the only font in the world that is alpha-numeric, phonic and binary came later. These qualities not only add to the perfect seeming symbolism and fit between what science tells us of the strings and theologians know about the letters. When one studies both, it seems as if the two groups are simply using different terminology to describe similar phenomena.

Plus, Torah font has twenty-two basic letters and thus also incredibly references the eleven strings in our universe while the opposites exist in alternate universe(s).

Applying my artistic understanding and the correlations between the strings and contemporary science gives new meaning to teachings in both the Hebrew and Christian testaments.

For instance when Jesus says, “The kingdom of God is at hand”, it can be considered that He quite literally meant what He said. The Kingdom of God —the Words of the Lord – are actually right at hand in the here and now, wherever we each are at any moment. As the essentially essences – the building blocks of our physical universe—they must be for matter and energy to exist!

Dock Less Traveled

Until Post Conceptual Art theory, all of art was classified based upon its narrative, which means imagery. For instance a painting of the Last Supper is considered Christian while a painting of a Passover Seder is considered Jewish. Works of art that depict the people, places or things held sacred to a religion are considered religious, especially if it seems that was the artist’s intent, while works that do not are considered secular. For example a portrait of a mother and child is secular but one of Mary and the infant Jesus is religious or Miriam on the infant Moses is religious.

The Manifesto of Post Conceptual Art [Click HERE for free download of it] is the first art theory to focus on the stroke, which is the one element that must exist in any work of art in any discipline. In Post Conceptual Art the stroke is a symbol. In the branch known as UnGraven Image art the symbol is a Torah font letter from original Bible texts.

My friend tweeted asking if I would paint a crucifixion with the words of the Pentateuch as strokes? I responded that there really is a prohibition in the Ten Commandants against painting an image of God, which was adhered to in the Early Church. Historically that was changed by a pope in order to help teach the Christian stories to a very illiterate populace in the Middle Ages.

My job as an artist is not to paint the past but the present, the now with The Divine at hand. Christians understand this as the risen and living “Word”. Jews refer to this as HaShem, the “Name”. Notice how close in meaning the nouns the Word and the Name are? A name is a word and a word is a name for someone or something. Notice also how both refer to a combination of letters that are capable of being spoken or written?

My art can be classified as secular It can be classified as science-based. It can be classified as religious and understood to convey important concepts of duality shared by most of the world’s religions, including Christianity and Judaism, due to the binary symbol strokes. And my art can be classified as being also and always fully Jewish or fully Christian due to the symbol strokes that are the letters of Bible texts that depict the basic theology that begins with, “Let there be light.”

Thanks to Christine Ryan for asking the question that inspired this blog! You can follow her on Twitter at @DuffyLifeCoach.

Creating the new Post Conceptual Art Essence Portrait of Abraham Lincoln was an exceptional experience. The humanity and goodness of the man seemed to permeate the images I used for reference as well as my own. Like when a reading  good book, I lingered at the end, almost unwilling to end the “encounter”.

As a part of the Essence Portrait series I am creating portraits of selected American presidents and heroes. I use the Ten Commandments, the original letters of the words of Exodus 20 for each and every stroke. This honors the office of the president, as the chief executive administers the federal laws. The Ten Commandments are widely acknowledged as being the basis for the laws of the USA and also of most of the free word.

There is nothing that I can write in this blog that is wiser or more revealing about Abraham Lincoln than his own words that live on.

Some of his quotes below will surprise you. They are familiar, but you may not recognize that they originated with Lincoln.  Some of the quotes reveal his sense of humor and wit.  Most are wise and wonderful.

Abraham Lincoln- Ten Commandments

By Judy Rey Wasserman

Strokes: Exodus 20

Abraham Lincoln Quotes:

• If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?
• Surely God would not have created such a being as man, with an ability to grasp the infinite, to exist only for a day! No, no, man was made for immortality.
• The highest art is always the most religious, and the greatest artist is always a devout person.
• A friend is one who has the same enemies as you have.
• If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will.
• A house divided against itself cannot stand.
• Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.
• The people will save their government, if the government itself will allow them.
• No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent.
• All my life I have tried to pluck a thistle and plant a flower wherever the flower would grow in thought and mind.
• It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.
• Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.
• Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.
• My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth.
• Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?
• As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.
• Y ou can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.
• America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
• Don’t interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.
• Public opinion in this country is everything.
• Don’t worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition.
• Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty , and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
• Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.
• How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.
• I care not much for a man’s religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.
• I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.
• The ballot is stronger than the bullet.
• I do the very best I know how – the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.
• To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.
• The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.
• T hings may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.
• Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.
• That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.
• I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends.
• I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.
• I do the very best I know how – the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.
• I don’t know who my grandfather was; I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.
• I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.
• I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.
• I hope to stand firm enough to not go backward, and yet not go forward fast enough to wreck the country’s cause.
• I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.
• I never had a policy; I have just tried to do my very best each and every day.
• I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.
• To stand in silence when they should be protesting makes cowards out of men.
• I walk slowly, but I never walk backward.

