You guys might remember Rachel Papo from her stint as a Jewcy artist, during which her photos of women in the IDF generated more comments than nearly any other art we've ever featured. Now, Powerhouse Books is publishing a collection of Rachel's work. You can buy it here or visit her website for more photos.

Here's Rachel on her soldier series:

Rather than portraying the soldier as heroic, confident, or proud, my images disclose a complexity of emotions. The soldier is often caught in a transient moment of self-reflection, uncertainty, a break from her daily reality, as if questioning her own identity and state of contradiction. She is a soldier in uniform but at the same time she is a teenage girl who is trying to negotiate between these two extreme dimensions. She is in an army base surrounded by hundreds like her, but underneath the uniform there is an individual that wishes to be noticed.

And here's one of my favorites, a picture that reminds me of nothing so much as Jewish overnight camp:

With Passover beginning this week, the theme of exodus seems inescapable. Luckily, artist and Six Point Fellow Avishai Mekonen has found the nuances in the term, which in recent history has often been applied to the Ethiopian Jews' migration to Israel. Mekonen uses photography and sound in his project Seven Generations, documenting how the lives of Ethiopian immigrants have changed as they adapt to a new culture, and how traditions have been preserved.

Mekwanent Tamena, 2007

Sisters, 2007

The boy, 2007

Gitanna Kivret, 2007

Girls, 2007

Last Week: The American Dream Via Russia

Related: Hump Day Art: More to the Lower East Side Than Hipsters

Sudanese Refugees in Israel

Alina and Jeff Bliumis are a duo of artists from the former Soviet Union who use photography to document the often ambiguous notion of the American dream. Their 'Casual Conversations' series is an ongoing project that “explores migration, displacement, and assimilation through dialogue and interactions with strangers.”

Here are some of the photographs from their recent residency at the Jewish Museum in New York.

Related: Off the Wall at the Jewish Museum

Chassidic Fashion Designer Levi Okunov

Mixing Heresy and High Fashion, Levi Okunov Dresses Women up as Torahs

Last Week: More to the Lower East Side Than Hipsters

From Jacob Riis' How the Other Half Lives to the recently renovated Eldridge Street Synagogue, there's plenty of documentation of Jewish life in the tenements of the Lower East Side at the turn of the 20th century. Thomas Holton, however, captures the tenements' present-day occupants in the series "The Lams of Ludlow Street" currently up at the Sasha Wolf Gallery. The photographs chronicle the lives of a Chinese couple who share a two room apartment with their three children, offering an intimate glimpse into the famous neighborhood's most recent history.

Last week: Chassidic Fashion Designer Levi Okunov

Related: At Least Two Old-School Jews Still Left on Lower East Side

Congratulations! You’ve managed to get through the first 2.5 weekdays. To help you get through the second half of your week, Jewcy is happy to present you with Hump Day Art. Think of it as an opportunity to devote your attention to the more cultural things in life, or at the very least, to zone out at your desk for a few minutes while you look at some pretty pictures.

In a continuation of Jewcy's recent birthright blogging, today's Hump Day Art features some lovely photographs taken by one of the participants on the birthright trip I staffed this summer. Ian Aleksander Adams is a young, accomplished photographer who documented our trip. He managed to come away with some impressive photos, despite an unfortunate run-in with an airport security x-ray on his way home that damaged much of his film. Here are a few of his best from our excursion to the Negev desert.

All this talk about the desert compels me to include this video by Israeli sand artist Ilana Yahav.

Last week: Interview with Patrick Winfield

Congratulations! You’ve managed to get through the first 2.5 weekdays. To help you get through the second half of your week, Jewcy is happy to present you with Hump Day Art. Think of it as an opportunity to devote your attention to the more cultural things in life, or at the very least, to zone out at your desk for a few minutes while you look at some pretty pictures.

Can't get enough of Jewcy's most recent featured artist Patrick Winfield? Here's a few more works from his portfolio of mosaic-like Polariod composites and eerie "appropriations." Click on the images for a larger view.

