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Left to right:
"Painting for
a Young Soul,"
2000, oil on wood.
Block uses a faint
circle to stand for a
quest for unity and
lattice work of thin
lines to symbolize
the unseen ideas
that mystics
try to uncover.

"The Dance of the
Chasidim,"1999,
acrylic, ink on
canvas. This
painting depicts
the mystical worship
carried out by
song and dance.

A Shared Spiritual History

Painter captures the spiritual paths shared by Jewish, Islamic and Christian mystics
in exhibit at Detroit's Swords Into Plowshares Peace Center and Gallery.

LORI WEISS
Special to the Jewish News

I t was in a small, unheated apart-
ment in Spain that artist Tom
Block discovered a new direction.
He'd left his career as a jour-
nalist behind him in the United States,
hoping to find something more fulfill-
ing. Amidst the silence that comes with
living in a new country, far away from
friends and family, he focused on his art.
Little did the Maryland-based artist
know that he would find more than a
new form of expression; he'd gain a new
sense of being.
"Being away from everyone I knew, I
found myself doing a lot of reading,"
said Block, 39. "I read everything ---
from scientific theories to books on
Buddhism, Jewish and Christian mysti-
cism, and Sufism. I was amazed at how
much the religions had in common and
I found myself searching out more."
Soon his nighttime reading became
his daytime passion.
Block would jot down his thoughts
on note cards, tacking them up around
his studio. He quickly came to the con-
clusion that Jewish, Islamic and

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2002

72

Christian mystics drew on similar ideas
to produce spiritual paths that share far
more with each other than they do with
the traditionalists in their own religion.
Those thoughts led to his drawings
— and, finally, to "Cousins," an exhibit
of abstract paintings and an installation
currently on display at the Swords into
Plowshares Peace Center and Gallery in
Detroit.
For this show, Block chose to
metaphorically explore the connection

between the Baal Shem Tov, an 18th-
century Jewish mystic and founder of
Chasidism; the Sufi masters of Islam;
and Meister Eckhart, a 13th-century
Christian mystic.
"The mysticism readings that I came
across seemed to bring together the corn-
. munity of man so much more than any-
thing I'd ever heard in a traditional reli-
gious service," said Block, who worships
at a Conservative synagogue at home.
"So often there are undertones of 'us

and them,' especially in the Palestinian-
Israeli conflict. There are strong bonds
between us that are outright denied, spe-
cific bonds between Jews and Muslims."
And it's those bonds that Block hopes
to strengthen through the exhibit at
Swords Into Plowshares. Up since Sept.
7, it runs through Jan. 25, 2003, and
includes more than 300 pieces of art
available for sale.
Exhibit curator Suzanne Schreiber
sees Block's work as a perfect fit for the

Far left:
"Secret Garden,"
2002, installation
view, 250 panels,
is based on the
Sufi masters
of Islam.

Left:
Detail: "A Secret
Garden;" acrylic
on paper, 1999.