Last year via Twitter I, @judyrey, ran a campaign on the Shorty Award to make #art a main category.

According to the Shorty Award rules,  we can create categories and if any new one becomes popular it will be accepted as a basic category.

There were 24 major award categories, which include music, entertainment, finance, sports, tech, travel, social media, photography and design (which includes, graphics, web design, fashion and crafts) —but no art. No art?!

According to the Shorty Award rules anyone an be nominated for any category, even ones that are not “official” so I began a campaign to get appropriate Twitter members, myself included, nominated for #art.

First, I tweeting my discomfort that music had a category but art did not. After giving it a few days, watching nominations stream by I blogged: http://ungravenimage.com/blog/2008/12/vote-for-art-twitters-shorty-awards/

Aside from blogging and Tweeting, I also promised and gave out free e books about how Post Conceptual UnGraven Image art actually changes how we see, which in turn creates fewer unwanted, negative memories and emotions throughout the day. The ebooks are sold via the Art of Seeing The Divine (www.artofseeingthedivine.com ) web site. I gave e books away to any Twitter member who nominated anyone for #art. Anyone, not just me.

Last year, when I ran that campaign, I had just made it over the Twitter hump and had over 2,000 followers. Although I had joined Twitter in the spring of ‘08 based on a link I received, I only began to Tweet at the end of October ‘08. So, when I decided to launch my campaign, I was a David of #art facing a Goliath of social media mavens.

There were enough nominations to make it a category this year #art is now a major category.

I received the most nominations in the #art category, but the awards only honored the people who received the most votes period, but the comics, newscasters, celebrities and social media gurus won.

This year I am proud to say I am being nominated in the category of #art. I think you should nominate and vote for me to win a Shorty Award for #art, simply because I campaigned hard last year (much harder than this year for myself!) to get #art as a category. And won!

You can see #art listed as a category at the Shorty Awards site:

http://bit.ly/ shorty

Unfortunately, this year, since writers, dancers, actors, cartoonists do not have categories they have moved into #art. Personally, I wish they would take the initiative to create categories that really represents them specifically. They deserve their own categories for their special talents..

However, there are even more compelling reasons to vote nominate & vote for me, which will be in Part 2 of this blog!

Everyone who was a Twitter member before this year’s Shorty Awards began can nominate up to five people in every category! It is easy to do.

Simply Tweet something like, “I nominate @judyrey for a ShortyAward in #art because she’s starting a new art theory”. The Tweet needs to mention the member name (@judyrey) the category (#art), ShortyAward (so they see it!) and give a reason as to why you are making the nomination. You can also RT someone making a nomination and that counts.

Everyone who nominates me will get a Follow Friday mention from me over the next several weeks. I have also been tweeting my thanks and/or ReTweeting the nominations from those who have nominated me so far.

Why do I win a Shorty for art?

One of my goals as the founder of a new, real art theory that is Post Conceptual Art is to help make Contemporary Art more popular, the way that music is.  Although the Shorty Award acceptance speach only allows each winner 140 characters, I have an idea, even scheme of how to bring attention to the International Art community on Twitter while saying less than that. Plus, it will be a Photo Op that hopefully will b a good PR moment for Twitter and the Shorty Awards also.

Part 2 of this blog will include my plans if I earn the nomination as one of the top five for #art, including how I plan to honor and get publicity for all of the fine artists, art museums, galleries, art media, curators and writers if I win! Plus, I am planning on doing something else for those who vote for me if I win the nomination and then the award!

Please Tweet to nominate me for a Shorty Award in #art because…{give a reason] now!

This year, four days ago as I write this, a snowstorm finally ended that has broken all the records for my area since they began keeping them in the 1600’s. If snow was gold we’d be able to lift the whole country out of recession and pay the national debt we’ve got so much of the stuff.But snow is not gold. It is frozen water. Schedules and plans were seriously impacted as many of us were busy tunneling out of our snowbound homes and into equally snowbound businesses, once they were reachable via the roads. People in Denver, The Dakotas, Maine and other far more snowy places take this kind of snowfall in stride but here in Southampton we are not prepared for such a record breaker.

For larger image click: Psalm 23 (Male Cardinal) Print

Our winter holidays celebrate light and inspiration, which is always a new beginning or birth

Usually it is a delight to tour our streets as shops and homes decorate with lights for the holidays. Now, with ice on the road there are little traffic and due to the snow many of my neighbors

are not displaying the lights they had up late last week.

While we usually think of light coming from the sun, moon and stars, snow can easily be viewed as a weather form of light. It is not only white– it reflects light to the extent that people who are out in the snow on sunny days are urges to wear sunglasses to prevent eye damage.