Blue Marble, 2006

Powerhouse, 2006

Odalisque, 2007

For more on Winfield and his work, take a look at this recent interview, in which the artist talks about his technique, his love for Polaroids, and what he likes to stash in his fridge.

A few months ago I related how the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade were using Google Earth to target their rocket attacks on Israel. Well, I'm pleased to say that the Chosen People appear to be fighting back - kinda.

An Australian art collective called The Glue Society have been "using" Google Earth to create satellite images of notable episodes from the Bible, and the results are, I think, pretty cool. (Hover over the pictures if you need a clue.)

The set of four images, known collectively as God's Eye View, were commissioned by Eric Romano of NY's Pulse Art for their Miami art fair, and use real satellite imagery to achieve the slightly eerie effect. "Art has always depicted religious events," says the Glue Society's Jonathan Kneebone," and this is simply a new way to do it. We're playing with the whole idea that if you can capture something from a satellite it must exist."

Not that it's entirely Old Testament-based. Mel Gibson will be pleased to see that Google Earth's satellites also managed to capture the moment when you guys killed Christ:

The Glue Society plan to use the same technique in future to depict events from mythology and history. Some people might find it tacky: I think it rocks.

Art team Otakulab likes to take strangely awesome photographs of unsuspecting people. In an interview in Shift, they warn their potential targets that they "look forward to spying on you through your window as you eat breakfast." The most important meal of the day just got a whole lot creepier.

Sarah Kramer's career as a lauded vegan cookbook author began by accident when, in 1996, she and her friend Tanya Barnard designed and printed a small 50-page cookbook to give out as holiday gifts. The feedback they received from family and friends was so positive that the two decided to print another thousand copies, which they sold at punk shows and over the internet. Before they knew it, they had a book deal with Arsenal Pulp Press. In 1999, How it All Vegan! was published, followed by The Garden of Vegan in 2003, and La Dolce Vegan! in 2005. A true renaissance woman, Sarah Kramer has her "thumbs in many pies." Despite a busy schedule that includes writing a column for Herbivore Magazine as well as running both a tattoo shop and her own professional photography business, Sarah found the time to chat with Pickled about veganism, Jewish food, and more.

How has the culinary world (or at least, North America) changed since you went vegan in the early 1990's?
Well there’s now an actual “vegan/vegetarian” section at the cookbook store and the shelves are brimming with excellent vegan books, back in the day it was slim-pickins for vegan cookbooks.

Most restaurants in my neck of the woods now have at least one or more vegan/vegetarian choices on the menu. I remember a time when all I could order was a dry baked potato and a wilted iceburg salad.

There’s also the internet ... now you can live in butt-fuck nowhere and have access to any vegan ingredient your credit card can buy.

Once generally misunderstood, veg*anism is starting to take on a "cool" all it's own in urban centers and beyond. Trendy--and even some gourmet--vegan (and vegan-friendly) restaurants are popping up in Los Angeles, New York, and even Akron, Ohio, where Chrissie Hynde recently opened her new eatery, VegiTerranean. Could "vegan" be the new "it" cuisine? Where do you see this going?
Trends are for suckers. Lifestyle change is the new trend. *laugh*
I don’t really care what the hipsters are up to. I’m just doing my thang and if people dig it... I’m stoked.

I often encounter questions from people who aren't familiar with what it means to be vegan. They want to know why I've chosen this lifestyle, as well as what I eat. How do you explain veganism to the ultimate layman?
My quick and dirty answer is: “A vegan is someone who doesn’t use or consume any animal products”.

Where do you get your protein? Tee hee.
Where don’t I get my protein?? *laugh* Protein is the last of our worries for vegans, we need to pay more attention to our b-12.

What are your favorite childhood food memories? Are there any traditionally Jewish foods that you miss, or that you've veganized?
I don’t have one specific childhood memory but I have great memories of just spending time in the kitchen with my family making food and just hanging out. We Kramers really like food.

