Oculus, the Latin term for an eye-like opening that allows light to focus on a specific subject, seems an apt term for a new column in The Shofar, one that will focus the reader’s eye on a selected work of art, and shed light on its creation.
Each column will feature a piece by a member of the shul’s Judaism and Art group. To inaugurate Oculus, The Shofar offers a pen and ink drawing on paper, titled “Bertha,” by Judith Kaufman Weiner. The work is a haunting portrait of Judith’s mother, completed shortly after her death in 1965. “Although it is decades old, whenever I come upon it looking back at me, it evokes vivid memories of the time and the creation of the piece,” the artist said.
Graham Diamond photo