For larger image click: Psalm 23 (Female Cardinal) Print Collect this print

Biblically, water symbolizes the word of the Lord– inspiration– especially in the first five books of the Bible. I am not saying that the water mentioned in the Bible is not real water, but that it also represents the word of the Lord.In the time of Noah when people perish in the flood but Noah and his family safely float in the ark, when the infant Moses is floating in the basket in the bulrushes, when the red sea parts, and when Jesus turns water into wine and then walks on the sea, the waters mentioned can all be understood to also be the word of the Lord. Clearly some people benefit and are able to transform their circumstances while others who are seeking their own egotistical ways flounder or perish is suggested by the metaphors. Again, snow is frozen water. The snow fell here equally on all, without respect to age, race, religion or wealth. It was an equal opportunity snow. While that last quip is a kind of a joke it is also true because the opportunity to benefit from the snow was equally there for each person. Some people were inspired with ways to benefit and make the record breaking snowfall with the delays, changes in plans and two snow bound days fulfilling. Others failed to be inspired or discover benefits for themselves. Psalm 23 (Male Cardinal) was the initial painting of the Written on the Wind series. It was inspired by the tsunami, which was followed by a blizzard and massive snowfall where I live and have my studio. Each is created using the strokes of Psalm 23 (The Lord is my shepherd…”) for each and every stroke. As the reports of the animals who survived, including those from a game preserve where there were many human deaths came in, I painted and watched from my window as a pair of cardinals flitted in the deep snow finding berries and forage somehow despite the heavy blanket of snow that seemed to cover everything.

We were housebound during and for a day after the snow, while the news on radio and TV was filled with stories of the tsunami. One story was about the wild animals, most of whom survived as the somehow knew to head inland for higher ground. The animals managed to know something that so many human beings who were busy enjoying the beaches and the sea failed to see or hear.

The animals were in tune with their environment, including the water, naturally seeing or hearing the inspiration they needed to stay safe.

Wishing you and your loved ones a Blessed and Inspired Holiday Season and New Year.

Psalm 23 (Male Cardinal) Large Tote ForestGreen & Natural

Cardinals Mug- opposite side has Psalm 23

Winter Beauty Girl’s Sweatshirt

Mens Tie – Double image of Psalm 23 (Cardinal) srepeated

Your name, in Hebrew, is hidden in my paintings.  Really. Everyone’s is!

Not only that, but the name of the Creator, referred to as Ha Shem (The Name) by observant orthodox Jews, is actually physically present, but hidden in everyone’s Hebrew name.

To begin with , everyone has a biblical style name in Hebrew, whether it is known to them or not. This includes everyone who is not Jewish. It does not matter what language their name(s) derive from, there is either a Hebrew version or the name transliterates into Hebrew.

For instance, imagine winning a wonderful prize so that an article is written about you in The Jerusalem Post , they will either translate or transliterate your name into Hebrew. Biblically people are referred to as son of (ben), daughter of (bat). In synagogue one is called to the Torah and gives their Hebrew name. Thus the most famous Jew had the name of Yeshua (Joshua) ben (son of) Mara (Mary) v(and)Yosef (Joseph).

Carnival Sunset Genesis Sunset-Sunrise series

The concept of one’s name harkening back to the very names of our parents brings new meaning to the commandment of honoring one’s father and mother.

Names are important and have significance in the Bible, beginning with the Creator’s naming of Adam, whose name means red and refers to the earth (dirt) from which he was formed. There are many biblical references to people who are only known to us by their names and the information as to who begat them and who in turn they begat.

Names reflect one’s relationship with the Lord. Sari and Abram’s names are changed to Sarah and Abraham, denoting their new status. Jacob becomes Israel after wrestling with the angel.

Adam’s first job is to name the animals, because by naming them he forms a relationship with each one. The idea that knowing someone’s name puts us in relationship continues when we meet people today.

“Every one that is called by My name, and whom I have created for My glory, I have formed him, yea, I have made him.” — Isaiah 43 7

How can someone be called by Ha Shem’s name? And which name would that be, since the Creator has many?

The most common name in the Bible for HaShem is the Yud-Hay-Vav-Hey, which has been often transliterated as Jehovah.

In Torah font Hebrew all of the letters can be created from a yud (like a comma only in top placement) and a vav (resembles a plain capital “i” with a tiny top to the left, also described as a spear). This makes Hebrew also a binary language of yuds and vavs.

Heys are comprised of two vavs and a yud. In the yud-hey-vav-hey there are two heys. Thus the Great Name is comprised of five vavs and three yuds.

It is easy to dissect any Hebrew name or word into the basic number of vavs and heys necessary to create all the letters. My Hebrew name is Yehudi Rachel, but let’s just focus on my first name, Yehudi, which is spelled, yud-hey-vav-dalet-yud. The letter dalet is composed of two vavs in torah font. Thus my first name equals 5 vavs and three yuds – actually the same number of yuds and vavs in the Great Name. So, like a hidden the Great Name is hidden in my name!

In the example above we only used my first name. However, using my full Hebrew name would have yielded many more yuds and vavs. This is true for anyone’s full name in Hebrew. Thus the basic five vavs and three yuds needed to create the name of Ha Shem are easily found in anyone’s name!

This gives more meaning to the quote from Isaiah as to how we can be called by HaShem’s name! It certainly gives new meaning to the idea of protecting one’s own good name!

Since I paint using the Hebrew Torah font letters (yuds and vavs for every stroke, which combine into letters) from original Hebrew texts, the yuds and vavs necessary for your Hebrew name are in each and evey one of my paintings many times over, even hundreds of times for the larger works. Not only that but the actual letters themselves are in each and every painting to create your full name in Hebrew many times over in most but the postcard size “Shema” paintings, where you will still find more than enough yuds and vavs.

A few years ago there were a series of NewYork Times bestsellers about a finding called The Bible Code . Essentially, names and events in history are reportedly contained in the Hebrew Bible, such as JFK’s assassination. The idea is that the words are hidden in grids that can run left to right, right to left, horizontally or diagonally. In this same way everyone’s name is possibly found in the Hebrew Bible , or more importantly the Torah ( Pentateuch ), which the Book of Life . In the Bible Codes the grids are two dimensional and no letters overlap.

In a similar way, the letters that make up most everyone’s name translated into Hebrew should be able to be found actually touching or overlapping, vertically, horizontally and/or diagonally in any direction since there are many layers of letters in my work, making it really many layers (grids) of letters. The odds are that this happens in all of the larger works, considering the many layers of letters. This is in addition to the fact that the letters of everyone’s name are certainly in the works, plus all the yuds and vavs necessary to create anyone’s unique name.

As the artist, it gives me pause to realize that. This is a new idea for me, one I realized in the past 24 hours. It seems to mean that each painting is both uniquely intimate for individuals and yet universal. Since this is being posted as a blog article, I would be very interested in any feedback, whether from a theological or artistic view.

Thus, your name, in Hebrew, is hidden in my paintings. Really! Everyone’s is.

Not only that, but the name of the Creator, referred to as Ha Shem (The Name) by observant orthodox Jews, is actually physically present, but hidden in everyone’s Hebrew name.

This year the USA ’s Thanksgiving celebration coincides with the date first set aside by George Washington for the celebration exactly two hundred and twenty years ago.

Fall Tree Aleph Trees of Life series by Judy Rey Wasserman Strokes are the original letters of Deuteronomy 6

From its roots the  harvest and thanksgiving festival shared by the Plymouth Rock community of Pilgrims (who both sought and offered religious tolerance) and Native Americans (who were so tolerant they enabled the new settlers to survive!) has been a communal  expression of gratitude and religious tolerance. Perhaps George Washington’s time spent with Native Americans during the French and Indian War helped develop his tolerant views, which were radical then— and in many parts of the world remain so today. Although much has been written and preached in America about Thanksgiving, I think nothing surpasses Washington’s initial declaration. It is the only law or decree that both brings tears to my eyes and makes me want to say, “Amen!”

So this year I am turning over my annual Thanksgiving message to my first “guest blogger” who is also the subject of the Essence Portrait I am currently creating: George Washington

In his first term as President, our first president made the following proclamation on October 3, 1789, designating the first official national Thanksgiving Day in the new United States of America:

“Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

“Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

“And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.”

Amen.

Wishing you and yours a blessed Thanksgiving.

Each year Judy Rey Wasserman writes a special message at Thanksgiving. Previous messages that you will also enjoy include: Thanksgiving Choices and Thanksgiving Faith & Vision

On November 10, 2009, Judy Rey Wasserman completed a new Essence Portrait of Barack Obama using the letters of the text of Exodus 20 ( Ten Commandments) for all  the  strokes. Below is the portrait plus the artist’s comments about her choice of strokes.

If there were an award for the person who has made the best use of social media and the Internet to date, it would absolutely go to Barack Obama. It is widely understood that Obama won the presidency of the United States due to his incredible and pioneering use of the Internet to reach new and swing voters. Perhaps the presidency is his reward.

As an artist I am creating Essence Portraits and other artworks for a series and show(s) called Essence of Social Media.

Obviously President Obama is one of the celebrities at the very top of my list for this series.

My purpose with the Essence Portraits goes beyond celebrating and commenting on Social Media, such as Facebook, Linkedin, My Space. Twitter, You Tube, etc. My purpose with any Essence Portrait is to show the spiritual, the Source and also the scientific essence within each individual.

I am the founder of Post Conceptual Art theory especially a branch called UnGraven Image I use strokes that are symbols to represent the essential pre-matter/energy of string theory. My symbols are the only set on the planet that is alpha-numeric, phonic and binary, which means they elegantly represent elementary physics’ strings.

Pissarro (a Jew) and Monet (a Catholic), were friends who founded Impressionism to paint the Light, which the understood to be both a religious and scientific reality.

I am founding Post Conceptual Art (painting with strokes that are symbols) painting and sculpting within the branch of UnGraven Image to depict the essential essences, the energy of the universe, which I understand to be both a spiritual and scientific reality.

