On September 26th, the Visual Arts students at EMIS went on an inspiring day trip to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. In Tel Aviv, the students had the opportunity to visit unique exhibitions in three different galleries. First, they went to Gordon Gallery, where they saw "Pink Days/Blue Days" by Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010), one of the most prominent and influential artists of the 20th century. They then went to the Rozenfeld Gallery, where they saw a group exhibition by Israeli contemporary artists. The last stop in Tel Aviv was the RawArt Gallery, where they saw "Yod" (the tenth and smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet) by Ishai Shapira. Before heading out to Jerusalem, the class enjoyed a nice picnic lunch.
The class began their Jerusalem tour by visiting the Dwek Gallery where they saw the "INNUENDO" exhibit by Orit Hoshi. The Dwek Gallery is part of the International Cultural Institution and Conference Center located in the beautiful Mishkenot Sha'ananim neighborhood. Hoshi is a printmaking artist who specializes primarily in woodcutting and drawing techniques, creating monumental works that are simultaneously assembled and dismantled into various compositions. The pieces are created with arrangements that merge motifs from press photos and personal photos, combined with images drawn from memory and imagination, which together create a puzzle that is both personal and collective.
Next, they arrived at the Israel Museum, where they saw the incredible exhibition "Maybe, Maybe Not" by Ai Weiwei, the famous Chinese American artist who was imprisoned in China for his political activism on human rights and freedom of expression. His exhibition features a series of huge installations that examine the notions of the one and the multitude and the relationship between the individual and their societal culture. His exhibit features powerful and visually captivating works exploring issues facing society today.
Finally, the class saw the exhibit "No Thing Dies" by Ilit Azoulay, the culmination of her ongoing project. Azoulay has interviewed past and present Israel Museum employees, learning how rare objects make their way into the Museum's collections and how the institution has changed over the years. Inspired by these stories, Azoulay has created large-scale collages comprised of photographs of artifacts from various collections and hidden pieces in the Museum's cellars, combined with paper, wood, glass, and gold leaf. The work is shrouded in mystery, breathing life into objects that have not been displayed to the public for many years and imbibes them with a new and contemporary purpose.
After a full day of exploration, the class was inspired to push their own boundaries and conceptions of what is and how to create their own unique works of art!