New Releases by Mark Podwal

Transforming a site of perdition into a place of benediction: the new synagogue of Babyn Yar near Kiev. On September 29 and 30, 1941, more than 33,000 Jewish men, women, and children were murdered in Babyn Yar, a ravine in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. This event constituted the largest single massacre perpetrated by German troops against Jews during World War II. In commemoration, and as an affirmation of a Jewish future, a synagogue designed in the shape of an oversized Jewish prayer book was inaugurated on the same site in May 2021. When opened, the book building''s inner space and its furnishings unfold. This impressive movable structure was conceived by architect Manuel Herz and is decorated with murals by Ukrainian artist Galina Andrusenko. The Babyn Yar synagogue''s design is rooted in a meditation on Judaism''s 3,000-year-old history. The leitmotif of this consideration, undertaken by historian Robert Jan van Pelt and artist Mark Podwal, is the concept of Jewish Space understood in its territorial, architectural, psychological, theological, intellectual dimensions. It traverses a historical landscape that includes great heights of spiritual aspiration and profound depths of despair, caused by antisemitism and the persecution, massacres, and genocide that resulted from it. The first volume of this lavishly illustrated and thought-provoking book, An Atlas of Jewish Space, offers 134 brief and engaging texts by Robert Jan van Pelt, each of which is illuminated with a drawing by Mark Podwal. The second volume, A Synagogue for Babyn Yar, documents the new building through photographs by celebrated architectural photographer Iwan Baan, as well as through plans and model photos. The images are supplemented with texts by Manuel Herz, Galina Andrusenko, Jean-Louis Cohen, and Marina Otero Verzier and Nick Axel.

“Ask the beast and it will teach thee, and the birds of heaven and they will tell thee.” —Job 12:7 In the Middle Ages, the bestiary achieved a popularity second only to that of the Bible. In addition to being a kind of encyclopedia of the animal kingdom, the bestiary also served as a book of moral and religious instruction, teaching human virtues through a portrayal of an animal’s true or imagined behavior. In A Jewish Bestiary, Mark Podwal revisits animals, both real and mythical, that have captured the Jewish imagination through the centuries. Originally published in 1984 and called “broad in learning and deep in subtle humor” by the New York Times, this updated edition of A Jewish Bestiary features new full-color renderings of thirty-five creatures from Hebraic legend and lore. The illustrations are accompanied by entertaining and instructive tales drawn from biblical, talmudic, midrashic, and kabbalistic sources. Throughout, Podwal combines traditional Jewish themes with his own distinctive style. The resulting juxtaposition of art with history results in a delightful and enlightening bestiary for the twenty-first century. From the ant to the ziz, herein are the creatures that exert a special force on the Jewish fancy.

In A Collage of Customs, Mark Podwal''s imaginative and inventive interpretations of woodcuts from a 16th-century Sefer Minhagim (Book of Customs) allow readers of this volume to see these historic images in a new light. Podwal brings humor and whimsy to religious objects and practices, while at the same time delivering profound and nuanced commentary on Jewish customs and history, both through his art, and through his insightful accompanying text. The book appears in concert with an exhibition of Podwal''s renderings at the Cincinnati Skirball Museum.

Mark Podwal is today''s premiere artist of the Jewish experience, with a prolific portfolio of work lauded by visionaries ranging from Elie Wiesel to Harold Bloom. His paintings and ink-on-paper drawings are not only beautiful but also offer profound and nuanced commentary on Jewish tradition, history, and politics. This unprecedented collection brings together the widest selection of Podwal''s work ever published in a single volume in a stunning, lavishly produced, oversized hardcover. With more than 350 works, each beautifully reproduced, Reimagined is a must-have for every Jewish home.

As legend tells it, the Old-New Synagogue in Prague was built by angels, and later was home to a golem who remains locked away in the building to this day. In lyrical prose, Mark Podwal shares the story of the world''s oldest active synagogue, which was completed in 1270. Throughout the years, this sacred place of prayer and celebration has endured plagues, wars, and the Nazi regime. Its story is part legend, part history, and one that stands as a testament to the perseverance of the Jewish people. Includes an author''s note and bibliography.

;Mark Podwal . . . shake[s] the brain into fresh juxtapositions of understanding. ;-Cynthia Ozick ;Mark Podwal''s original drawings . . . reflect his great talent. ;-Elie Wiesel Mark Podwal may be best known for his political drawings on the New York Timesop-ed page. Here, he focuses on the human body as a medical specimen, visually representing the essence of the major public health issues of our time. These strangely beautiful images reveal a master''s hand. Mark Podwal''s most recent book is Jerusalem Sky(2005); his You Never Know(1998), with Francine Prose, won a National Jewish Book Award. He lives in Harrison, New York.

Reinventando una zoologia del folclore ebraico, il tratto straordinariamente brillante di Mark Podwal unisce un ingegno strabiliante a una gioiosa originalità. Il suo disegno dell’ombra dell’impero romano è il condensato di un’intera storia di tirannia politica. Questo solo disegno – un piccolo capolavoro – è la prova della grande capacità di concettualizzazione di Podwal. Il suo è il genio della metafora attraverso il tratto, un tratto così potente che deve essere caduto da una delle penne del fantastico ziz. (Cynthia Ozick) Il Bestiario ebraico di Mark Podwal trasmetterà pura e semplice gioia a tutti coloro che amano i racconti biblici e le leggende del Talmud. La sua arte è al contempo acuta e ispirata, la sua fantasia arricchita da antica saggezza e umorismo. Ci sono pochi libri, oggi, che raccomanderei con altrettanto entusiasmo. (Elie Wiesel) Le opere di Mark Podwal sono state esposte in molti musei, tra i quali il Louvre, il Musée des Beaux Arts di Bordeaux e il Jewish Museum di New York, e fanno parte delle collezioni del Metropolitan Museum of Art, del Victoria and Albert Museum e del Fogg Art Museum. Le sue vignette politiche appaiono frequentemente sul New York Times. Tra i numerosi libri da lui illustrati citiamo Il Golem di Elie Wiesel pubblicato da questa casa editrice.

Junie, a spunky, sometimes exasperating kindergartener, looks forward to winning lots of prizes at the school carnival, but a fruit cake was not exactly what she had in mind.