UnGraven Image’s symbols are the Torah font letter-numbers. This symbol set is also the original font of the Bible. My artistic strokes and processes also always references basic theology held by all denominations and branches of Christians and Jews and also mentioned in the Koran: the Creator speaks the universe into existence beginning with, “Let there be light!” Since the symbols are also always binary, which is synonymous for duality, my work also references concept s of duality, including light/dark, holy/profane and also yin/yang.

The Bible texts for all of my work are selected carefully and prayerfully. For Essence Portraits I consult the people who are subjects if possible for what texts they would prefer.

A while ago I contacted the White House through their web site, politely asking if President Obama had any favorite Bible texts he would prefer me to use for an Essence Portrait of him. Since the Post Conceptual theory of painting with symbols is radically new, I doubt if the intern who handled my request understood it. However, I did immediately receive an emailed reply that my email was received.

My choosing a text for the strokes that would add up to create an image of President Barack Obama was easier than for any other single portrait to date.

Barack Obama’s professional adult life has centered on the law. He is a Harvard trained lawyer who was president of the Harvard Law Review. He has practiced law, taught Constitutional Law, served as a senator (lawmaker) from Illinois and as Chief Executive his job is to uphold and administrate the law.

The basis for the law of the Western and most of the free world is the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20. This scripture is suitable for the strokes for an Essence Portraits of Presidents of the United States.

Barack Obama’s use of Social Media to gain the presidency and his continuing use of it, especially Twitter (@BarackObama), as a way to reach his citizens,  coupled with his strong legal experience made creating an Essence Portrait of him using the letters of the Ten Commandments for all the strokes is an appropriate, even elegant choice.

The image below is large enough that you can pick out some of the symbols strokes!

Exodus 20 – (Barack Obama)

By Judy Rey Wasserman

NEW! Added 11/13/09 Poster of Barack Obama -Ten Commandments at our Zazzle store. And check out the other items for the whole family featuring Judy Rey Wasserman’s Post Conceptual UnGraven Image Art!

Everything was going well with the new Essence Portraits. I had created one of Andy Warhol, then Rembrandt, then van Gogh. Each of them inspired my art and “taught me much about portraiture from the walls of great museums and galleries. Like Warhol, and the self portraits of these artists, I focused in on the faces, ignoring clothing or other extras that could be used to convey status or wealth.

Things were moving along fine until I came to another artist I’ve lovingly , personally called “Papa Monet” since was a prepubescent girl. I am not quite sure If I came up with that or I learned it from one of the gallerists who took, me under their wings. I suspect the latter.

Since the first Essence Portrait of And Warhol, which set the tone for those of other artists, I strove to combine my style somewhat with theirs. For instance, in Vincent van Gogh’s I made “strings” of tiny symbol-strokes to emulate his longer strong brush strokes. For Rembrandt’s I played with his softness and the light.

Working within the theory of Post Conceptual UnGraven Image Art, I use the original letters of Bible texts for each and every stroke. My symbol-strokes are the are the only set of alpha-numeric, phonic and binary symbols in the world. They elegantly represent the strings of elementary physics, which like phonic letters are either energy (sound) or pre-matter (written), basic and essential (prime numbers and phonic letters) to our binary physical universe. Thus, the term, Essence Portraits.

I wanted to keep my focus on the subject’s head, and creating a basic black and white portrait that could be then used in various ways, similar to the way that Warhol used his silk-screened portraits. Usually that is what I create for a basic Essence Portrait.

Except for Claude Monet. For a while, his portrait had me stumped.

As I stared at my initial portraits of Monet, I knew something was missing. But what?

Actually, I had the text I knew I was to use, a Psalm that seems to me to refer to Monet. That was one of the first ones I had as I peruse through Bible texts searching for appropriate ones for portraits, wildlife and other paintings.

The difficulty was whatever I drew and painted did look like Monet, but somehow it was wrong – a likeness that was missing his essence. My portrait looked like Monet, but failed to capture him.

This went on for a week, on and off as I pondered Papa Monet and his life.

I first learned about the wonder and even magic of strokes from Monet, who “held” regular classes for me through his works that hung in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I learned about art from many of the works of artists at the Met and MOMA, from the time that I was a pre-teen growing up in NYC, armed with a passionate curiosity about art, way too much free time that needed to be spent away from home, passes for free public transportation, plus, most importantly as a student I enjoyed free admittance to all of the art museums in Manhattan.

Being nearsighted, actually with better than normal vision up close, I have always been most comfortable getting as close to things I want to see (especially art). I will get as close as I can without letting my nose touch the work to see the strokes.

Since I was at the Met on an almost every other day schedule, except for summers, and also at MoMA regularly, their guards came to know me, trust me and even watch over me as I roamed and explored. It did not take long until they allowed me to get as up close and personal as I wanted with paintings as they knew I would never touch one, plus out of respect, I even held my breath, usually making a grand display of that effort. I laugh now, because I sort of took a gulp and went “into” a painting much like a diver. Back in my girlhood on wintry or bad weather afternoons the Met was fairly empty, and there were times that I was the only person in some of the rooms, including those that have Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings.

