Rewriting Genesis

Abstract Barnett Newman’s abstract paintings are often explicitly linked to biblical narratives by their titles. In particular Newman regularly revisits the Genesis creation story. In the wake of the destruction of the Holocaust, Newman sets out to tell a revitalized story of creation in order to establish a new artistic beginning for the Jewish people (and modernism) in twentieth century New York. Through careful and nuanced visual analysis of Newman’s Genesis paintings, it is possible to construct a detailed mystical retelling of the creation story that is rooted in Jewish scriptures and develops a new receptive tradition. These paintings give Newman the opportunity to recreate the world through proverbial wisdom, Kabalistic mysticism, and Hebrew scriptures in order to create a new and hopeful vision for the future in the wake of tragedy.