Yitzchok Moully
Yitzchok Moully is an Australian-American, Orthodox rabbi and artist associated with the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement and is known for his "Chasidic Pop Art" painting style. Moully served as a Chabad emissary (shaliach) in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.[1][2][3]
Moully's combination of rabbinic work and art is expressed in a piece "Orange Socks." The piece, according to Moully, contrasts what people think of as a homogeneous Chassidic experience.[4]
Personal life
Yitzchok Moully was born in 1979[5] in Queensland, Australia but moved to Melbourne, Victoria at the age of three. At the age of five, Moully and his mother moved to Crown Heights, Brooklyn and joined the Chabad community there. Moully later studied at Chabad yeshivoth, married, and became the assistant rabbi at the Chabad Jewish Center of Basking Ridge, New Jersey.[1]
Art
Moully has produced works by using the silkscreen process; his art contrasts strong Jewish and Chasidic images with vibrant bold colors creating what he describes as "Chassidic Pop Art."[3] Moully uses color and styles similar to the work of Andy Warhol, using popular images from Jewish Chasidic culture including dreidels, Kiddush cups and praying rabbis.[5] Moully also works in abstract art, and has been heavily influenced by artists such as by the French Canadian artist Jean Pierre Lafrance [6]
In 2006, Moully began exhibiting his art in galleries and community centers in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Currently, his work is on exhibit at the gallery ArtisZen Arts in Lambertville, New Jersey.[5]
The Creative Soul
Moully founded a network of Orthodox Jewish artists called "The Creative Soul."[1][7][8] The group has sought to bring together local Chasidic artists, responding to the community's need for a greater focus on creativity.[9] The Creative Soul has organized an annual exhibition in Crown Heights during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The exhibition has included submissions from local Chabad artists including Yitzchok Moully and Michoel Muchnik[10]
See also
References
- Bensoussan, Barbara. "True Color." Mishpacha Magazine. July 4, 2012.
- "Pop Artist, Chossid, Shliach." COLlive.com. July 8, 2012.
- "Yitzchok Moully." The Algemeiner Journal. Accessed December 1, 2014.
- Wischusen, Phreddy (October 24, 2017). "'Under the Black Hat' Pop Art in Jerusalem Focuses on Chassidim - Rabbi Yitzchok Moully brings spiritual and emotional depth to a new exhibit". www.chabad.org. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
- Trappler-Spielman, Sara. Hasidic Rabbi by Day, Pop Artist by Night." The Jewish Daily Forward. Wednesday, February 20, 2008.
- Peter Kharmandarian Interview: The Pop Art Rabbi – Yitzchok Moully
- Trappler-Spielman, Sara. "Sick of Dancing Hasidim Playing Violins? Meet the New Baal Teshuvah Artists of Brooklyn." Tablet Magazine. July 1, 2013.
- Bressler, Yaakov. "Supporting Israel With Art." September 19, 2014. The New York Jewish Week.
- Trappler-Spielman, Sara. "A Safe Space for Jewish Artists: The Creative Soul Opens in Brooklyn." The Wall Street Journal. April 28, 2014.
- "Chassidic artists to participate in group art show." CrownHeights.info. September 27, 2012.