Henry Rosenberg
MFA 2024, Printmaking
Selfish Prophet Syndrome is a restructured narrative that follows overlooked parts of the Prophet Johan’s journey through a humorous lens, provoked by current events and societal behaviors. This body of work investigates Jonah’s stubborn characteristics, my own frustration with the way this story is retold, and highlights differences in scripture, oration, digression, and casual storytelling connecting to the various materials that comprise the displayed artworks.
My interpretation of the Old Testament story focuses on Jonah’s hatred towards the people of Nineveh, using the ancient Assyrian city as a metaphor for discrimination and cultural prejudice. Nineveh usually serves as a screen onto which readers project their own biases, reinforcing feelings of superiority. In turn, it reflects positive self-perceptions by attributing wickedness to others. In Selfish Prophet Syndrome, I want to highlight Jonah as the one who does this kind of projecting.
Traditionally, Jonah’s story is interpreted through themes of repentance, obedience to God, and divine intervention. However, I view it as a narrative highlighting the obstruction of conflict resolution by ingrained, unexamined notions of morality. Jonah emerges as the story’s true antagonist—a prophet of prejudice who defies his prophetic calling out of resentment, denying God’s mercy to his perceived enemies, the Ninevites. This nuanced aspect often gets overshadowed by the outlandish whale dilemma.
!["Selfish Prophet Syndrome"
Installation View,
India ink, oil pastel and linoleum prints with adhered copper plate etching, aquatint, and drypoint on paper, silkscreen ink on cut paper, glazed ceramics, variable dimensions Photo Credit: Sam Fritch](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/19a8ff4d-2ad1-431b-968f-a9cfc1498cd5/Rosenberg_Henry_1.jpg)
"Selfish Prophet Syndrome" Installation View, India ink, oil pastel and linoleum prints with adhered copper plate etching, aquatint, and drypoint on paper, silkscreen ink on cut paper, glazed ceramics, variable dimensions Photo Credit: Sam Fritch
!["Is it Right for you to be Angry about The Plant? (Hate Prevails)," 2024, India ink and oil pastel with adhered linoleum print and copper plate etching, aquatint, and drypoint on paper
Photo Credit: Sam Fritch](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/e58cdb2e-5088-4a7a-8544-465cf2f4f27c/Rosenberg_Henry_2.jpg)
"Is it Right for you to be Angry about The Plant? (Hate Prevails)," 2024, India ink and oil pastel with adhered linoleum print and copper plate etching, aquatint, and drypoint on paper Photo Credit: Sam Fritch
![Installation View,
India ink, oil pastel and linoleum prints with adhered copper plate etchings, aquatint, and drypoint on paper, silkscreen ink on cut paper, glazed ceramics, variable dimensions Photo Credit: Sam Fritch](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/ffacd1a2-8807-485e-8413-b7ca0a8e49a5/Rosenberg_Henry_3+copy.jpg)
Installation View, India ink, oil pastel and linoleum prints with adhered copper plate etchings, aquatint, and drypoint on paper, silkscreen ink on cut paper, glazed ceramics, variable dimensions Photo Credit: Sam Fritch
![Installation View,
India ink, oil pastel and linoleum prints with adhered copper plate etchings, aquatint, and drypoint on paper, silkscreen ink on cut paper, glazed ceramics, variable dimensions Photo Credit: Sam Fritch](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/fa2a6a98-8a9f-49ac-acf5-b78e9a6de3a9/Rosenberg_Henry_4.jpg)
Installation View, India ink, oil pastel and linoleum prints with adhered copper plate etchings, aquatint, and drypoint on paper, silkscreen ink on cut paper, glazed ceramics, variable dimensions Photo Credit: Sam Fritch
![Installation View,
Silkscreen ink on cut paper, glazed ceramics, variable dimensions
Photo Credit: Sam Fritch](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/03341208-521a-43b2-a05f-e1b8f979fb4b/Rosenberg_Henry_5.jpg)
Installation View, Silkscreen ink on cut paper, glazed ceramics, variable dimensions Photo Credit: Sam Fritch
![Installation View,
