Study for A Holocaust Chapel

This aquarelle study was made from a black and white photograph, which I assume was taken by the Nazis during the Holocaust.  I have no further information about the photograph. I created this study in an effort to respond to and humanize the obviously de-humanized concentration camp victims.

Kristallnacht: The Exile of the Sabbath Queen

Kristallnacht: The Exile of the Sabbath Queen

Aquarelle Drawing 19" x 25"

This aquarelle study was made using a live model and a photograph of the destruction of a Frankfurt synagogue on Kristallnacht, in November, 1838.

The Divine Punishment for Dissent

"The Divine Punishment for Dissent, Oil on wood, 48" x 36" (in process)

This work (in progress) is based upon the biblical story of Korach (Numbers 16: 1-18:32) who, along with Dathan and Abiram, led a protest against Moses and Aaron in the desert--which came to an end when God caused the earth to open, swallow up and/or burn  the protest leaders and their households. Korach had protested that it was unjust for Moses to make his brother the high priest when in fact the entire people are holy. His argument represented what was, in effect, a populist uprising against authoritarianism, and he was supported by 250 of the Israelite tribal leaders.  The painting will ask the question of whether God, and human religion, should resolve religious disputes with violence and destruction, or through thought and dialog. It will also ask a fundamental question about the nature of God. Click here for an article by Brian Weinstein that examines Korach's dissent.

The Sacrifice of Isaac

"The Sacrifice of Isaac" by Sanford Drob, Oil on Linen 30" x 30."

These paintings depict the Akedah from the perspective of midrashim which narrate that Isaac was actually sacrificed by Abraham on Mount Moriah. It raises questions about how such a monstrous "fantasy" and willingness to do such a heartless act can be the founding gesture for the Judaeo-Christian tradition.

"The Immolation of Isaac" by Sanford Drob, Oil on Linen, 30" x 30."

Discussion of Tsemeh Yoreh's research on Issac's death

My own perspective on Torah is that it poses great ethical and axiological problems that require human thought and dialog to resolve. The Akedah (the binding of Isaac) is just one of the many problems it poses. From a Kabbalistic point of view, the biblical stories are  Kellipot--shells which contains kernels of light and truth that we must extract through deep reflection and intensive dialog.

Religion in America

"Religion in America" by Sanford Drob, Oil on linen

Raises the question of the paradoxical relationship between  American's devotion to both guns and religion.

The (Post) Humanity Triptych

"A Simulated Rabbi" by Sanford Drob, Oil on Linen

 The Crucifixion of Adam and Eve in New Jersey by Sanford Drob, Oil on Linen

The Posthumanity Triptych, which consists of A Simulated Rabbi, The Crucifixion of Adam and Eve in New Jersey, and A Simulated Sister, raises the question of the fate of religion in a world where only computer-simulated “rabbis” and “sisters” remain after the destruction of humanity as a result of environmental catastrophe.  Further images and discussion of The Posthumanity Triptych can be accessed at posthumanitytriptych.blogspot.com.

"A Simulated Sister" by Sanford Drob, Oil on Linen

"A Simulated Rebbitzen" by Sanford Drob, Oil on Linen

A Midrash on Time

"Before the Birth of Time" by Sanford Drob, Oil on Linen

 "The Flight Into Time" by Sanford Drob, Oil on linen

A Midrash on Time illustrates an apocryphal story, written by the artist. In this story a hitherto eternal Adam and Eve (Before the Birth of Time) are granted the smallest measure of time in order to participate in a hearing before the divine council on the wisdom of introducing temporarily into an originally timeless world. Intoxicated with the possibilities of having even the smallest measure of time, Adam and Eve flee into a world of “olive trees, trees, cliffs and stones” (The Flight Into Time) only to be confronted with their own mortality (The Death of Adam). Further images and discussion of A Midrash on Time can be accessed at midrashontime.blogspot.com.

"The Death of Adam" by Sanford Drob, Oil on linen

The Murder of Hypatia...Death of the Anima

"Hypatia Contemplating a Bust of Plato" by Sanford Drob, Oil on linen

"The Murder of Hypatia," by Sanford Drob, Oil on linen

The Murder of Hypatia/Death of the Anima Triptych reflects upon the brutal assassination of the one female philosopher who is known to us from antiquity, Hypatia of Alexandria. According to the account of Socrates Scholasticus,  Hypatia, who taught in Alexandria Egypt in the 4th century, was kidnapped by an angry mob of men and brought to a Church called Caesareum, where she was stripped and brutally murdered with tiles. The triptych raises the question of men’s intolerance of an intellectual woman, and the intolerance of the feminine within themselves.  The first panel depicts Hypatia Contemplating a Bust of Plato, and the second, The Murder of Hypatia depicts the kidnapping prelude to her assassination. The final painting, Hypatia’s Mirror, is a self-portrait of the artist in a mirror held by Hypatia subsequent to her murder, and graphically depicts the artist’s own reflection upon his attitudes toward the feminine. The viewer is, in effect, invited to look into “Hypatia’s Mirror” as well. Further images and discussion of The Murder of Hypatia/Death of the Anima Triptych can be accessed at hypatiapainting.blogspot.com.

"Hypatia's Mirror" by Sanford Drob, Oil on Linen

The (In)humanity Triptych

"The Expulsion" by Sanford Drob, Oil on Linen 

For me, “The Expulsion,” raises many questions, one of which is whether humankind was created just to end up in the ghettos, concentration camps and crematoria. The painting asks for the existential warrant for the creation of humankind, as the biblical figures peer into the future and see the fate of humanity.

"The Sacrifice" by Sanford Drob, Oil on Linen 

The (In)humanity Triptych re-signifies three biblical narratives in light of the Holocaust. In The Expulsion Adam and Eve witness the future of their progeny and world, and the creation of humankind is tainted with the symbols and horrors of the death camps. The Sacrifice, the middle panel of the triptych, references the sacrifice that Noah made after the destruction of virtually all humankind in the flood and provides a window into the Nazi crematoria. Finally, The Accusation both recalls Queen Esther’s confrontation with the wicked Haman (who sought to destroy the Jewish people) and calls the viewer to responsibility and action in the face of humanity’s recurring inhumanity. Further images and discussion of the (In)humanity Triptych can be accessed at  inhumanitytriptych.blogspot.com.

"The Accusation" by Sanford Drob, Oil on Linen