In

Up

Over

Away

Ground

Worth

Credit

Birth

Life

Thought

Thanks

Advice

Space

Way

A Hand

A Shout

A Shit

A Chance

A Damn

A Reason

A Rat’s Ass

A Sign

A Lift

Meaning

 

 

 

Hosted once again by Temple Adas Israel, this project took shape under the stewardship of Rabbi Leon Morris, Architect Nilay Oza, a host of collaborators and assistants, and myself. The holiday corresponded to a food-drive by the synagogue for contributions to the local food pantry. Artists from both within the community and from the wider world were invited to participate in the following way:

The list above consists of words or phrases commonly used after the word “give” (“Give away,” “give a reason,” etc.). The artists who were invited to participate in the Sukkah Project 2013 were supplied with one of the iconic objects of the visual arts of the last century: a can of Campbell’s Tomato Soup. They were asked to choose one word or phrase from this list to reflect upon as they altered, adorned, or interpreted this can. The resulting artwork was displayed on the back wall of the sukkah for the duration of Sukkot, as well as during a later planned exhibition within the synagogue. The walls themselves were designed using the actual canned-goods contributed by the community. Over 1300 cans formed an animated backdrop to the singular contributions of the artists.

The students in the Hebrew School were given roughly the same task as the other artists, and came up with a range of responses, putting pen to paper in creative and unexpected ways. Using a collaborative design process I have come to call "Meronymy," I incorporate these elements into a radial pattern, not unlike a mandala. 

I then use a section of this radial pattern to form the outline of the mural. 

These are two variations on "Give Away." They formed the main structure of the mural.

The others included "Give a Look," "Give a Kiss," "Give Me a Minute," "Give Me Some Suger"... 

...and of course the classic "Give Me Some Blueberries." This one (below), and it's sister "Give Me Some Blueberries in a House" were arranged in two bands which served as the grounds for the other images.

The only forms I allow myself to use are ones given to me  by the participants, and I must use all of them. These forms must be arranged in a radial pattern. I show only a fragment of this pattern. For additional information, see the littlepictureBIGPICTURE blog. Or, read the December issue of Faith and Form Magazine.

The festival of Sukkot is the most joyous time in the Jewish calendar. The harvest festival follows the introspection and reverence of the Days of Awe.

This was the first year we developed the idea of using a sprung roof pattern. Dimensional lumber was resawn to 1/4" +/- and woven into a basic basket-weave pattern. These were then cut to the proper dimension at the corners, following a curved cleat, but oversize by about 2 3/8" (at an 8' span) to impose the tension. This dimension was calculated based on the radius of the curve we were looking for. The curve between the corner points and the wider midpoint was cut fair after the points were laid out.

The panels were pushed into their framed space from below, snapping into place once they cleared the cleats.

"Never trust the client's dimensions." This is a cardinal rule for fabricators and builders everywhere. Here, we had to trust the Rabbi's report that the overall dimension of the sukkah would be 12' x 24,' since the framing materials were in storage. Once the frame was erected, we discovered that the dimension was actually 16' x 24'. We had already milled the roofing material to the 12' dimension, and there was not enough time to mill new material. So, we oriented the weave on the large central panel to run diagonally, to get the material we had to fit the opening it was intended for.