S. Daniel Abraham Program Art Competition Draws 200 Young Women Studying in Israel The Yeshiva University Israel Campus auditorium was transformed into an art gallery on Monday evening, when 29 works – all by women studying in Israel for a year – went on display for the third annual S. Daniel Abraham Program Art Competition. Check out the Art Competition photo gallery The dessert reception and chance to support their friends’ creative accomplishments drew 200 students from seminaries around Jerusalem. The goal of the annual competition is to give an opportunity to young women to hone their skills for expression in different visual media, within a Jewish framework. Entries had to connect to Jewish textual, cultural, or historical themes, and the artists also submitted written statements explaining where and how they drew their inspiration. “Working on this piece made me see that my subconscious is Jewish,” said Meira Altabet of Sharon, MA, who will attend Stern College for Women next year. Her work, entitled Lamah?, was a collage including oil pastels, mirrors, cloth, ink, small shells from the shore of Lake Kinneret, and pieces of glass from Eilat. “I think it’s cool that Yeshiva branches out and gives us a chance to work on something different.” Yocheved Greenberg, a Stern-bound student at Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim (MMY), who attended the exhibit to support a friend, concurred. “It’s nice that Yeshiva isn’t just recognizing academic skills, but other talents as well,” she said. “It fits in with YU’s philosophy of Torah U’Maddah, being able to paint and express yourself within the theme of Eretz Yisrael.” Weeks before Monday evening’s reception, the student artists had submitted their essays and photographs of their creations, which included paintings, sketches, collages, and three-dimensional media. The photos and essays were judged by Dr. Susan Gardner and Dr. Traci Tullius of Stern’s Art department. The professors also communicated with students throughout the creative process, helping them develop their work. At the reception, three Israeli artists also provided scores for each piece, based on criteria including composition, use of color, technical skill, creativity, and expression of the theme. The judges in Israel included graduate Hindy Strauss SC ’91, who holds an MA in fine art from City College; prize-winning Bezalel graduate Daniel Azoulay; and Marci Fishman Wiesel, who holds a degree in architecture and developed a unique style of Judaic paper cutting. Works were submitted by students at Emunah V’Omanut, a seminary which combines daily Torah study with studio tracks in Music and Visual Art. Also represented was Midreshet Harova, which offers an art course to complement its Judaic text program. But students from MMY, Michlalah and Tiferet also managed to make time to participate. “I see more individuality this year,” Azoulay said. “Each work is very different, very personal. I can see their fresh looks at Israel, how they are reacting to their environment, how they are trying to feel the place. And I see more maturity in the techniques.” Wiesel agreed. “I was impressed by the technical level, and many of them have good concepts,” she said. “The pieces are rich in spirit and meaning for these girls. This year obviously has an effect on them. I found it moving.” The first-place award of $500 from Stern’s Sophie Freeman Art Enrichment Fund went to Mia Guttmann of Thornhill, Ontario for her pencil depictions of the Four Matriarchs. Second-place honors went to Sara Noa Mark of the Bronx, for her oil-on-wood piece entitled Lech Lecha, which uses an image of an Egged bus ticket to symbolize her journeys in the Land of Israel. Three students tied for third place: Elisha Katz of Plainview, NY for her oil painting of Bat Yiftach weeping over the wedding dress of terror victim Nava Applebaum; Jessica Deutch of New Rochelle for a watercolor entitled Come Together; and Jessica Borenstein, whose pencil drawing of an anxious and determined middle-aged woman represents the “Modern Matriarch.” All the winning pieces will be displayed in the fall at the Beren Campus. For most, the point of entering the competition was not the prize, but the experience. Na’amah Plotzker, for example, had never painted before, she said, but liked to draw and thought that for this competition she’d “give painting a try.” “YU came to my school [MMY] and told us about this event, and I thought it sounded like fun,” she said. “I painted on my days off, instead of going to Ben Yehudah street. I’m not here to win, but to try. I’m excited about participating.” She plans to major in Biology next year at Stern, but will take art courses as well.