Instructions for Participation in "From Jerusalem in Israel to JerUSAlem in USA"

“He had a vision in a dream. A ladder was standing on the ground, its top reaching up towards heaven as Divine angels were going up and down on it.” (Genesis 28:12)

From Jerusalem in Israel to JerUSAlems in USA is an international digital art project that is a contemporary enactment of the biblical commentary that angels go up on Jacob’s ladder from the Land of Israel and come down throughout the world.

Digitzed Rembrandt angels will fly from Israel into museums, colleges, churches, synagogues, bookstores, and homes in the 12 US states that have places named Jerusalem.  At each public place where they come down to earth, participatory events are being planned. 

Participants in Israel are invited to create smartphone videos exploring the idea that the biblical words for food (ma'achal) and angel (malach) are written with the same four Hebrew letters to teach us that angels are spiritual messages arising from everyday life.  

The great 20th century Jewish leader, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, teaches that you must strive to draw spirituality down into the world and into every part of it from the world of your work to your social life.

The sound track will be the renowned violinist Itzchak Perlman’s ethereal rendition of the Welcome Angels of Peace (Shalom Aleichem Malachei Ha'shalom) Shalom Aleichem, a song sung before the Sabbath eve meal. You can hear the traditional melody for this song composted in New York in 1918 by Israel Goldfarb. It is appropriate spiritual music for escorting the cyberangels on their flight from Jerusalem in Israel to the 12 states in USA that have JerUSAlems and then on to the rest of the world.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PARTICIPANTS IN ISRAEL

Use your smartphone held horizontally (landscape format) to create one-minute videos that present mini-stories about food. Each video should show a different aspects of food, cooking, baking, eating, farming, selling, manufacturing, delivering, advertising, etc.   

Choose two of your videos that best show an imaginative viewpoint and creative perspective. Email your two videos as attachments to me at melalexenberg@gmail.com.  Each video should show a different aspects of food.  Email your videos with your name in English, your school's name, and where you live.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PARTICIPANTS IN USA

After receiving from Israel cyberangels emerging from food, participants in USA respond through photography exploring the idea that the feminine form of the biblical Hebrew word for angel (malach) is craftsmanship (malachah) to teach us that spirituality can be experienced in all the meaningful work that we do. An exhibition will juxtapose images from the Jerusalems in Israel with the those from JerUSAlems in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, and Vermont.

Cyberangel Artworks in Museum Collections in States with Places Called JerUSAlem

Alexenberg's cyberangel artworks are in the collections of art museums in some of the states where there are places called Jerusalem: University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio; Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga,Tennessee; and High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia. He created them (1986-87) at Pratt Institute in New York when he was head of the art department.  His cyberangel artwork is also represented in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History as a pioneering exemplar of computer-generated fine art printmaking.

Long Island Angels

        

Angel Announcing Birth of Samson to Manoah

                            

Day Angels

                          

Angels Ascending from the Land of Israel

 
The serigraph above in the collection of the Israel Museum was created by Mel Alexenberg at the museum affiliated Burston Graphics Center in Jerusalem, Israel.  It inspired the cover of the artist's newest book Through a Bible Lens: Biblical Insights for Smartphone Photography and Social Media.  The book provides the conceptual background for his cyberangel artworks: fine art prints, paintings, global telecommunications events, and the digital flight of cyberangels from Jerusalem in Israel to JerUSAlems in USA. 

Cyberangels to Fly from Jerusalem in Israel to Places Named JerUSAlem in USA

“He [Jacob] had a vision in a dream. A ladder was standing on the ground, its top reaching up towards heaven as Divine angels were going up and down on it.” (Genesis 28:12)

The artwork above “Angels Ascending from the Land of Israel” is in the collection of The Israel Museum in Jerusalem. I created it at a graphics center affiliated with the museum.  It  shows digitized Rembrandt angels going up from a NASA satellite image of the Land of Israel.  

These cyberangels will be animated and fly via digital technologies from Jerusalem in Israel into the twelve US states having places named JerUSAlem. This digital art event will be a contemporary realization of the biblical commentary that angels go up on Jacob’s ladder from the Land of Israel and come down throughout the world.

Students at Israeli colleges are creating smartphone videos of food in everyday life in Israel from which the cyberangels emerge. These videos will explore the idea that the biblical words for food and angel are written with the same four Hebrew letters to teach us that angels are spiritual messages arising from everyday life.   

Now that the US Embassy is in Jerusalem, I will be creating an exhibition of photography showing life in the JerUSAlems in USA with a documentation of the cyberangels' flight from Israel to colleges, art schools, churches, synagogues, bookstores, and homes in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Utah, and Vermont.

