R U A H : breath of life

Ruah: a Hebrew word meaning breath, spirit, or wind.

For my thesis project upon finishing my Master of Fine Arts degree with Brooklyn College, I presented Ruah, an immersive art installation featuring performances of poetry, music, dance and drama by Fr. Joseph Michael Fino, CFR, Christa Dalmazio, Claire Kretzschmar, and James and Karina Majewski. Each night also included a social with refreshments and homemade beer brewed by Fr. Joseph Michael Fino, CFR.

Presented by Arthouse2B, at Annunciation Church in the Gabriel Gallery, June 2023.

From the show statement:

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7) 

…The same breath of life which God breathes into Adam is what infuses the artist who becomes an open, pure vessel. Ruah– an impulse of divine movement leading every paint stroke, revealing shadows of God’s mysterious love for His creation.

I invite you to consider this mystery tonight. This living, breathing installation is only a reflection of the Divine breath of life, which has infused creation from the beginning, transforming nothing but dust into flesh and blood. The performances before you are brief, ephemeral responses to the Spirit’s prompting in our individual and collective work, breaking forth from the artist’s compulsion to create something out of nothing. With open eyes and hearts, let us enter into the eternal ruah anew.

 

“Listen: there was once a king sitting on his throne. 

Around him stood great and wonderfully beautiful columns

ornamented with ivory, 

bearing the banners of the king with great honor. 

Then it pleased the king to raise a small feather 

from the ground and he commanded it to fly. 

The feather flew, not because of anything in itself

but because the air bore it along. 

Thus am I 'A feather on the breath of God.’" 

-Hildegard von Bingen

photos: Edwin Lucero & MJ O’Toole