Mirta Kupferminc: Borges and the Kabbalah
Mirta Kupferminc is an Argentinean Jewish artist. She published five books, The word “publish” may not directly apply to her work, because they are handmade individual artworks. One of them is Borges y la Cábala, senderos del Verbo (Borges and the Kabbalah: paths to the Word.) Its 123 pages contain 29 original etchings. Below is a picture of a page from it. I would love to see the original, along with her other books, such as “Safarad, a man standing on his dream.”
Hi Gabor, what were some of the connections made between Borge’s stories and the Kabbalah?
Also, I think something is wrong with the comments, since it’s not April! 🙂
Sorry, about the confusing datestamp. I didn’t have time to figure it out. I spent only 20 minutes with it so far and failed. 🙂
Reed,
The short answer is that I do not know the connection. I have read only one Borges short story where I discovered some. (I think it was titled Alpha and was about the essence of universe being under the staircase of an old house.)
Beatriz Borovich knows the most, having written a few books on the topic. Her (Spanish) site:
http://www.kabalahliteratura.com.ar/
There is also an English language book by Jaime Alazraki (that I haven’t read):
Borges and the Kabbalah: And Other Essays on his Fiction and Poetry
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521306841/porgaborcom
Gabor, I recall a story about a great library (Babylon? Alexandria?) where G-d was to be found in a single letter hidden within the countless volumes upon the endless tiers of shelves.
Thank you, Steve. The story is “The Library of Babel”:
http://jubal.westnet.com/hyperdiscordia/library_of_babel.html
nice to know that my work produces interest. Thank you!
mirta
Thank you Mirta for stopping by. The little I’ve seen of your artwook (on your website) looks great.
Gabor and others: as far as I know, the unique art book by Mirta Kupferminc has a coauthor, Saul Sosnowski, who is also Argetinian, profesor at the Univ. of Maryland for many years, and who has composed accompanying poems that allude to the Kabbalah and to Borges, as a dialogue between artwork and text. Kupfermic had read and was inspired not only by Borges (“The Aleph” is the title you allude to) but by, among other things, Sosnowski’s book “Borges y la Cabala: sendero del Verbo” (Borges and the Kabbalah: a Path to the Word), a critical work published in the early 70s. Thus was the idea born of this fantastic art book, of which a very limited edition will be available. There was a presentation of the book in Buenos Aires in July 2006 and at the Library of Congress in Jan. 2007.
correction: Saul Sosnowski’s book is Borges y la Cabala: la busqueda del Verbo (Borges and the Kabbalah: the search for the Word). As far as I know, it has not been translated.
Dear Gabo, I would like to invite you and everyone to my upcoming exhibition:
BORGES AND KABBALAH: SEEKING ACCESS. at the Art gallery 2nd Floor Atrium art-sociology Building University of Maryland, College Park
November 12ve is the opening!!!! and it finishes December 20, 2008
I will be travell from Argentina for the opening!
I would be great to see you there!
Mirta
Here is an informative article from The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle about Mirta Kupferminc’s exhibition there last September.
Here is a review of her exhibition at HUC museum’s in New York (September 8, 2009 – July 2, 2010). The review has some photos of the artwork too.
Building Identity Through Art
Mirta Kupferminc Incorporates Familial Anguish in Her Latest Exhibit
By Erica Orden
Published November 18, 2009, issue of November 27, 2009 of Forward.