{"id":3779,"date":"2021-12-19T13:56:07","date_gmt":"2021-12-19T21:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lisathorpe.com\/?p=3779"},"modified":"2021-12-19T13:56:07","modified_gmt":"2021-12-19T21:56:07","slug":"digging-deeper-seeking-sharing-eve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lisathorpe.com\/index.php\/2021\/12\/19\/digging-deeper-seeking-sharing-eve\/","title":{"rendered":"Digging Deeper, Seeking, Sharing Eve"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Eve IS the Tree of Knowledge<\/em> – Fabric collage 36×80 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A few months back I shared with you a large fabric collage; Na\u2019amah of the Ark (see that post here)<\/a> and participated in a forum at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion (watch here)<\/a>. I was moved by the digging, researching, reading and creation of Na\u2019amah as a visual midrash. The art has carved a path to deep discussion of expansive, inclusive imagery within the Judeo\/Christian pantheon of female characters. The response to Na\u2019amah has been wonderful and it challenged me to address my next subject; Eve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I began my research by reading the Genesis text<\/a>. Next, I turned to the ancient writings and interpretations within the Jewish midrash tradition. I found these unsatisfactory, they are men commenting on the bible passage which itself was a male interpretation of God in the human world. I then began to dig into the feminist midrash writings of the 2nd wave of feminism in the 70\u2019s and 80\u2019s. These writings too, left me troubled. They seemed to reject Eve as a feminist character embracing instead the idea of Lilith who is the unnamed woman created at the same time as unnamed man in the earlier Genesis 1:27 \u201cGod created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them\u201d. I understand that this first woman is easier to connect to as a feminist. She is created at once with man and both in the image of God. Eve is set aside as problematic having been written as subservient not created out of God but created out of Adam much of this confusion is literally lost in translation from Hebrew to Greek to Latin to English. But I really didn\u2019t want to give up on Eve. I found a fascinating and entertaining description of the original text by Lizzie Berne Degear and Martha Mapes that helped me reexamine the text (see here)<\/a>. Don\u2019t forget that each time the text was translated the agenda of the translator needs to be considered. Each time an image is created the agenda of the artist needs to be considered. I decided it was time to shake off the patriarchal text an do an imaginative visual midrash of my own on the topic of Eve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n