Although each book is open only to a single page, the limited view is sufficient to give a sense of each interpretation’s unique style. Informational cards accompany each book to point out its unique features. Given their limited production, the books render the text in ways that would be impossible in commercial printing. One of the more striking examples is David Moss’s elegant Hebrew calligraphy, which is accompanied by his son Yoni Moss’s translation.
The visual art that accompanies the poetry is even more impressive than the artistry of the text. Drawing from the love lyrics of the Song of Songs, the artists illustrate the themes of the text in styles ranging from Heidenheim’s colorful figures inspired by cave paintings to a modernist collage of shapes. One book presents a bold black and white image of a couple embracing, but not all the illustrations are so overtly romantic. Another book features the white cupola of a building and a mountain slope.
The exhibit stresses the role that interpretation plays with the Song of Songs—the information accompanying the books explains that while some Jewish scholars interpret the poem as an allegory for the love God has for the Jewish people, some Christian scholars interpret the same poem as describing Jesus’s love for his followers. Most of the artists do not directly focus on the religious significance of the poem in their illustrations—the natural or human relationships are the dominant images of the books. By organizing the books seemingly at random, How Right They Are to Adore You! allows the each book to stand for itself—not as a representation of a religion or a culture, but as an individual’s interpretation of a poem.