Monet taught me more about how to paint and strokes than anyone, except van Gogh.

Monet’s strokes are multi-colored, multi-sized, textural blobs of paint. Unlike the Pointillist Seurat, Monet’s strokes are not of one size, they overlap and one grand cascading jumble of color. Certainly more than any other artist’s work, my original approach to using symbol-strokes was influenced by Monet. My colors are almost always influenced by Monet’s.

We know that Monet painted outdoors, including in horrible weather, working quickly to catch the light, that he would return to the same spot to paint day after day, as change between canvasses, each canvas only worked on for the time that the light was relatively the same as when it was begun. Thus there are series of paintings that show the movement of light through the day. Monet painted in a hurry, capturing the essence of a place, capturing its light. His strokes are the hurried and thoughtful strokes of a master; they are the notes of a symphony of color that he plays upon his canvases.

It took a man who was strong, physically and in resolution to produce the art that Monet did. Physically, he endured long days outdoors in the cold or heat. Most of his paintings were created outdoors as Monet painted what he immediately saw. To do this he was lugging around paints, brushes, solvents, an easel and lots of canvases, from location to location, often on foot. He would stand all day long in whatever conditions, painting. He was strong is resolution, too as he struggled for a long time to make ends meet for his wife Camille and their two children. Then after her death he continued to struggle to take care of his two sons plus the family of Alice Hoschedé, who became his second wife, and her six children. We see photographs of his large studio at Giverney, and an older prosperous Momet, but that came later in his life.

Monet’s career spanned the emergence of photography on into the twentieth century, so we have photographs of him, as well as portraits. In one of my favorites, he is youngish, and has a walking stick in his hand; he pauses for the camera for a moment clearly about to resume his walk. Monet was a strong, vital, good looking man and clearly from his output of paintings and projects at Giverney, very physically active. Only in a few of the last photographs, after he was famous and well, older, does he seem slowed down – but he ever physically active, calm but in motion.

To capture the essence of Monet, the artist in his prime, I needed his body, at least his strong shoulders that had supported so much and so many, and perhaps Impressionism, which ushered in Modern Art. An Essence Portrait of Monet needed his strong broad shoulders to capture his essence.

To capture Monet I needed to include his heavy, worn winter coat– the one that kept him warm as he worked outside on cold winter days and his hat. His is the only portrait so far where the background is painted. Energy fills the space around him. He is the authentic painter of light and like that light he is ever changing energy, penetrating whatever we can see.

I discarded my failed head shot portraits and began again.

Now the work was better, but difficult to complete as something was still missing.

Monet without color is, well, not Monet.

So, I deviated from the pure black and white of the other Essence Portraits, using a third color by adding pure while strokes to the ivory paper.  Monet’s Essence Portrait has more shading, and layers of paint than any other portrait to date.  There is a bit of the purest white in his eyes, those eyes that saw such color and light!

Thus, in my own first portrait of Monet that seemed acceptable, that captured Monet, his essence, and his blobs of strokes permeated the whole of the space, the paper, not just the image of his physical body. He takes over the whole space the way that dynamic and charismatic people can enter a room, most quietly, but their vital energy colors the space with their presence.

Once again, I learn from Monet.

Psalm 97  (Claude Monet) by Judy Rey Wasserman

[Note: for more about Monet 's influence on Judy Rey Wasserman and UnGraven Image theory see: Monet’s Blobs and the Hebrew Letters

Presenting and introducing the first Essence of Social Media Portraits in playlet tweet style featuring Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher in Song of Songs (The Kutchers).

Song of Songs is the Bible’s love song. While it has deep religious and spiritual meaning, on the surface it can be understood as romantic and even erotic poetry.

Song of Songs is attributed to Solomon, with religious scholars differing whether it was indeed written by Solomon or for him, much of the descriptions and references fit that time.

The portraits of Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore Kutcher actually began with the idea for the artwork pictured here, Song of Songs (The Kutchers)

In my Essence Portrait series artworks are named after their essence: their strokes, while the manifestation from those strokes- the name of the person imaged by the portrait — is in parenthesizes in the title. An example of this concept using simple chemistry would be: H2O (Water) . However, my strokes are the original words (Torah font letters- phonic, binary, alphanumeric symbols) from the Bible that symbolize the strings of elementary physics. Unlike elements, the strings (and words of God, such as, “Let there be light”, that create the physical universe are so small they are scientifically understood as energy or pre-matter.

Their basic portraits of Ashton and Demi Moore Kutcher have appeared in recent previously blogs, where images some of the colorful variations I am creating of them are presented. These images also appear in a private video about the Essence Portraits , which in time will be changed a bit, added to, and become public.

