Young couples are again taking active part in selecting them which is sometimes their very first piece of Jewish art and contemporary artists are tempting their taste with extraordinary artistic choices to choose from. For example, the archaic art of illuminating kettubot and some of the original concept depending entirely on calligraphy for decorative effect are a few of the programs used today.

Ben Shahn, master of Hebrew calligraphy and lovely texts, updated the kettubah from the traditional framed kettubah with ornamental devices. In superb executions of kettubot he integrated floral decorations with lyrical Hebrew calligraphy the predominant element.

The expressive style of Shahn's Hebrew characters changes with the meaning of each theme he depicts.

For the kettubah which is presented at a joyous occasion of marriage, he develops a commanding but elegant Hebrew appropriate to the legal nature of the document and the solemnity of the moment.