In December 2018, enjoying her annual pilgrimage to the islands, Alice Flitter attended Friday night services at Temple Emanu-El in Honolulu. Gazing upward, the New Mexico artist cringed at the sight of raw plywood pieces covering windows on both sides of the sanctuary.
Months earlier, with Hurricane Lane racing toward Hawaii, synagogue staff had removed jalousie windows and hastily boarded the openings.
“I could fill those spaces with art,” Flitter informed her husband, neurosurgeon and author, Marc Flitter. Counting 12 covered slots leading toward the ceiling, the artist concluded that she could grace all with colorful depictions of, well, the 12 Tribes of Israel, descended from the 12 sons of Jacob. Then donate her offering in time for the 60th anniversary in 2020 of the consecration of the building on Pali Highway.
“I am a ‘counter,’ ” Flitter said of her affinity for numerals, notably in her artistic process. “This might come from my preference for geometry and math. Or may just be a quirk I was born with. If I look at something, I will notice there are four or six of those. For an artist this means knowing the quantity of what we are dealing with.”
Contemplating the complexities of assemblage, let alone installation of her tribe motif, Flitter consulted Carol Kozlovich, an interior designer and then-temple president, who set the project in motion. Ready to return to her studio in Farmington, N.M., Flitter agreed to produce 12 panels, each measuring 18 inches wide by nearly 8 feet tall.
“Dealing with such a narrow vertical space, I had to have a design that worked from top to bottom,” she explained.
Also a commercial artist and children’s book illustrator, Flitter promised to stay in touch, start a blog and send pictures as things progressed.
‘Twas not to be.
While on a visit to her daughter in Miami, Flitter slipped and fell at her hotel, sustaining a “skier’s thumb,” also known as a gamekeeper’s injury. In considerable pain, and fitted with a removable cast, she remained sidelined for about six months.
“All I could do was ruminate,” the artist recalled. “I always keep notebooks with thumbnail sketches with every project I start, so there is always a lot of ruminating going on.”
From the outset, she determined the paintings would reflect bright, primary Hawaiian colors: Lots of blues, greens and yellows. Toward that end, she imported high-quality, durable acrylics from Paris.
She then conceived the final structure. Three canvases would comprise each panel, with the name of each tribe, each son of Jacob, displayed in shiny gold lettering, for a total of 36 canvases.
Awed by the stained-glass window depictions of Marc Chagall that she had viewed at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, and seeking to learn about the lives, characters, colors and terrain surrounding the tribes of Israel, Flitter became immersed in biblical texts. She studied interpretations of the blessings of Jacob to his sons (Genesis 49); Moses’ blessings to the tribes of Israel (Deuteronomy 33), and more.
For instance, her research revealed illuminating commentary regarding the tribe of Issachar: “His gem was sapphire. His flag was very dark blue. His emblem was sun and moon…. (Midrash Bamidbar Rabbah 2.7).”
According to Flitter, many houses of worship feature tribe representations. “There are always interpretations,” she said. “For any artist, this is perfect source material.”
Asked what part knowledge of the 12 tribes might play in Jewish life, Temple Emanu-El Rabbi Ken Aronowitz expounds via email:
“In reading and studying the first book of the Torah (Genesis), we come upon the birth of Jacob’s 12 sons. This is followed by the story of Joseph getting sold into slavery by his brothers and taken to Egypt where the family would ultimately reunite. The 12 tribes are directly connected to one’s Jewish identity, especially for those living outside of Israel…”
A mere three weeks before her scheduled return to Honolulu, Flitter began painting, working 12-hour sessions. “I had tremendous joy, euphoria and focus,” she said. The day before departure, she sent off eight boxes of precious cargo, addressed to Jackie Lau, a fellow artist who serves as president of Temple Emanu-El’s board of trustees.
Lau, who does bronze casting, some welding, and works with clay, wire and more, laid out Flitter’s 36 canvases, ascertained that structures “did not wobble,” and studied the thickness of all supporting wood.
“The hard part was not in connecting the canvases — not at all,” she insists. “Getting up on a ledge, reaching up and attaching the panels, that was the big deal. I supplied the ladder.”
Flitter, meanwhile, scoured Craigslist in search of a handyman willing to brave the installation.
The morning of Jan. 24, Jeffrey Mallin, with cohort Kelly Greg, turned into the parking lot at 2550 Pali Highway. “I don’t think they knew what they were getting into,” says Lau. For more than three hours, the men risked all manner of peril, climbing and hoisting and foisting until at last, 12 panels, 12 tribes stood, tall, serene and supreme, awaiting later recognition at a special Sabbath dedication.
In the view of Rabbi Aronowitz, Flitter’s contributions will long resonate in the community by way of shining example:
“There is a concept in Judaism known a ‘Hiddur Mitzvah,’ which means ‘fulfilling our obligations beautifully,’ ” he said. “Alice’s artwork brings that beauty and inspiration to our Sabbath and other holy day prayer. And in doing so causes everyone who enters our sanctuary to feel Emanu-El, that the Divine Presence is among the community.”
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COMMUNITY SEDER
Passover, commemorating the liberation of the Hebrews from slavery in ancient Egypt, starts at sundown on April 8. Temple Emanu-El will retell the story of the Exodus at its annual, community Seder beginning at 6 p.m. April 9. Sure, there’ll be the usual servings of matzo ball soup, gefilte fish and goblets of wine. But this season behold the sanctuary, newly-illumined amidst colorful depictions of the Tribes of Israel.
>> Where: 2550 Pali Highway
>> Info and registration: 585-7521, shaloha.com
Greta Beigel is a former Los Angeles Times arts reporter and editor. She is the author of the music memoir, “Kvetch: One Bitch of a Life.”