But from the first stroke, we were always heading to dual portrait about the Song of Songs . These basic Essence Portraits of both Ashton and Demi Moore Kutcher are created using the original Torah font letters from Song of Songs for all of the strokes.

Song of Songs (The Kutchers), 2009, by Judy Rey Wasserman

In both Jewish and Christian traditions and theologies the Song of Songs also refers to the union of The Divine (please substitute your most meaningful name for my term “The Divine”) and humankind (or followers/observant people).

The heavenly bridegroom takes his beloved earthly bride in a sacred union. Their relationship is one of lovers, mutual, interactive and even exclusive.

Like Adam in the Bible, Ashton’s was created first and Demi’s Essence Portrait followed. Partially this was due to Demi Moore Kutcher’s fabulous hair, which I knew would take a long time to create tiny letter upon letter. I spent a lot of time lost in both the beauty of the text and the lovely Mrs. Kutcher.

Since the Kutchers are actors, and used to wearing make-up that alters their appearance, I used some of the words and texts a bit like make up to create their Essence Portraits. This is the first time I have done this.

The Hebrew of Song of Songs 7:11 is fairly visible in the left hand side of the image of Demi Moore Kutcher. The English translation from the KJV is; “I am my beloved’s and his desire is toward me”. Her necklace is a repeated chain of four letters that mean “the beloved”.

In both portraits a form of the word beloved is found just under the lower lip, where a shadow normally appears, as if each person had just whispered an endearment of the other.

There is art history and significance in this artwork, which might go unrecognized by a casual observer.

First, the work resembles a Social Media message, such as a tweet. However a tweet is a form of common social interaction, so while each portrait can stand alone, here they are combined into one image.

As an artist I find it wonderfully expressive of the “eternal dance” of lovers in that each is separate and apart—an individual in a unique Tweet of space. Yet these can join together to form a whole that is not only meaningful for them, the lovers, but for the onlookers, as we represent society.

The Tweet proportions were purposefully altered to show more of the Essence Portraits—the faces—and less length of the short message.

The work combines Post Conceptual Art, specifically the branch of UnGraven Image with Conceptual art, especially word art with a kind of realism as Social Media messages are real visual things.

Since the Renaissance, Western artists have placed participants in biblical or mythological scenes within the physical context and realities of their own times. Giotto, Fra Angelico, Da Vinci, Rembrandt painted scenes from the Bible taking place in the architectural surroundings by people wearing the fashion of their times. They even used images of people who were well known at the time, often patrons, in some of the scenes, rather than models.

While on one level the Song of Songs (Kutcher) artwork is a present day Essence Portrait of two real people, on another significant level these noted actors are portraying the eternal and sacred lovers from Song of Songs. It is biblical scene in our contemporary setting of social media.

The @Names in the portrait messages do not use the names the Kutchers use on Twitter since neither actually tweeted the message and this clarifies that it is an artwork not a screenshot. However, I came close to the font colors each uses on their Twitter Profile page for the @Names.

While a thin black band separates the two “tweets” they two are surrounded by a thin red “frame” That frame is a part of the united portrait of the couple.

Both Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore Kutcher wear the red string from the Kabbalah center on their left wrists. The idea is that the left hand is receptive hand while the right is the action and giving hand. The red string’s purpose is to protect against evil from outside influences coming into one’s life.

Here I use the red “frame” the way I use gold frames of prayer in the Genesis: Sunset-Sunrise series, as both a kind of protection but also as a reminder and as a communication reaching out to the universe. That red string around a wrist also reminds the wearer to avoid letting in any bad influences: to be careful where one goes, what one sees and does—ideas found in another Biblical book attributed to Solomon: Proverbs.

The red band has another visual Biblical reference: the red blood of the lamb covering the doorposts of the Israelites during their first Passover Seder. Like a left hand, that door was an entrance where others could enter. So my red frame symbolizes a home that safely encircles the lovers.

Christians also have a similar custom that stems from the basic understanding. They often pray for protection asking for the blood of Jesus over their homes, loved ones and themselves.

The thin band of red can also be understood as the remnant of background of a Profile page screenshot, which was cropped

It is especially fitting for the Kutchers to be artistically portrayed in social media setting as they are effectively using it beyond entertainment or socializing to help others and create social change..

Ashton Kutcher challenged CNN, and their representative Larry King to see who could be the first to be followed by one million people. @aplusk’s idea was the winner would give $10, 000 to buy mosquito nets to help end malaria. The ensuing media coverage of the contest raised awareness for eradicating malaria, which is possible. Ashton Kutcher who was the underdog, creatively used UStream to gain a last hour rally becoming the first to have a million followers last spring – but everyone involved really won.

Next, in a conversation that actually began in the Twitter stream Demi Moore was involved in helping a person expressing thoughts of suicide obtain much needed professional help. While @mrskutcher certainly did the right thing, and everything turned out well, becoming publicly involved in the stream was a risky move.

