Todd Gray Studios "Point Zero Two Percent"

TODD GRAY C O N T E M P O R A R Y

P O P

A R T I S T

.02 percent The Jewish people make up just .02% of the Earth’s population. Despite this incredibly small number, I started wondering about their historical contributions to society and whether there was a way to quantify it. I then started thinking how they have been persecuted since time immemorial and how they have always survived (and in many ways, thrived). These thoughts became the genesis for this piece.

I started thinking about the Nobel prizes. Chemistry, Medicine, Peace, Literature, Physics... and what gifts these prizes are to mankind. I then started to wonder how many of the recipients (historically) might be Jewish. When I did the research, I found that the number of Jewish Nobel laureates was staggering and 'significantly disproportionate' to their population. Here was a way to actually quantify the Jewish people's contributions to the world. ______________________ The entire painting was painted in pearlescent paints. This paint, coupled with the gold frame, give it a more spiritual feel. It looks like stained glass in a temple or church.

Across the bottom of this Altar, I used five geometric rings. Each ring is a metaphor for the tall chimneys of the concentration camps in the holocaust. I painted red inside each ring to complete the fiery image. Coming out of each ring are small geometric chips.

These are the ashes of the Jewish victims rising from the chimneys. As the chips rise into the night sky, they become lighter in color until, as they float at the top, they are pearl white... Just like the great spirits of the Jewish people‌ Persevering and succeeding, no matter what life throws at them‌ throughout history.

Behind all of this, you can see words. These words are every name of every Jewish Nobel laureate since the Nobel prize began in the late nineteenth century. They are intentionally faint, but quite visible as they are painted against a black pearlescent night sky. At the top of the painting are the words point-zero-two-percent and at the bottom, the Nobel prizes.