PIYUT CODING SERIES Generative Art
void main(){printf("Hello, World!");}
C First lesson, "Big Blue C"
See here:
Yah Ribon Coding
Pne Aleynu Coding
Shifat Revivim Coding
Hamafdil Coding
I have started working on the “Piyut Coding” series in 2024. While studying ancient Jewish poetic works, I discovered a whole series of wonderful song-verses written by poets at different times in different countries of the Jewish Diaspora. Why did I combine them into a single series? It seems to me that these poems are united by a mystical and esoteric attitude towards Being. What is also common is that all poems are written according to the ACROSTICS principle. My purpose is to interpret ancient works so that they would “light up” with new colors of the modern world. That's why I chose the opportunities that Generative art provides. The movement of words creates a unique choreography for writing an ACROSTIC each time the program is launched. Thus, each animation scene exists only in a single copy. Each work is the result of code execution and does not imply the preservation of an unchanged image or video. The innovation of this project lies in the fact that it changes the roles and ideas created decades earlier in the new “coded” reality. The “artificial”, which is represented in the work by computer code, behaves like a “living” organism, changing the structure of the animation and video every time it starts. At the same time, the recording of “live” voice and music always remains unchanged. In this way, we can note a change in previously established ideas. All animation scenes are “drawn” with a specific color, which together creates a multi-colored rainbow of the work. The program for all parts was codded by Alex Chak. The musical performance of all poems is in the Public domain.
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“Yah Ribon Coding” (“The Most High is the King of the World”) is based on the text of the famous Shabbat hymn of Rabbi Israel ben Moses Najara, glorifying the one Creator. Israel ben Moses Najara (c. 1555, Ottoman Empire – c. 1625, Gaza, Ottoman Empire) was a famous Jewish liturgical poet, preacher, biblical commentator, kabbalist, and subsequently rabbi of the city of Gaza. The book “Zemirot Yisrael“, originally called “Zemirot Yisrael Najara“, was first published in Safed (1587) and contained 108 piyutim and hymns. “Yah Ribon” is a famous hymn included in this book of poems. Each verse of “Yah Ribon” begins with a Hebrew letter forming the acrostic word ISRAEL. The red strings in the video connect the letters of the ACROSTICS and “draw” a complex graphic system reminiscent of transparent crystals. The red color for the strings was chosen according to ancient Jewish tradition as a symbol of strength and heroism.
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“Pne Aleynu Coding“ (“Show us your mercy”) is based on the text of the famous piyut Frecha Bat Yosef. Frecha Bat Yosef (also known as Frecha Bat Rabbi Abraham) was an 18th-century poet. She was born in Morocco, moved with her family to Algeria and then to Tunisia. Freha is unique for her time as a woman poet. Her poetry intertwines the personal destiny and history of the people of Israel: the history of exile and the desire for redemption. Since the publication of Professor Yosef Sheetrit, who discovered her magnificent poetry, Freha Bat Yosef's work has become a source of inspiration for poets, artists and musicians. The hymn “Pne Aleynu” is a request to the Almighty for the unification of the Jewish people. Each verse of this hymn begins with a Hebrew letter forming an ACROSTIC – the word of FRECHA. Yellow (golden) polyhedrons connect the letters ACROSTIC and “draw” a complex graphic system reminiscent of a rising sun or a dandelion flower, inside of which there is an endless cave-tunnel.
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“Boi Le-gani Coding“ – (“Come to my garden”) is based on the text of the famous poem by Rabbi Israel ben Moses Najara, addressing his daughter with these words. This work was written shortly after her death in Damascus, where his family fled from the epidemic in Gaza. The song has different melodies and is sung by all eastern communities today. The most common melody is that of Ezra Aaron, composed in the last century. For example, among the Jews of Morocco this song is found among the songs dedicated to the Sabbath. Mostly today it is sung to celebrate the birth of a daughter or to celebrate a bat mitzvah. Each verse of this poem begins with a Hebrew letter forming the ACROSTIC - ISRAEL (Strong). Green color – creates a feeling of a garden or forest. Green lines connect the letters of the ACROSTICS and “draw” a complex graphic system.
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“Shifat Revivim Coding” (“Abundance of Rainfall”) is based on the text of Ibn Gvirol’s famous poem from the book “Tikkun HaGeshem”. Rabbi Shlomo Ben-Yehuda ibn Gabirol, also known as Ibn Gabirol, was a Spanish-Jewish philosopher and poet who lived in the 11th century (1021, Malaga, Spain – 1058). Tikkun HaGeshem (c. 1040) is one of his books of poetry. This collection of poems is part of Ibn Gabirol's wider oeuvre, which includes philosophical treatises, religious poetry and writings on ethics. “Tikkun HaGeshem“ is especially known for its spiritual and mystical themes, often exploring the relationship between humanity and the divine. In Ibn Gvirol's hymn “Shifat Revivim“, streams of rain are a symbol of salvation. Each verse of this hymn begins with a Hebrew letter forming an acrostic – the words SHLOMO CHAZAK (SOLOMON THE MIGHTY). The blue streams in the video connect the letters of the ACROSTICS and “draw” a complex graphic system reminiscent of falling rain.
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“Hamafdil Coding“ (“Distinguishing between the holy and the everyday”) is based on the text of the famous hymn of the medieval Jewish poet Isaac Ha-katan (the Younger). The years of his life and place of birth are unknown, and nothing is known about where he lived. “Hamavdil Bein Kodesh Lechol“ tells about the complex structure of the world, in which two sides simultaneously coexist – the mystical, divine and the “worldly”, everyday. Each verse of this hymn begins with a Hebrew letter forming an ACROSTIC – YITZCHAK HAKATAN. The mystical mood of the work is created using the color lilac – a symbol of wisdom, maturity and higher intelligence. Lilac broken lines are constantly moving, connecting the letters of the ACROSTIC and “drawing” a complex graphic system, forming a point at the top that resembles a pulsating “beacon”.
Shows:
- – COLOR 2024. Group exhibition. CICA Museum, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.
- – Piyut Coding. Solo exhibition. The Old Sha’arei Tzedek gallery, Jerusalem, Israel. Curator: Rami Ozeri.
- – JUST SCAN ME!. Group exhibition. The Jerusalem House of Quality, Jerusalem, Israel. Curators: Galina Bleikh, Nataliya Kamenetskaya.
- – Art and Nomads: Multiple Horizons. Group exhibition. Jerusalem Biennale 2023, Jerusalem, Israel. Curators: Jungsuk Noh, Nataliya Kamenetskaya, Galina Bleikh.