The Kutchers continue top speak out about causes and work for charities through social media. They have already won one award for this, and will no doubt be honored with others.

Of course, the Kutchers also use Twitter and social media to tantalize followers and fans with snippets of their relationship. They post photos of each other, which are often playful. They tweet to and about each other. Like the onlookers in the Song of Songs , we are their witnesses, and better off for it.

This blog was posted a few hours before the Kutchers’ wedding anniversary on September 24, 2009 with prayers and well wishes for their health, happiness and continued success, individually and as a couple.

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The artwork above will be available soon in a small signed limited edition on canvas through my studio and representatives. It will also appear in a show being created featuring Essence Portraits.

The main purpose of the Essence Portrait series is to help us learn to see the Divine in ourselves and others. This is accomplished by more than understanding the concept. By looking at Essence Portraits created with tiny strokes that are the words of The Divine our brains gain much needed visual memories so that it uses to decipher impressions of light into recognizable, usable images. Thus these images actually physically encourage our brains to perceive in a new way.

Essence Portraits of celebrities, especially actors that we have identified with as characters in films, TV and plays further encourages the ability to see The Divine essence in others, and then in ourselves. [For more on the theory of Post Conceptual UnGraven Image Art theory, and how it is a vision we can all share, go to ungravenimage.com. Play the top You Tube video,"Painting with the Big Bang of Genesis". Enjoy the art and information found via the many tabs on the menu. Plus, download the free art manifesto booklet]

What can I say about a woman who has helped to radically change the way we see women—and since I’m a woman, the way I see myself?

Demo Moore ’s career has involved risky roles such as those in Indecent Proposal and G.I. Jane , films where she used her talent and beauty to challenge narrow perceptions about women’s physicality and rights.

However, her riskiest role before a camera was simply playing herself, when photographer Fran Libowitz captured her nude and seven months pregnant for the cover of Vanity Fair.

While Demi Moore’s very pregnant photo is an iconic art image today, at the time it was a career risking and iconoclastic move.

Apparently the idea was to take a stand against “anti-Hollywood, anti-glitz” attitude.

It succeeded at more than the intended purpose.

With one image Moore and Libowitz decimated attitudes and constraints that sought to hide pregnancy or at least disguise it as if it were obscene. There was nothing obscene about the very pregnant Demi Moore. Instead, she was deeply beautiful and sexy in a way glitz and glam can never achieve.

Later Moore and Libowitz collaborated on another cover for Vanity Fair . This time they turned the tables on fashion and the art world as Libowitz photographed a fashionable “canvas” that was Demi Moore’s naked body with clothes painted on it.

Demi Moore’s use of herself as a canvas inspires and even challenges me, as an artist to do likewise. Of course Essence Portraits work to reveal more than the features of the public persona because every stroke is a letter from a carefully selected Bible text in the original language and font.

Like the previous portrait of  her husband, Song of Songs (Ashton Kutcher), Demi Moore’s portrait uses the text of Song of Songs for the strokes. This will be explained in visual a blog that will be posted on September 23, 2009, which is the day before the couple’s anniversary the following day.

Song of Songs (Demi Moore: Hollywood ) is square – and meant to be or at least reference avatars. It is the first version of Song Of Songs (Demi Moore) that I created. It plays off a “ Hollywood ” background that references the sign. Only a few people are instantly recognizable as a symbol of the Hollywood goddess the way the Demi Moore is—but then Andy Warhol already created famous portraits of the others.

Song of Songs (Demi Moore: Hollywood) by Judy Rey Wasserman

Although Hollywood farms a part of Demi Moore’s background and she also represents it, in the image above she also partially obscures the gigantic sign.This is a visual reference to her career risking stands, such as thoise mentioned above to encourage the understanding of women’s real beauty and worth beyond their appearance.

The surface image of the portrait (face) is simplified, almost cartoon like and certainly slightly referencing the Warhol portraits. Yet we know that the structure of the portrait itself, the essence is those Torah font symbol-strokes, which are the words of the Bible.

Thus in the foreground, and yet underneath the glitz and glam, a meaningful, tolerant, loving and blessed essence of the human spirit is revealed. It’s easy to see the spark of The Divine in Demi Moore.

Notice that this portrait is of the young Demi, somewhere near or before the time of Ghost. This was a selfish move on my part as I do intend to create others portraits and felt it would be easier for me to move ahead in a chronological order for what I intend to create over time.

However, I am not yet ready to reveal the full picture of my plan, but the upcoming blog blog on September 23, 2009 does hint of what’s to come. I will also explain why I chose the Song of Songs for these portraits of the Kutchers and how I have used it, especially certain texts and words in both portraits. That blog will also deal with Twitter and the Kutchers, who are very much acting as a team via social media.

To discover more about Judy Rey Wasserman’s Post Conceptual UnGraven Image Art theory see http://www.ungravenimage.com and be sure to play the top video and download the completely free art manifesto booklet, “A Painting’s Meaning is Inherent in it’s Strokes”