Special Guest Author – Yaacov Moshe Moses
Freely-translated excerpt from a letter by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, dated 24 Adar II, 5711 (1951).
“… I was extremely happy to read that you are working with your artistic talents, are preparing to hold an exhibition, and that you have already received favorable reviews in the press. Surely you will progress in the utilization of the talent that G-d has granted you toward the strengthening of Yiddishkeit and G-d-fearing behavior…
…As you are surely aware, the primary talent of an artist is his ability to step away from the externalities of the thing and, disregarding its outer form, gaze into its innerness and perceive its essence, and to be able to convey this in his painting. Thus the object is revealed as it has never before been seen, since its inner content was obscured by secondary things. The artist exposes the essence of the thing he portrays, causing the one who looks at the painting to perceive it in another, truer light, and to realize that his prior perception was deficient.
And this is one of the foundations of man’s service of his Creator.”
Much agreed!