As for traditional Jewish foods, my Dad loves Gefilte fish but as a kid I could never eat fish... especially fish that smelled that terrible. *laugh*

I really miss dessert knishes with cottage cheese. I have yet to find a good vegan substitute for cottage cheese.

What do you feel are the worst misconceptions about vegans/veganism, and do you think they're changing?
That we’re righteous or judgmental. I mean... there’s lots of vegans who are that way but same goes for carnivores. I also find that people are surprised by how full of delicious food my life is. A lot of people have a misconception that we’re denying ourselves so much... but if you look at the big picture it’s really only a few ingredients that we’ve opted out of.

In reading the ingredients list on a package of "soy cheeze" recently, I noticed that it surprisingly contained casein, a milk product. What other non-vegan products masquerading as "vegan-friendly" should we be on the lookout for?
There are some GREAT vegan cheezes on the market right now. Just look for the vegan symbol “V in a heart” on the package. Vegan-rella, Follow Your Heart, and my new favorite: Sheese. It’s the kind of “cheese” you can serve with a cracker and a nice glass of wine. It’s expensive, but it’s worth every penny.

There's also a lot of fake meat products on the market right now... but you have to check for eggs and whey powder.

Recently, I was invited to a dinner party. Although I alerted my hosts to my dietary restrictions long beforehand, and even offered to bring my own meal, they promised to prepare something suitable for me. When I arrived, I found there was nothing for me to eat. I sat hungry and embarrassed while the others ate a meal of fillet mignon and cheesy mashed potatoes. What's the worst social vegan experience you've had, and what related advice do you have for others?
First off. NEVER attend a dinner party with non-vegans without bringing your own food.

Second. Never feel embarrassed for your convictions, it is your host who should feel embarrassed. If that ever happens again ... get up and start going through their cupboards and make yourself a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich. *laugh* There’s a fantastic book called Vegan Freak that talks about all the trials and tribulations of navigating your vegan self through a non-vegan world. It’s a great read.

While backpacking through Europe a few years ago, I was thrilled to find an awesome vegetarian restaurant in Helsinki, Finland, of all places. Where have you found the most surprising veg*an dining options?
I was shocked when I went back to my home town in Regina, Saskatchewan (beef country) and found a fantastic japanese restaurant that had actually put a little “carrot” symbol beside all their dishes that were veggie friendly. It was great!!

What are your favorite restaurants around the globe?
I love Cha-Ya in Berkeley. Red Bamboo and Hangawi in New York. Fresh and Live in Toronto.... I could go on forever.

What books, food-related and otherwise, have changed your life?
Food wise: Early on, Laurel’s Kitchen inspired me to start documenting what I was doing in the kitchen.

Life-wise: Other books that have changed my life ... how long do you have? *laugh* Anything written by Douglas Coupland. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto and anything written by Paul Fieg.

Who inspires you?
My dog.

Your cookbooks have been a phenomenon, and you write a column for Herbivore Magazine, which has labeled you "The World's Coolest Vegan." What other creative projects are you working on, and what's on the horizon?
Well I’m being very domestic right now. My husband and I just purchased our first home so I’ve been up to my armpits peeling really bad 1970’s wallpaper off the walls. Renovating our place has been all consuming ... but I’m enjoying myself immensely.

I also own/run Tattoo Zoo with my husband and that keeps me very busy, as well. I’ve also been doing a lot of photography and I’m also working on a novel. I’m always doing something creative and have my thumbs in many pies.

And no. I’m not working on any cookbooks right now. *laugh* The trilogy of HIAV, GOV and LDV will have to tide you over for now.

I wrote about this a couple of days ago on my own blog, but I think it's worth recycling for a wider audience.

Naoki Honjo is a Japanese photographer who uses a rather unusual technique to achieve unusual results. Using a "tilt shift" lens, Honjo's photos screw with your sense of focus and depth perception, fooling the eye into believing that it's looking at a small scale model. But it's not; all of these photos are of real, life-size scenes, taken from vantage points like buildings or TV cranes.

Horses

Station

Swimming pool

You can see more examples of Honjo's work online here, and tilt-shift photography by other people here and here. No doubt 'true' art lovers would consider his work hokey and gimmicky. I think it's cool as hell.

"Not What We Intended" (Yudit Ilany)Well, not precisely. But I did want to introduce you to one of the most interesting and provocative Israeli English-language bloggers: Yudit Ilany of OCCUPIED. The images accompanying this post are from her terrific slice-of-life photo blog, occupiedimage. But before I do, a word on Jewish blogging. There are a lot of us out there. And while some blogs are very popular very few get the respect they deserve.

The Jewish media pretty much ignore blogs entirely as a social phenomenon or news source. And they do this to their peril because many of us are both covering important stories and breaking news that no one else is. I regularly encourage news outlets like Haaretz, JTA and The Forward to do more to include Jewish blogs in their coverage of the Jewish world--with decidedly mixed results. And it's a shame. Because you won't find Yudit Litany's Israel on any UJA or Birthright Israel mission. You'll hardly find her in the pages of any of the Israeli dailies and especially not in the American Jewish publications I mentioned above.

If we want to truly see Israel as it IS, both its strengths and weaknesses, we must peer into the dark alleyways of places like Ajami and Yaffo. Otherwise, we'll only be seeing the economic miracle, the "only democracy in the Middle East." Not that there anything wrong with seeing Israel's virtues. That's part of the picture too. But not the whole thing. That's where OCCUPIED comes in. One of the things I appreciate most about it is that she focuses on Israel writ small--the everyday joys and injustices that make Israel such a fascinating and distressing place to live.

Yudit was once a social worker and focuses with laser-like intensity on issues of social injustice and inequality within Israeli society. Her blog is a treasure for anyone who cares about making Israel a better place for all its citizens. Sometimes Yudit's posts just break your heart. Life is so unfair and things can be so unjust in Israel especially for its children. Read The Jaffa Heiress and try not to weep:

Intissar is seventeen, bright, funny, streetwise, the youngest of 10 children and until yesterday, full of hopes and dreams.

A knock on the door of the small apartment where she lives ended those dreams. Her sister's little 3 year old boy opened the door and several police men entered with arrest warrants for Intissar, her elderly disabled mother and all of her nine sisters and brothers (2 of them disabled as well). That's 11 arrest warrants in one go. Why? Because of debts, not even theirs. Debts they inherited. The story goes back a long time.

Intissar's mum developed a mental disease, when Intissar was very young, a tiny toddler, and became unable to care for her children. Intissar's father was addicted to to drugs and alcohol. The welfare department removed all children from the home and placed them in boarding schools. Intissar was only 2 years old when they took her from her parents' care and placed her in a home, in order to give her a chance... Intissar's father died about 4 years ago. Junkies with alcohol problems don't live long. After his death, all minor children were returned home by the welfare department. Their mum is still suffering from the same severe psychiatric disorder she's had for many years, and not really able to care for her daughters.

But Intissar is strong and in spite of many difficulties, she copes, somehow. But how can a 17 year old girl cope with her "heritage of debts"? Because that's the problem here. In Israel, when a person dies, and he or she leaves behind money or other possessions, these are shared by the inheritors according the the person's last will or, if there is no will, according to the law on inheritance. BUT, if the person died owing money, his or her survivors inherit [the] debt. If the person owned a house, usually the house can be sold, the debts covered and the remainder shared among the family, the cat or dog or whoever else.

Yet, in Intissar's case there is no home to be sold, there are no possessions. Her large family lives in a tiny public housing apartment in one of the worst slums in Jaffa. ...Their father was interested in one thing: getting high before cold turkey sets in. Over the years he made incredible debts. How exactly is only partially clear. Each time the water, electricity or phone were cut, he renewed the connection not by paying the bills, but by putting the new bill in the name of the next child of his 10 children. Thus, all of the 10 kids, while they never lived at home and were minors, ran huge debts at the various utility companies without knowing anything about it. I do not exactly understand how the utility companies accept contracts made by minors who are not present at all. Minors who have been made "wards of the state" and are under the responsibility of the welfare department...There is an "inheritance" of over a million NIS shared by all of the family members, and arrest warrants against all, including minor Intissar (which is illegal, by the way) because of those debts.

"Faces"This story reminds me of Bleak House and the family living together in debtors prison until one of them can work off the debt. But of course, Dickens story takes place in 'backward' Victorian England. While this is the 21st century, right?

The Torah says that the sins of the fathers must not be visited upon the children. How in heaven's name can such injustice exist? Who protects the children? Anyone?

Here's some backgrouind on Yudit by way of self-description:

Photographer educated at Hebrew U and Hadassah College of Technology, both in Jerusalem, Israel. Worked as documentary photographer in Israel, the West Bank, Gaza and Europe, specializing in "the story behind the news" and portraits. Works as art photographer using of combinations of digital and ancient techniques such as cyanotype, van dyke browns etc, printing on various media, including stone, cloth and metal. Occasional graffiti maker (when I'm extremely pissed off at what's happening in society). Does graphic design and photography for various NGO's and non profit orgs. Also for many people in the 'hood. Usually for free. Teaches photography and cinema as a tool of empowerment, especially with young women. Participates in different community art projects. Participated in a number of group and solo exhibitions and about to open another one (if all goes well) this september

Likes: art in all forms, shapes and smells, reading, hiking and espresso

Hates: meeting jellyfish & cheese

Distrusts: house-owners & lawyers.

I hope you'll be able to spend some time getting to know, if you don't already, how the "other half" of Israel lives.

Slate's 60 years of Magnum Photos begins, rightly so, with Robert Capa's famous image of a Spanish loyalist dying on the battlefield of civil war:

Hungarian Jews like Capa were the Zeligs of the 20th century: they managed to be everywhere and influence everything. 

Religious photography: Revealing images or simplified caricatures?Beliefnet has a really stunning photo gallery up right now, called The World at Prayer.  Totally worth a visit to the site. 

The images are from a book called Talking to God: Images of the World at Prayer, which includes text by some major players in the faith-biz— The Dalai Lama, Thomas Merton, Elie Weisel…

And it’s all worth your time… but in particular, I want to mention two aspects of this project:

1. I want to suggest that you take a moment to scroll through the images once quickly, and take note of your own different reactions to each image.  As a way of checking in with your baser instincts. 

I’m going to suggest that we think about “faith” differently when it resembles our own more… or less.  I’m going to suggest that you’ll feel a different kind of surge when you see “foreign” faiths” than you’ll feel when you see your own, or something that resembles your own. I’m going to suggest that for some of us, faith is not equal (in a raw, human, way) and that we need to work on our baggage.

By which I mean that I need to work on this.  By which I mean that I need to see about addressing my own fascination for “National Geographic” faith, and my own disdain for white American people in  mega churches… 

Ivy RedHawks builds his sets himself

Ivy Red: Photo by Aaron HawksI shot with Aaron Hawks a few years ago in San Francisco. I posed in a torturous corset, alternately sprinkled in flour and dowsed in ice water, in Hawk’s freezing cold loft. It was the most brutal shoot I’ve ever done- and I’m insanely proud of the results.

Hawks shoots with film, in room sized sets he constructs himself. His work, darkly fetishistic, is objectifying in the best sense of the word- turning the human body into grist for his disturbing visions.

I’ve never been good at high-art thinky thoughts, so I’ll let this man’s work speak for itself. Check it out.

[Every Tuesday, Jewcy's Art Director Michael Morlitz will post an image with commentary to visually spice up the Daily Shvitz. This is his first installment. Cutesy title for this series forthcoming.]

Apparently, this is what they do for fun there, so count me in! The website says: The rules are simple: I put the self-timer on 2 seconds, push the button and try to get as far from the camera as I can.

Plaszoom, Rotterdam

Wijnstraat, Dordrecht

There's a lot of pictures, but it's hard to tell if he's running fast or if he's a slowpoke. I bet he's speedy quick though. He only has two seconds!