Shiviti - Album cover design

Shiviti - Album cover design

 

My friend of many talents, Maya Bernstein, invited me to create the cover art for her album, Shiviti that was released in May 2021. The album contains original melodies featuring traditional Jewish text, and was composed and sung by Maya and produced by Noah Solomon. Inspired by my Ripple painting and by her music, this papercut has many layers of meaning, some of which are included here:

  • The album contains original nigunim (melodies) using ancient Jewish text. I decided to create a papercut because it is a Jewish art form that dates back to the 14th century. According to the story, Rabbi Shem-Tov ben Yitzhak wrote "The War of the Pen Against the Scissors" in letters cut from paper because his ink froze on a cold winter night. The art of the papercut therefore embodies the attribute of resilience.

  • It is believed that Jews became familiar with the art because of the travels of Jewish merchants and the close ties between Jews and the Ottoman sultans. Maya’s music definitely allows the listener to "travel" to both new and familiar destinations.

  • Papercutting became a folk art among Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews in the 17th-18th century. As I did more research (after creating the papercut), I discovered that the traditional papercuts were often hung on walls indicating the direction of prayer, and that the Sephardic papercut often had the word Shiviti at the center.

  • Papercutting is an art form able to be practiced by anyone due to its simple materials of paper, pencil, and scissors so it represents accessibility and the encouragement to recognize the potential in everything.

  • This papercut is round because I didn't want it to have an end or a beginning, just movement and strength. It is simultaneously extremely delicate and strong with its connected foundation holding it together.

  • A shift in perspective is required to recognize the Hebrew letters in the negative space, asking the viewer to actively engage in the work.

  • The design is inspired by wood grain patterns and water, keeping nature as the source of energy.

Listen to the album!