Oleg Kantorovitch
Oleg Kantorovitch
Oleg Kantorovitch is inspired by abstract ideas, facts, art, culture, literature and science.
He tries to provide a glimpse into complex imaginary worlds. His artworks tend to be stylized, eclectic and dominated by intersecting diagonal shapes.
Oleg Kantorovitch
2012
22 drawings on board
30 x 30 cm
Mixed media
This series of drawings depicts the Hebrew alphabet. Each piece represents one letter and is inspired mainly by Wikipedia entries explaining the letter’s literal, visual, phonetic, historic, symbolic, mystic and metaphorical meaning. The explanations were transformed into atmospheric sceneries according to intuitive understanding and artistic vision. The artist’s thoughts about each piece of the series are presented below.
1/22 Aleph
The shape of the letter is a depiction of multiple dimensions illustrated by a higher and a lower “Jud” with a slash in between. “Aleph” is used in mathematics to denote Aleph numbers, the cardinality of infinite sets – an infinity of infinities.
The piece depicts multiple infinite loops containing a “Beth” which is perceived as a start of something, but is just a deliberate location on an endless stream.
2/22 Beth
The letter is closed to three sides and open to one side. It is interpreted as a starting point of a story or of a journey. It is the first letter of the Torah.
The piece refers to “Aleph” by zooming in on the section where the “Beth” is depicted. It also refers to “Gimmel” by representing the first section of the journey as a bridge.
3/22 Gimmel
The letter represents an equilibrium between the three primary elements of creation – air, water and fire. It is interpreted as bridge and a connecting force in nature. It is related to “Gemul”, which means “justified repayment”, the giving of reward and punishment, the consequences of actions and the freedom of choice. Visually the letter resembles a person in motion.
The moving person on a bridge continues the journey started in “Beth”. The road ahead presents a choice of three directions to take. An elevator into the upper spheres seen oh the horizon refers to “Dalet”. The dome of the sky crossed by a lattice of coordinates refers to “Hey”.
4/22 Dalet
The letter symbolizes elevation. At the same time the Hebrew word “dalet” is translated as “door”. The shape of the letter resembles a bowed person.
A person bowed and aged from years on the road has reached an elevator and opens the door. He is ready to be lifted up into other spheres. The dome of the sky crossed by a lattice of coodinates is a reference to “Hey”.
5/22 Hey
The letter is composed of a horizontal line symbolizing width, a vertical line symbolizing height and an unattached foot symbolizing depth. It stands for the three dimensional space and the lattice of cartesian coordinates. It is used as a suffix after a name of a place to indicate movement towards that destination.
The piece consist of a zoomed out view of the scenery found in “Dalet”. One section of the lattice in the sky dome is removed to open the view into the void of an infinite universe. The single star in the blackness refers to “Jud”.
6/22 Waw
The letter visually resembles a pillar. It symbolizes a connection between opposites. Grammatically it is applied to connect two words or parts of a sentence. As the 6th letter of the alphabet it stands for the 6 directions — 4 horizontal and 2 vertical. It also represents six wings of the fiery angels.
The image consists of the scenery depicted in “Hey” seen from above and connected to a vast universe with a massive pillar representing two vertical directions crossed by an intersection of roads representing four horizontal directions. The black void surrounding the subject matter is inhabited by fiery entities spreading their wings.
7/22 Zayin
The archaic meaning of „Zayin“ is sword while in modern Hebrew the word means penis. As the 7th letter of the alphabet Zayin stands for the seven lights of a Menorah watching over all creation.
The image depicts a nighttime scenery. A sword fish piercing the water surface, while seven stars shine on the scenery from above. A man and a woman watch from afar. The water, the clouds and the gateway refer to “Heth”.
8/22 Heth
The letter „Heth“ optically resembles a gateway. It symbolically stands for life („Chaim“). It is associated with hovering and levitation („merachefet“) during the creation of the world — „And the spirit of God was hovering over the water“.
The piece consists of a gateway floating above rain clouds in the upper section of the atmosphere.
9/22 Teth
The shape of the letter resembles a spiral. It is associated with knots and interweaving structures, with serpents, with concealment. As the ninth letter of the alphabet it also symbolizes conception and the nine months of pregnancy.
The resulting image is a depiction of a labyrinth disappearing into the night.
10/22 Jud
Jud is the only letter suspended in midair. It symbolizes singularity, a single initial point containing the infinity of possibilities.
The piece depicts a distant star in an endless void.
11/22 Kaf
The letter symbolizes an encompassing entity, an outermost sphere.
The piece is a a depiction of the atmosphere encompassing our planet. The upper layers of the atmosphere dissolve into the void of space.
12/22 Lamed
Lamed is connected to the Hebrew verb “lamad”, which means to learn or to teach. It symbolizes empirical knowledge. A Lamed can act as a preposition meaning “to” or “for”, signifying a direction or destination. It is the only letter rising above the x-line and is therefore associated with ascension.
The image depicts a rocket accelerating into space as a symbol of applied scientific knowledge and ascension to new destinations.
13/22 Mem
The letter stands for Earth, Water and the Cold. It is the symbol of the Revealed and the Concealed.
The piece consists of an underground sea – a combination of earth, the cold and a concealed body of water. A person reaches into the hidden depths by letting down a bucket on a rope.
14/22 Nun
In Arabic, Nun as an abbreviation can stand for “neqevah”, feminine. In Aramic, “nun” means fish.
The image features a seascape with flying fishes diving into- or ascending from the water surface. They alternate between the seen and the hidden world. In the background, a female figure on a cliff controls the tides.
15/22 Samech
The shape of the letter resembles a circle or a zero. Samech symbolizes the circularity, an eternal continuation, an impression of divine light ingering in the vacuum. It stands for an all encompassing structure and for nullification at the same time.
The piece depicts a faintly radiant ring encompassing the void.
16/22 Ajin
The letter name is derived from the Proto-Semitic word “ayn” – the eye. The symbolic meaning includes the perception of color, insight and the spectrum of visible light.
The image consists of a prism breaking the spectrum of the visible wavelengths into distinct colors.
17/22 Phe
The letter stands for breath and for speech.
The image interprets speech as the process of storytelling. One person tells the story of the creation of the world depicted in “Aleph” and “Beth” while a second persons listens.
18/22 Tsade
“Tsade” is the first letter of the Hebrew word “saddiq” – (a) righteous (man). In Aramic, the letter stands for “chaos”. In Hebrew “Tsad” means “(he) hunt(ed)”, while in Arabic it means to fish.
The piece consists of a man fishing in the eye of a chaotic storm. The red fishing line creates a connection to the “Qoph”.
19/22 Qoph
The letter can be historically connected to a sewing needle, specifically with the eye of the needle.
The image depicts a needle threaded to a red string – a reference to “Tsade”. A single star can be seen through the eye of the needle – a reference to “Jud”.
20/22 Resh
“Resh” stands for the challenge of choice, the thin dividing line between challenge and degradation. The word “rosh” means “head” or “beginning” in Hebrew.
The piece interprets the letter as the challenge of keeping the balance. A person tries to keep balance on a “Resh”-shaped pillar. The pillar itself supports a bridge or a swing. The cliffs on the horizon refer to “Shin”.
21/22 Shin
“Shin” literally means “sharp” in Hebrew. Amongst several meanings the letter symbolically stands for a cliff or a cragg and for fire.
The image depicts sharp cliffs glowing from below with fiery activity.
22/22 Tav
The final letter of the alphabet symbolizes truth, judgement, the end and reincarnation. It also stands for signs, marks or traces.
The piece is an opaque white area – a clean slate ready to be filled with signs and with meaning.