Israel Museum in Jerusalem

“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)

The preeminent biblical commentator Rashi teaches that the angels in Jacob’s dream go up from the Land of Israel and go down throughout the world.

As a tribute to Rembrandt on the 350th anniversary of his death, artist Mel Alexenberg is launching cyberangels from Israel where he lives to thirty museums on five continents. These museums have Rembrandt inspired artworks by Alexenberg in their collections.

The serigraph above “Angels Ascending from the Land of Israel” that Alexenberg created at the Israel Museum affiliated graphics center in Jerusalem is the prototype of the artworks in the Global Tribute to Rembrandt and on the cover of his book Through a Bible Lens: Biblical Insights for Smartphone Photography and Social Media. His serigraph is in the collection of the Israel Museum.

The Rembrandt inspired cyberangel was sent on a circumglobal flight passing through the Israel Museum in 4 October 1989 the 320^th anniversary of Rembrandt’s leaving his artistic legacy to posterity. This faxart event orchestrated by Alexenberg began from the AT&T building in New York.  It flew to Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam to Israel Museum in Jerusalem to Tokyo National University of the Arts to Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, returning to New York on the same afternoon. 

Amalyah Zipkin, Curator of European Art at, wrote a description of the angel coming from Amsterdam to the Israel Museum and then flying on to Tokyo.  She wrote:

“There is something appropriate in the illogic of the event: here we were in Jerusalem, the Holy City of 4000 years of turbulent history, huddled next to a fax machine in the mail room of the Israel Museum.  It was a few days before Yom Kippur.  Somewhere out there in technological space, a disembodied angel – computerized, digitized, enlarged, quartered, and faxed – was winging its way towards us from Amsterdam.  This angel had been drawn in the 17^th century by a Dutch artist with the instantly-recognizable mass-media name of Rembrandt van Rijn, and had undergone its electronic dematerialization 320 year after the artist’s death as the hands of a New York artist and technology freak who had the audacity to make the connections: Rembrandt, the Bible, gematria, the electronic age, global communications, the art world, and the fax machine.  Like magic, at the appointed hour the fax machine zapped to life and bits of angel began to materialize in Jerusalem.  Photographs and the attendant PR requirements of contemporary life were seen to, and the pages were carefully fed back into the machine. We punched in the Tokyo phone number and the angel took technological flight once more.”

The Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem

When it arrived in Tokyo, it was the morning of October 5^th. It was then sent from the Land of the Rising Sun to the City of the Angels in California. The line printed out on the top of the fax “Tokyo National University of the Arts, 5 October 1989” was followed by the line “Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 4 October 1989.”  Cyberangels can not only fly around the globe, they can fly into tomorrow and back into yesterday. They reshape our concepts of time and space.

Museum of Modern Art in New York City: 5,696 miles from Jerusalem, Israel; 305 miles from JerUSAlem, New York; or 0 cybermiles

MoMA as the world’s foremost museum of modern art should be the first museum to have the first exemplar of NFT crypto art in its collection.

Just as cyber artworks have found their homes in museums worldwide since the 1980’s, crypto artworks will be entering museum collections worldwide in future.

As an artist whose digital artwork is in the MoMA collection, it will be my honor to gift my 2022 crypto artwork for a MoMA NFT collection. It shows me in period garb launching a Rembrandt inspired cyberangel from Rembrandt’s studio in Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam flying to MoMA.

The Museum of Modern Art added my experimental digital multimedia artwork Jacob’s Dream: Digitized Homage to Rembrandt to its collection in 1987 after its being exhibited in “The Artist and the Computer” exhibition at the Bronx Museum of the Arts.  I had created it when I was simultaneously Chairman of Fine Arts at Pratt Institute and Research Fellow at MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies.

Mrs. Alfred R. Stern, Chairman of the Committee on Prints and Illustrated Books, wrote on adding my 1986 experimental digital multimedia artwork Jacob’s Dream: “The members of the committee were pleased to accept this computer-assisted etching of Rembrandt’s imagery. As an example of the innovative technological experimentation taking place at Pratt Graphic Center, it will be of great interest to students of the development of graphic techniques.”

