Chai, 18, good luck in Judaism. The year is November 14th, 1992 my Bat Mitzvah anniversary today. A coming-of-age Judaic ceremony and ritual where youth become accountable for their actions like adults.
Flash forward 200, I was learning about the Masai Warriors in Africa. A ritual about becoming a man. A young boy goes into the wild, captures a lion, and comes home with it, to show his machismo. The men join in a circle, jumping up and down. I was quickly reminded of the hora, a Jewish dance, played out in a circle. While reflecting on this ritual my mind created a painterly scene, as pictured above. Massai men and study abroad friends surround me celebrating another coming of age ritual now 21. The fun ritual of being lifted up in a chair during the hora celebrates the excitement of this mitzvah. The Massai women do not do the lion ritual, they have others. So I was thinking about the roles of men and women and how they are similarly different.
I can't help but flash forward to January 10th, 2020. My first solo exhibition. I'll be 40 and it will be my 18th year teaching! Certainly Good luck!
* I have to say I look a bit awkward. But hey it was the 80s, fuscia was in, and I was going through that awkward time called puberty :-)