India ink on mylar, oil pastel, silkscreen ink on cut paper, variable dimensions
Photo Credit: Sam Fritch](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/e8271782-2c8b-4353-99ba-044acebfd163/Rosenberg_06.jpeg)
Installation View, India ink on mylar, oil pastel, silkscreen ink on cut paper, variable dimensions Photo Credit: Sam Fritch
![Installation View,
India ink, oil pastel with adhered copper plate etchings, aquatint, and drypoint on paper, silkscreen ink on cut paper, variable dimensions Photo Credit: Sam Fritch](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/65149b1d-879c-4913-b364-97bcaaee0818/Rosenberg_07.jpg)
Installation View, India ink, oil pastel with adhered copper plate etchings, aquatint, and drypoint on paper, silkscreen ink on cut paper, variable dimensions Photo Credit: Sam Fritch
![Installation View, silkscreen ink on cut paper, glazed ceramics, risograph print, dictionary, showcards, variable dimensions
Photo Credit: Sam Fritch](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/94eb88a6-ec8c-413f-88c1-90458357f4b2/Rosenberg_Henry_8.jpg)
Installation View, silkscreen ink on cut paper, glazed ceramics, risograph print, dictionary, showcards, variable dimensions Photo Credit: Sam Fritch
!["Running Away to Tarshish (Like Retiring in Florida)," 2024,India ink and oil pastel with adhered copper plate etching, aquatint, and drypoint on paper, 22.5”x 30”. Photo Credit: Sam Fritch](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/89a3b93f-4ac0-4546-a859-02340aa64f91/Rosenberg_Henry_9.jpg)
"Running Away to Tarshish (Like Retiring in Florida)," 2024,India ink and oil pastel with adhered copper plate etching, aquatint, and drypoint on paper, 22.5”x 30”. Photo Credit: Sam Fritch
![Installation View,
Color pencil on cut paper, Glazed Ceramic, variable dimensions
Photo Credit: Sam Fritch](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/50186973-63a4-47bd-9643-a220287a0517/Rosenberg_Henry_10.jpg)
Installation View, Color pencil on cut paper, Glazed Ceramic, variable dimensions Photo Credit: Sam Fritch
![“Intermedio”
Lithograph and screenprint on paper
2023](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/4842d6c0-fd55-4cc0-a277-796936a2c647/Rosenberg_Henry_1.jpg)
“Intermedio” Lithograph and screenprint on paper 2023
!["Miracolo di San Marco (Study after Tintoretto)”
Risograph
2023](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/9e27a5b2-2665-49ea-8550-77eb0feaeafa/Rosenberg_Henry_2.jpeg)
"Miracolo di San Marco (Study after Tintoretto)” Risograph 2023
“Pala D'altare di Marzo 22, 2004” Oil pastel on paper 2023
"Curva Sud" Oil pastel 2023
"Curva Nord" Oil pastel 2023
![“Lancieri di Montebello waiting for Piazza di Siena"
Ink, watercolor, and drawing on paper
2023](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/8bb4c22f-a60b-4cec-8d12-9cbb3616f1a1/Rosenberg_Henry_6.jpeg)
“Lancieri di Montebello waiting for Piazza di Siena" Ink, watercolor, and drawing on paper 2023
![“Magi”
Oil pastel and colored pencil on paper,
2023](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/66c9797e-5dd7-47fe-b3bb-d43ea4d515ae/Rosenberg_Henry_7.jpg)
“Magi” Oil pastel and colored pencil on paper, 2023
!["Foreseers"
Etching with watercolor on paper,
2024](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f3c104daf9e6f2b7d93ecc0/091280d8-c7c3-4c8e-825c-ead2a041bdad/Rosenberg_Henry_8.jpg)
"Foreseers" Etching with watercolor on paper, 2024
"Escape from Nineveh" Reduction Linocut 2023
"Summoned to Obey Laws of Eternity" Etching, Drypoint, Aquatint 2022
Henry Rosenburg
Henry David Rosenberg is an artist, printmaker, and draftsman. He received his B.A. in Art History & Visual Culture at Denison University and his MFA in Printmaking at Tyler School of Art and architecture. He has exhibited in numerous group shows across the United States as well as Italy. Rosenberg has worked in both academic and technical printmaking settings such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Drawing and Prints Department, Lower East Side Printshop, and Marginal Editions. He has also worked for the artist estate of Matthew Freedman as a Collections Manager and Archivist.