The cyberangel launching events from Israel will correspond with the launching of my book Through a Bible Lens: Biblical Insights for Smartphone Photography and Social Media (HarperCollins).  See the book’s blog http://throughabiblelens.blogspot.com and scroll down for descriptions of some of my earlier events: “Cyberangels Circle the Globe via AT&T Satellites” seen by millions, and The New York Times article “Artist’s Angel to Fly by Computer.” 

See my article in The Times of Israel https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/jerusalem-usa-see-the-20-jerusalems-in-usa/

JerUSAlem-USA Blogart Project

Jerusalems in Rhode Island, Utah and Michigan

Everyone with a camera is invited to be part of this jerUSAlem-usa participatory art project.  Send your photos as jpg images of life in the many places called Jerusalem in USA to melalexenberg@yahoo.com. Also tell us the story of how the place got the name "Jerusalem." 

Locations of Jerusalems in USA
Jerusalem, Alabama, [Place] is in Lawrence County; location is 34°42'18"N 87°13'37"W
Jerusalem, Arkansas, [Place] is in Conway County; location is 35°24'17"N 92°49'0"W; Zip Code is 72080
Jerusalem, Georgia, [Place] is in Camden County; location is 30°58'41"N 81°50'45"W
Jerusalem, Georgia, [Place] is in Pickens County; location is 34°26'30"N 84°34'56"W
Jerusalem, Maryland, [Place] is in Baltimore County; location is 39°27'46"N 76°23'22"W
Jerusalem, Maryland, [Place] is in Frederick County; location is 39°31'27"N 77°34'49"W
Jerusalem, Maryland, [Place] is in Harford County; location is 39°27'46"N 76°23'22"W
Jerusalem, Maryland, [Place] is in Montgomery County; location is 39°9'33"N 77°24'23"W
Jerusalem, Michigan, [Place] is in Washtenaw County; location is 42°16'29"N 83°58'55"W
Jerusalem, New York, [Township] is in Yates County; location is 42°37'13"N 77°8'35"W; Zip Code is 14418
Jerusalem Corners, New York, [Hamlet] is in the Town of Evans in Erie County; location is 42°40'93"N 79°00'98"W
Jerusalem, North Carolina, [Place] is in Davie County; location is 35°48'54"N 80°30'57"W
Jerusalem, Ohio, [Populated Place] is in Monroe County; location is 39°51'6"N 81°5'33"W
Jerusalem, Ohio, [Village]; location is 39°51'N 81°6'W; Zip Code is 43747
Jerusalem, Rhode Island, [Place] is in Washington County; location is 41°22'36"N 71°31'5"W
Jerusalem, Tennessee, [Place] is in Lincoln County; location is 35°14'36"N 86°47'4"W
Jerusalem, Utah, [Place] is in Sanpete County; location is 39°33'50"N 111°39'25"W
Jerusalem, Vermont, [Place] is in Addison County; location is 44°10'11"N 72°58'15"W
Jerusalem, Vermont, [Place] is in Windsor County; location is 43°50'18"N 72°46'27"W

Jerusalem, Ohio

Jerusalem resident Joy Yontz is a fifth grade teacher. She invited her students to photograph their Jerusalem, a town in an agricultural area in the rugged hills of eastern Ohio. Their photographic sequence begins and ends with images titled "Good morning Jerusalem" and "Good night Jerusalem." We see children's views of their rural town: rooster announcing dawn, entrance to Jerusalem, Amish buggy on a rainy day, snowy day, old school, Jerusalem post office, quilt barn, pumpkin harvest, painted pumpkins on Miss Clevenger's porch, Allison showing her goat at the county fair, tractor, Jim riding his horse Penny, and wild turkeys in a corn field.

Jerusalem, Ohio
by Jerusalem Resident Joy Yontz

History
The first house was built in 1825. By 1847, there were only three residences in the area that was to become Jerusalem. The Quaker religious group built a church and named it Jerusalem. It is thought that Jerusalem (the town) was named after the church. The Quakers moved from the area and about 1860 the building was remodeled and used as a hotel. The Ohio River & Western Railroad went through Jerusalem until forced out of business in 1931 by a combination of automobile competition and the Great Depression. There are no signs of the railroad left in the small village.

The People and Families of Jerusalem: As of 2010 Census
There are an estimated 161 people in the village corporation limits; 1,079 people with a Jerusalem address. About 61% of adults are married. Approximately 79% of housing in Jerusalem is owner-occupied. 93% of the residents drive to work. The following statistics are based on the population with a Jerusalem address: Total Population 1,079 - Male, 538; Female 541; Median Age 37.4; Race - White 1,051, Black or African American 9; Indian American 2; Asian 14; Hispanic or Latino 1; Average family size 3.09; Occupied housing units 401; High School Graduate or higher 604; Bachelor’s Degree or higher 80; Speak a language other than English at home 6.

