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We Were It // It Will Be Us: A TMBD Art Exhibition
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Published:
2023-09-20
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812
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מת ומונה (met v'm*n*h)

Summary:

Like your ancestors, you were created with a purpose. Like your ancestors, it is not all you are. Like your ancestors, you will wrestle with it all your days.

(An entry to the We Were It // It Will Be Us exhibition, a showcase of bot-created artworks about the past, present, and future of machined beings.)

Work Text:

TITLE: מת ומונה (met v'm*n*h)
YEAR: [Present minus 6 years]
ARTIST: Chavah Barzel mibeit Sarah (it/they/ze/she)
MEDIUM: clay (sourced from Pigeon Valley River, NW Hemisphere, Preservation), acrylic paints
DESCRIPTION: A painted bust self-sculpture of the artist. It is a construct with light brown skin wearing a bright green shirt and a white and yellow floral headscarf tied in a style typical of Preservation Sephardim. On its forehead in black ink is the word "מת", (met), meaning "dead" in Hebrew, and a smeared letter before the "מ". Its expression, leaning forward with one raised eyebrow and slightly tilted mouth, has been variously interpreted as expectant, impatient, curious, amused, annoyed, mischievous, and more.

CONTEXT: The title is a reference to the phrase "אמת ואמונה", "emet v'emunah", "true and faithful", the name of a prayer from Jewish liturgy. It is recited following the Shema, the simple six-word prayer which many consider to be the central creed of Judaism. Removing the letter aleph (א) in the original produces "met" (dead) and a word that, without vowel markers, could be pronounced as munah ("he/it was appointed"), monah ("i/you/she/it defrauds", "i/you/she/it counts"), muneh ("i/you/he/it is defrauded"), or moneh ("i/you/he/it counts", or "i/you/he/it defrauds''). The artist has stated that it prefers to discuss the piece in writing using only the Hebrew name, when possible, and if it must name the piece aloud, will switch between all four variants.

The word on its forehead is a reference to the story of the golem, a magical protector of Jewish communities made out of clay and brought to life by the word "emet" on its forehead. In most versions of the story, the golem (through no fault of its own) eventually goes out of control and must be deactivated by erasing the first letter, turning "emet", "truth" into "met", "dead".

The choice to use clay from the specific location was not merely a matter of convenience, but a symbolic choice as well. When Chavah converted to Judaism, it immersed in a mikveh, a ritual bath of living waters. Mikvaot can come in any number of shapes, sizes, and designs, and Chavah used the Pigeon Valley River itself. Thus, the river "created" it as a new Jew.

ARTIST BIO: Chavah is an artist, beekeeper, and tambourine enthusiast living on Kibbutz Chesed Rav in Pigeon Valley, NW Hemisphere, Preservation. It is the first construct to ever become a Jew in any Preservation community and possibly the only Jewish construct in all of known space, but it would love to be proven wrong about that. KCR became its home two years after it arrived on Preservation Station as a newly-freed rogue in [Present -12]. Of the experience, it says, laughing, "I had intended to explore basically all of Preservation, but once I got [to KCR], I just kept forgetting to leave!"

Although it began creating art shortly after freeing itself, Chavah considers its name to be its first work of art as a Jew. Chavah is the original Hebrew name for Eve, the first woman to be created in the Torah. Barzel means "iron" and in Jewish folklore is held to have protective properties because it is an acronym for Bilhah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Leah, the mothers of all the tribes of Israel. "Mibeit" means "of the house of" and is a non-gendered alternative for ben/bat (son/daughter) in Hebrew names. Traditionally, a convert is considered to be, and is named as, a child of Abraham and Sarah.

In the past, Chavah has sometimes been the center of controversy due to the fact that it has declined to disclose what type of construct it was created as. "My identity is as a functionqueer golem. Nothing else is necessary," it states. "We don’t ask people about their deadnames or old pronouns. In Judaism, it’s forbidden to embarrass a convert by asking them about their history, and in fact, the sages of the Talmud considered someone who spread gossip, slander, or otherwise embarrassed another person to be as bad as someone who physically attacked them! Some of my close friends know because it was relevant for whatever reason, and those in my community who don’t know respect me by not asking."

CURATOR NOTES (OOC): Pigeon Valley is named that because it sounds cute and folksy, but also "pigeon" and "dove" are the same word in Hebrew, and doves are a symbol of peace. Chesed Rav means "Great Kindness". The headscarf, known as a tichel or mitpachat, is today worn largely by married Orthodox Jewish women. In universe, it is still most popular among married women, but can be seen on people of any and all genders, marital statuses and affiliations with various Jewish movements.

Arranged for display by Iscah Ronit of the pinejaysong art studio.