I am former art professor at Columbia University, research fellow at MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies, head of the art department at Pratt Institute, and professor at universities in Israel.

Below is the image of the cyberangels artwork that I created for transformation into crypto art as my gift to MoMA. My life-long connection to MoMA is described following the image of cyberangels in flight from Amsterdam to New York City.

When you inform me of your acceptance of the gift of my cyberangel crypto artwork, I will contact you to arrange for the digital transfer of the NFT to the Museum of Modern Art. My email is melalexenberg@yahoo.com

MoMA IN THE LIFE OF THE ARTIST MEL ALEXENBERG

MoMA has a special place in my life having been born and educated in New York. Instead of taking the Green Bus to school, I’d often run across Queens Boulevard and take the bus in the opposite direction across the bridge to Fifth Avenue and 53^rd Street to spend the day with Matisses and Picassos. 

When I was head of the art department at Pratt Institute, I invited Francoise Gilot to lecture about her new book Matisse and Picasso: A Friendship in Art. She gave me a copy and wrote in it: "To Mel Alexenberg, who sees angels in computers and computers in Angels. Francoise Gilot."

My first teaching job was as a high school biology teacher at Rhodes School on 54^th Street overlooking the MoMA terrace. (It’s the red brick building in the photo below.) 

My second date with Miriam, who became my wife ten months later, was in the MoMA where I explained to her ideas emerging from modern art. The last museum she had visited was the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam viewing Rembrandts when she was nine years old on her way from Suriname where she was born to live on a farm in Israel.

Victor D’Amico, director of the MoMA’s Children’s Museum was my teacher when I was studying for an interdisciplinary doctorate in art and science at NYU. His classes were held at MoMA.  

When I was head of the art department at Pratt Institute, I invited Francoise Gilot to lecture there.  She gave me a copy of her book Matisse and Picasso: A Friendship in Art inscribed “To Mel Alexenberg who sees angels in computers and computers in angels.” My experimental Rembrandt inspired cyberangels are now in MoMA’s collection.           

“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 Museum of Modern Art in New York City in time for lunch at the Terrace Cafe.  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.

Second image: The cyberangels begin their virtual 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, the 91 story Azrieli Spiral Tower in construction in Tel Aviv with the shape of a Bible scroll.

Third image: Cyberangels spiral up from a NASA satellite image of the Land of Israel on a smartphone screen on the cover of Mel Alexenberg’s latest book Through a Bible Lens.  They launch the book throughout the world from the artist/author’s studio in Israel. See praise for the book at Israel365.

Bottom image: This experimental mixed media artwork by Mel Alexenberg was exhibited in the “The Second Emerging Expression Biennial: The Artist and the Computer” exhibition at the Bronx Museum of the Arts in New York in 1987-88. 

It creates a visual dialog between a hand-drawn etching, photoetching, and computer-generated etchings based on a Rembrandt drawing in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art that placed Alexenberg’s print in its collection. It was also acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in 1987.

Mrs. Alfred R. Stern, Chairman of the Committee on Prints and Illustrated Books, wrote on adding Mel Alexenberg’s 1986 etching with aquatint, Jacob’s Dream from the series Digitized Homage to Rembrandt to MoMA’s collection: “The members of the committee were pleased to accept this computer-assisted etching of Rembrandt’s imagery. As an example of the innovative technological experimentation taking place at Pratt Graphic Center, it will be of great interest to students of the development of graphic techniques.”

Cyberangels Fly to the Museum Moderner Kunst in Vienna, Austria, from the Israel Museum in Jerusalem

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, research fellow at MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies, and professor in universities in Israel.

“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 the Israel Museum in Jerusalem at the café of the Museum of Modern Art in Vienna, Austria, in time for lunch.  

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.

Second 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.

Third 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: Biblical Insights for Smartphone Photography and Social Media. They launch the book throughout the world from the artist/author’s studio in Israel. See praise for the book at Israel365.

