By COLlive reporter
No brushstrokes were used in the creation of this painting.
A striking new portrait of the Rebbe made from unique material was unveiled last week on Gimmel Tammuz, the 30th yartzeit of the Rebbe.
This idea and vision guided Yitzchok Moully in creating this unique and meaningful portrait.
Lubavitcher artist Yitzchok Moully together with fellow creator Meir Kruter meticulously crafted the portrait using small 1/2 inch squares of the Rebbe’s Chassidus and U.S. dollar bills.
The Rebbe’s Torah used in this piece was taken from books with misprints that were not studied from and would be otherwise discarded. The texts from the Rebbe’s sichos (talks) and maamarim (discourses) are being being used for a purpose.
Moully, known for his Chassidic pop-art and original Judaic creations, says this project has been a dream of his for many years.
“The creation of this Rebbe portrait began with the concept of Dira b’tachtonim, the Rebbe’s mission to transform the physical world into the spiritual,” Moully told COLlive.com.
”Chassidus and the Rebbe taught us to use the physical world to perform mitzvot, thereby elevating it to a higher, spiritual plane.”
That’s why he used actual dollar bills, the ultimate symbol of the physical world. The Rebbe would famously give blessings together with a dollar bill to be given to charity on Sundays.
“The Rebbe’s Chassidus is interlaced with the dollar bills, creating a mosaic that transcends their elements,” Moully says. “This special piece merges dollar bills with the Rebbe’s Torah, uplifting them both into a beautiful and inspiring portrait of the Rebbe.
VIDEO: The making of the portrait
The complete portrait is for sale together with a dollar from the Rebbe that Moully received from the Rebbe himself. Reproduction prints are in the works and will be available soon online at MoullyArt.com
Quite amazing!! Very talented!
This is an amazing work of art, but is cutting holy texts into little pieces something we should be doing?
As I watched the clip I thought the same…. Cutting up Sichos Kodesh the Rebbes talks Divre Elokim Chaim …. Seriously !!
I know I’ve heard !!! That a Davar Kodesh on paper is only Hekdish if it was learned on ,,,
Possibly this was…. I hope they asked a Rov Mashpia etc if this is right & respectful to do !!!
Btw the dollar idea is fascinating. Hatzlacha has n your next project.
They wrote clearly that it was from misprints that were never learned from
This is the kind of Jewish art that we need!!!