Arnold Schwarzbart Art

A man covered…

A man covered by a Jewish prayer shawl stands before a shtender, or lectern, in a sculpture by Knoxville artist Arnold Schwarzbart. But look again at the pit-fired clay work of deep browns scorched with grays. No form stands under the shawl that itself makes a ghostlike shape. The man is gone. “He is ashes,” says Schwarzbart. “This is a comment on what the Holocaust did.”

Priestly Blessing

Kehilath Israel Overland Park, Kansas

Hands held in the form that is traditional during the blessing of the congregation by the Kohanim. The sculpture shows part of the tallit with text from the Priestly blessing and the tzitzit. Placed high on front of building.

Bronze   3ft x 4ft

“As Above, so Below”

As Above, so Below

Clay, 30 in high, 40 in wide - With stand, 6’-6” high

The text reads:  “Not by strength, not by might, but by My Spirit.”

(from the one haftorah we read twice during the year)

Here the prophet Zachariah, face down in the desert sand, receives his vision of heavenly encouragement for the Jewish people.  Just as Moses received a vision of the seven branched lamp for the first tabernacle, Zachariah received a vision of a seven branched lamp to be forged for the Second Temple (about 520 BCE).

The phrase “As Above, So Below” is a kind of Jewish metaphysics.  This world is a reflection of the upper world.  The tradition also states that there is a tree in the upper world with its roots above and its branches pointing down to earth.

Arnold also used this two tree imagery for carved wooded ark.

Temple Beth Hillel, South Windsor, Connecticut

 

Ark Doors are laminated wood, very deeply carved. The theme selected by the congregation was "Where heaven and earth meet." The image is of the heavenly tree that according to tradition has its branches pointing down toward earth and its roots upward, almost touching an earthly tree. Design by A. Schwarzbart and woodwork by Ernie Gross. The carved text at the top reads "Shema Yisrael." 7ft x 7ft

Menorah…

Menorah, seven branch

Winston Salem, NC

Hand-forged patinated copper - 3 foot high, 6 foot wide

Please visit websites: 

http://www.knoxnews.com/entertainment/family/new-gallery-at-arnstein-center-honors-artist-arnold-schwarzbart-2a54d096-ccde-60dc-e053-0100007fbe99-366744171.html

http://jewishknoxville.org/ajcc-schwarzbart-gallery

http://www.schwarzbart.com/home/

My special thanks to Mary Linda Schwarzbart  courtesy