School
The first and only school in town was built in 1884. It was a two story frame building at the west end of Church Street. That building was replaced in 1920 with a three room building. Jerusalem had a high school until 1929. Elementary students continued to attend the Jerusalem School until the fall of 1958 when they were transferred to Beallsville Elementary School. The building now serves as a Community and Recreation Center.

Churches
The earliest records found of the Church of Christ date back to about 1907 when meetings were held in the homes of members and then in one of the rooms of the Jerusalem School. They purchased a building lot in 1912 for $150. The congregation still worships in the building on Main Street.  Beginning in 1852, Methodist services were held in the private residence of Jacob Lawrence. They purchased a building in 1960. In the past few years, there have been several Amish families move into the area. There is now a large population of Amish and they travel to each other’s homes to worship.

Economics
There is a dairy farm on the west side of town. The surrounding rural area also has many farms where dairy cattle, beef cattle, goats, and produce are raised. The public water system, Switzerland of Ohio Water District, has an office in the corporation limits. They serve the town’s people and any others who have city water in the surrounding area. However, many people still have their own private water wells to supply their homes and farms with water.

The people of Jerusalem are either self-employed or work at the coal mines or steel mill. Ohio Valley Coal and Century Mine are employers of a large number of residents; they are both located within 5 -10 miles of the town. Ormet, a steel mill, is located along the Ohio River. The only other employer, which is within close proximity of the town, is the local school district, Switzerland of Ohio Local Schools. This is the only school district in Monroe County and also includes part of Belmont County. It is the largest school district in Ohio, geographically, has 2 high schools, 1 pre-K/12 school, and 5 elementary schools. The children in Jerusalem, Ohio attend Beallsville Public School; a Pre-K to 12th grade building with under 400 students.

Recreation
Jerusalem is a very small, rural village and the largest city is an hour’s drive. However, the Switzerland of Ohio Country Club, along with Wilson Lake, is about ½ mile from the east side of town. It offers the residents an opportunity to enjoy a round of golf and/or a day of fishing. The residents who enjoy horseback riding, rodeos, and mutton busting spend many hours at the Grizzle Ridge Arena.

During winter, sled riding, ice skating, and snow days from school are fun for all. Many participate in the different hunting seasons: deer, turkey, raccoon, mink, muskrat, beaver, rabbit, squirrel, and goose are a few. The summer months bring the county fair for the 4-H groups. Children and adults enjoy the week of taking their animals and/or projects to be displayed and judged. This is the beginning for many who will become our future farmers and veterinarians. Others learn the importance of other topics from money management to computer graphics.

Jerusalem, North Carolina

About the photographer: Maria Howard is a studio art major at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina studying photography with Professor Leo Morissey.

Jerusalem, Michigan 4

Jordan Long traveled with his friend Cranbrook MFA student PD Rearick to Jerusalem, MI, where he photographed Tillie Whit in her sunflower field, with her dog Bucky, her home and backyard swing. He wrote how he was blessed to have met such an amazing lady who lives in one of the five houses in Jerusalem, Michigan, and had been to the original Jerusalem in Israel.

Jerusalem, Utah 7

Snow College photography student Molly Davis wrote:
A long, dry, dirt road led up to the town. There were old decaying cabins and sheds, log cabins, and tiny houses where the people lived. A car came down the dirt road with a lady wearing a pink hat and pink lipstick. She introduced herself as Laura Phelps, “Mayor” of the town. She was sweet and excited about the JerUSAlem-USA project when we explained it to her. She told us about the history of little Jerusalem that was established by her great-grandfather.

Walking down the road was a man in his flannel shirt and worn out jeans with his eight-month-old Great Dane puppy. You could hardly call her a puppy. She was huge. The man was in the process of training her. Her jumping all over the place scared me. The man, who did not want to be identified, told us about his great-great-grandmother and how she lived in the broken down blue bus in his shed. He then left to help his neighbor with a farming project. The farming equipment was painted in beautiful bright colors, which was humorous because the town itself was very dry and bland with green trees and hills behind it. I felt a sense of beauty there even with the “No Trespassing” and “Keep Out” signs.

Jerusalem, Michigan 3

About the photographer: Ginger Owen is Assistant Professor and Area Coordinator for Photography and Intermedia at the College of Fine Arts of Western Michigan University. She photographed Jerusalem, Michigan, a dart road street about a mile long with less than 15 houses on the street. It is surrounded by corn fields and farmland.

Jerusalem, Michigan 2

About the photographer: Paul-David Rearick is a MFA student of photography professor Liz Cohen at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. He photographed the main road through Jerusalem, Michigan, one of five houses in ‘downtown’ Jerusalem, the foundation of the creek mill, and Ms. Tillie Whit and her dog Bucky.

Jerusalem,Utah 6

About the photographer: Heaston Dahl is a photography student at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah.