Yitzchok Moully (born 1979) 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.[1] Moully served as a Chabad emissary (shaliach) in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.[2][3][4]
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.[5]
Personal life
editYitzchok Moully was born 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.[2]
Art
editMoully 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."[4] 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.[1] 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. His work has been on exhibit at the gallery ArtisZen Arts in Lambertville, New Jersey.[1] In the summer of 2022, he was the art teacher of ckids gan Israel camp
He also started a podcast called orange socks
The Creative Soul
editMoully founded a network of Orthodox Jewish artists called "The Creative Soul."[2][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
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Trappler-Spielman, Sara. Hasidic Rabbi by Day, Pop Artist by Night." The Jewish Daily Forward. Wednesday, February 20, 2008.
- ^ a b c Bensoussan, Barbara. "True Color." Mishpacha Magazine. July 4, 2012.
- ^ "Pop Artist, Chossid, Shliach." COLlive.com. July 8, 2012.
- ^ a b "Yitzchok Moully." The Algemeiner Journal. Accessed December 1, 2014.
- ^ Wischusen, Phreddy (24 October 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 29 October 2018.
- ^ Peter Kharmandarian Interview: The Pop Art Rabbi – Yitzchok Moully Archived 31 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 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." Archived 5 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine 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.