Check Out Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik.

Hi Isaac, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started cutting paper while living in Israel in the 1990s. We had moved there while my wife was in her first year of rabbinic school, and my first papercuts were gifts for her. At the end of the year, I had a table at a small local arts fair, and I continued cutting paper once we returned to the States. After a decade of cutting paper, I had one of those “eureka” moments – when I realized I could combine papercutting with comic books, and that’s how I found my voice. Since then, my work has always included cut-up comic books – mostly from my childhood collection; I see the comics as a way to provide a secondary narrative in my work, which is itself all about narrative and how storytelling defines us as people.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It’s been tricky balancing art with the rest of my life – finding the “fit” that would enable me to chase my passion and also find the time to be a good husband, a good dad, and a good citizen. There’s only so much time in a day and so much to do. But I think I found the right path.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My work explores the role of narrative in the development and expression of identity. I work in paper because I like its fragility and its place as our primary medium for telling and sharing stories across generations. It is both ephemeral and constant. I layer cut-up comic books into my work, drawing parallels between comic book mythologies and religious and cultural traditions to delve into the stories that make us human. Comic superheroes exist outside of the “natural” world, be they visitors from other planets or people whose powers stem from strange scientific accidents; they have weaknesses and flaws, and their struggles are often a metaphor for the human experience. I bring these different types of stories together in the layers of my papercuts, searching for new meanings in these combinations.

I’m so pleased when what I’m doing strikes a chord in someone else – when they connect with my art in some way. So I was extremely pleased and flattered when I was commissioned to create a papercut for the new chapel space at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; my 24″ x 36″ “Tree of Life” papercut is made with cut-up comics featuring superheroes that are children, and also medical professionals – and I’ve been told it’s a wonderful addition to a space meant to bring comfort and even just a break from what the families and staff at CHLA experience every day.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I’m very pleased to be in the midst of planning an exhibition of my latest series – 72 golems made from cut-up comics during the 18 months of pandemic lockdown in Los Angeles. I recently showed a selection of prints from the series at a pop-up exhibition in the Artists’ Colony in Jerusalem, but this show will be the first time all of the golems will be seen together. That show opens on January 27, 2022, at the Dortort Gallery at UCLA Hillel.

Writers and artists have explored the golem narrative for centuries: using magic to bring clay figures to life, to do everything from performing household chores to protecting communities from existential danger. When the pandemic hit in 2020 and we went into lockdown in Los Angeles, I began to create golems to explore ideas of protection and safety in times of uncertainty. Each of the golems in the series is very personal, imbued with the attributes of classic superheroes in a very contemporary context.

Contact Info:

• Email: isaac@nicejewishartist.com
• Website: http://www.NiceJewishArtist.com
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