Reaching Heaven with a paintbrush

BATSHEVA POMERANTZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

The blue sky is studded with hot-air balloons flying high above a patchwork of fields extending over the horizon. This scene is depicted in a painting by Israeli artist Kobi Rabenu and graces the cover of an art calendar for the past Jewish year, 5763. Amazingly, Rabenu, a quadriplegic injured in 1993 in a power-glider accident, only has the ability to move his head and shoulders.

"Before my injury, I viewed the world from the clouds," said Rabenu, who used to run a glider business. "I viewed it according to where I could take off and where I could land. Today, my world consists of what clouds or trees I can paint. I existed in a black void until I started painting."

Rabenu is one of 14 Israeli artists who belong to the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists Association (MFPA), an international organization founded in 1956 by Erich Stegman, a disabled German artist. The artists master the technique of painting either by holding the paintbrush in their mouth or between their toes.

With some 70 branches worldwide and approximately 700 artists who are employed by the MFPA, the artists receive encouragement and advice, publicity for their paintings and a monthly stipend. The paintings they draw are replicated
on products that include greeting cards, stationery, book marks, magnets, small cards and posters.

One of the more popular products in Israel is the Jewish calendar.

"This is unique to the Israeli branch, the only one to produce Jewish calendars, from September to September," said Michal "Micky" Lichtenfeld, co-ordinator of Israel's branch of the artists' association.

The wall or desk calendar, with both Jewish and Gregorian dates, marks the holidays, new months and Israeli national days (in Hebrew). Another unique Israeli feature are the sayings on every page in English and Hebrew, a list of the weekly Torah portions and the Sabbath candle lighting times in Israel's main cities. Greeting cards for Rosh Hashanah with a Hebrew salutation are also unique to the Israeli MFPA, currently in its 35th year.

Rabenu discovered his ability to paint about five years after his injury and heard about the MFPA from a friend who also paints with his mouth. He sent some of his paintings to an evaluation committee and was accepted as an artist of the organization.

"Painting fills my world," said Rabenu. "I learned how to paint by myself; it comes out of the brush."

"Beginning to paint is very difficult," explained veteran artist and instructor Itzhak Adir. "Holding a brush in one's mouth can be humiliating, but once the psychological adjustment has been made, one views the mouth as a bird's beak. Every artist has different problems and different limitations."

Adir, who was seriously injured in 1970 in a road accident, graduated from art college. He has since exhibited all over the world, including exhibitions with non-disabled artists. In addition to teaching, he created a unique course in Israel for instructors (who are not disabled) to teach art to those undergoing rehabilitation. His students are taught to be non-judgmental, to work with the senses and to be spontaneous and creative. Technique is taught but is not the main emphasis. The curriculum includes learning to paint with the mouth and feet and to understand the challenges.

Among the difficulties are the limited movements of the neck, said Adir. The artist learns the precise angles to move the neck in order to control the brush. Sometimes special easels are used, which can be adjusted with the press of a button. This enables the artist to move the painting up and down and from side to side.

As in all branches of the MFPA, the Israeli branch commissions artists to paint pictures suited for their clientele, which are executed either in oil, acrylic or pencil. The subjects of the paintings are of a universal nature and include landscapes, floral bouquets, animals and portraits. Occasionally, the Israeli artists paint Jerusalem scenes.

"My paintings are influenced by Van Gogh and Monet," said Ronen Argalzi, who was injured at the age of 17 in a motorcycle accident. "It is difficult to draw, but I got used to it. I paint a few hours a day. I have no choice; it fills my whole life."

It took a number of years after his injury for Argalzi to decide to take up a brush, followed by a course in computerized graphics at the rehabilitation centre. Lichtenfeld read about him in the newspaper, contacted him and encouraged him to improve his painting skills. Argalzi enrolled in a four-year art program.

"MFPA gave me a leap forward in terms of artistic standard, as well as providing financial support and employment," he said.

Argalzi also teaches art to youth and lectures to them with the double message of preventing car accidents and showing how severely disabled people are not really that much different from healthy individuals.

"Painting is like a professional hobby for me," reflected Rabenu, who consults with Adir on artistic matters. "The monthly stipend relieves pressures. It's wonderful that the MFPA helps with publicity and mounting exhibitions."

MFPA-Israel has mounted several exhibitions in public buildings, such as the Tel-Aviv municipality, and high schools exhibit the artists' paintings through a project called I Can, Also.

"Painting provides encouragement, employment, self confidence and a sense of worth to severely disabled artists," notes Lichtenfeld. It also shifts the focus from their physical disability to their artistic ability, enabling them to determine the life they wish to lead.

The international MFPA Web site: www.vdmfk.com.

Batsheva Pomerantz is a writer with Israel Press Service.

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