Artist Mel Alexenberg
launches cyberangels from Israel to thirty museums throughout the world as
an homage to Rembrandt on the 350th anniversary of his death. These
museums have Rembrandt inspired artworks by Alexenberg in their
collections. At Global Tribute to
Rembrandt are posts for each of the museums and texts on
the impact of digital culture on art by the artist, former art professor
at Columbia University and research fellow at MIT Center for Advanced Visual
Studies.
“He had a vision in a dream. A ladder was standing on the
ground, its top reaching up towards heaven as Divine angels were going up and
down on it.” (Genesis 28:12)
Angels in Jacob’s dream go up from the Land of Israel and
go down throughout the world.
Top image: Rembrandt inspired cyberangels arrive from Israel
at the café of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax in time for coffee and
chocolate cake. The biblical words
for angel and food are spelled with the same
four Hebrew letters to teach that angels are spiritual messages arising from
everyday life. Perhaps there is spiritual significance that museums that offer
art also offer food.
Middle image: The cyberangels begin their flight from the Israel Museum's Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem, home of ancient Bible scrolls. They gain momentum by going up from the tallest building in Israel, home of Facebook’s R&D Center, until construction is completed for the 91 story Azrieli Spiral Tower in Tel Aviv with the shape of a Bible scroll.
Bottom image: Cyberangels spiral up from a NASA satellite image of the Land of Israel on a smartphone screen on Mel Alexenberg’s newest book Through a Bible Lens. They launch the book throughout the world from the artist/author’s studio in Israel.
Middle image: The cyberangels begin their flight from the Israel Museum's Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem, home of ancient Bible scrolls. They gain momentum by going up from the tallest building in Israel, home of Facebook’s R&D Center, until construction is completed for the 91 story Azrieli Spiral Tower in Tel Aviv with the shape of a Bible scroll.
Bottom image: Cyberangels spiral up from a NASA satellite image of the Land of Israel on a smartphone screen on Mel Alexenberg’s newest book Through a Bible Lens. They launch the book throughout the world from the artist/author’s studio in Israel.
In 1987 when I was head of the art department at
Pratt Institute and research fellow at MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies, I was invited to lecture on art and new technologies at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (now NSCAD University) and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. The mixed media artwork that I used in my lecture was accepted by museum's acquisitions committee: Mel Alexenberg, "Digitized Homage to Rembrandt: Spiraling Angels," 1986,
Etching and chine colle from computer Image, 76.0 x 56.5 cm.
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