 

Bottom image: Alexenberg’s lithograph “Angel Announcing Birth of Samson to Manoah” that has been in the collection of Vienna’s Museum of Modern Art since 1987.  In tribute to Rembrandt on the 350^th year of his death, his digitized angels dormant in the museum’s flat files awaken to adorn the cover of the 2019 book Through a Bible Lens.  The Rembrandt inspired cyberangels fly from the book cover to Vienna.
 

Cyberangels Fly to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London from the Israel Museum in Jerusalem

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 elegant café of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in time for lunch.  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.

Second 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.

Third 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: Biblical Insights for Smartphone Photography and Social Media. They launch the book throughout the world from the artist/author’s studio in Israel. See praise for the book at Israel365.

Bottom image: Alexenberg’s lithograph “Digitized Homage to Rembrandt: Night Angels” that has been in the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum since 1986.  In tribute to Rembrandt on the 350^th year of his death, his digitized angels dormant in the museum’s flat files awaken to adorn the cover of the 2019 book Through a Bible Lens.  The Rembrandt inspired cyberangels fly from the book cover to London.

Cyberangels Fly to the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, DC from Israel Museum in Jerusalem

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 the Israel Museum in Jerusalem at the café of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in time for lunch at America's table. 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.

Second 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.

Third 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: Biblical Insights for Smartphone Photography and Social Media. They launch the book throughout the world from the artist/author’s studio in Israel. See praise for the book at Israel365.

Bottom image: Alexenberg’s lithograph “Digital Homage to Rembrandt: Day Angeles” that has been in the collection of The National Museum of American History since 1987 as a historical exemplar of computer-generated fine art printmaking. In tribute to Rembrandt on the 350^th year of his death, his digitized angels dormant in the museum’s flat files awaken to adorn the cover of the 2019 book Through a Bible Lens. The Rembrandt inspired cyberangels fly from the book cover to Washington, DC.

Gary Kulik, Chairman, Department of Social & Cultural History, at the museum wrote:

Dear Mr. Alexenberg,
It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge, on behalf of the National Museum of American History, the receipt of "Digitized Homage to Rembrandt: Day Angels" kindly presented to our Division of Graphic Arts. This lithograph from a computer-generated image is a most valuable addition to our collection. It has been entered on our records as a gift from the Pratt Graphics Center. Please accept my thanks for your generous interest in the national collections.

Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City: 5,696 miles from Jerusalem, Israel; 305 miles from JerUSAlem, New York; or 0 cybermiles

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, research fellow at MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies, and professor at universities in Israel.

“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 Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in time for lunch.  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.

Second image: The cyberangels begin their virtual 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, the 91 story Azrieli Spiral Tower in construction in Tel Aviv with the shape of a Bible scroll.

Third 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. See praise for the book at Israel365.

Bottom image: This experimental mixed media artwork by Mel Alexenberg was presented in the “The Second Emerging Expression Biennial: The Artist and the Computer” exhibition at the Bronx Museum of the Arts in New York, September 1987- January 1988, and was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art for its Department of Drawings and Prints. It is based on a Rembrandt drawing in the same collection.

The text in the The Met’s website reads: “Digitized Homage to Rembrandt: Jacob's Dream, 1986–87, Mel Alexenberg, American (born 1937). Etching, photoetching, and aquatint from computer generated-image, Accession Number 1987.110”

University of Michigan Museum of Art in Ann Arbor: 6,018 miles from Jerusalem, Israel; 14 miles from Jerusalem, Michigan; or 0 cybermiles

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 University of Michigan Museum of Art in Ann Arbor in time for lunch.  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.

Second 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.

Third 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: Biblical Insights for Smartphone Photography and Social Media. They launch the book throughout the world from the artist/author’s studio in Israel. See praise for the book at Israel365.

Bottom image: Alexenberg’s serigraph “Long Island Angels” that has been in the collection of University of Michigan Museum of Art since 1987. See The New York Times article about cyberangels connecting Long Island to the 48 states of continental USA. 

In tribute to Rembrandt on the 350^th year of his death, his digitized angels dormant in the museum’s flat files awaken to adorn the cover of the 2019 book Through a Bible Lens. The Rembrandt inspired cyberangels ascend from the Land of Israel into The Cloud, the network of networks, and come down to link Long Island to Michigan on continental United States.