Paradoxically, many of Weil’s paintings draw from the Biblical story of Abraham and Isaac, where God demands Abraham to sacrifice his son. The ram motif becomes a representation of Isaac. Weil’s subject matter confronts rather than soothes, demanding questions of a God that requires sacrifice.
Weil’s interest in the story of Abraham and Isaac traces back to the early 1970s, when Weil’s only son was killed by a tractor. Shaped by major events of war and loss, many of his images display a need for answers despite his asserted atheism. The painting titled “The Ram in the Thicket” shows a ram walking heedlessly into a thicket that will ultimately lead to its destruction. The bright colors present a false facade of serenity. Happy-faced yellows and sea green create a lovely effect while obscuring the underlying tensions within the subject matter of the painting.
Similar contrasts can be found in Weil’s other paintings. “Memories of a Sacrifice” shows the skull of a ram over bound branches. The bright oranges and reds again obscure the underlying anxiety of the painting. Although the ram is given for sacrifice, the viewer is aware of Weil’s bitter confrontation—Can we really escape the ram’s fate in the face of God’s demands?
The artist’s desire for answers becomes even more apparent in “Together.” While at first glance, the painting appears to depict a family portrait, a closer look reveals the characters of Abraham, Isaac and a ram. Not only is the ram bound, however, but Isaac is also bound as a sacrifice.
The viewer is jolted from an uplifting message of family to the realization of impeding death and annihilation of Isaac and the ram. God does not demand one, but two sacrifices. The relationship between Genesis 22 and Weil’s personal loss and grief comes across powerfully, and the viewer begins to sense how our own fates may not be free from God’s demands.
“Memories and Dreams” is not an exhibit merely of color, texture or beauty. Nor is it decorative art celebrating Israeli motifs or Biblical scenes. It is an exhibit fraught with profound personal meaning, which raises provoking questions about theology.