From Object to Performance in Israeli Art A Historiography Dror Harari

My historiographic research into the emergence and development of performative art practices — environmental activities, actions, and performance art — in Israel in the 1960s– 1970s1 is founded on four premises: First, a performative turn took place in Israeli art dur- ing the 1960s, manifested in the dematerialization of the art object, a transition from object-­ oriented art to an art of process and action, and the erasure of the conventional division between the work of art and its creation. Second, this turn is an “emergent” cultural moment, to draw on Raymond Williams’s distinction (1977:121–27)2; that is, a moment of emergence that materialized in reaction to the dominant aesthetic convictions as well as to the specific sociopolitical conditions of the time. This cultural moment reflected both the exposure and responsiveness of (mostly) young Israeli artists to new trends in Western art in the 1960s and their need to respond to sociopolitical circumstances questioning Israeli national collectivist

1. This research was supported by The Israel Science Foundation (grant no. 555/14). 2. Williams explains: “By ‘emergent’ I mean, first, that new meanings and values, new practices, new relationships and kinds of relationship are continually being created” (1977:123).

TDR: The Drama Review 62:4 (T240) Winter 2018. ©2018 New York University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 41

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42 Dror Harari explore these “minor” historiestofillinmissingparts. calized articulationsthatcontestednational-culturalparadigmsandidentities, itisimportantto 1960s (Israelincluded), expressingcompellingidiosyncraticlocalreactions, andformingglo- art startedtoshowitsglobalizedeffectsindifferentoff-centerlocationsaroundtheworld cally unknownandinaccessibletoresearchersoutsideIsrael. Becausethisperformativeturnin in EnglishonIsraeliart(seeforexampleBarzel1987;Ofrat1998;Zalmona2013), arepracti- and earlymanifestationsinIsraelarerelativelyunexploredand, exceptforafewpublications forming theacceptedcanonandgenealogyofwhathasbecome “performance art,” itsorigins ing “performance mentality” (Kirby1965:41), itstrajectoriesandproducts, arewellexplored, the 1960sand1970s. greatly onoralhistory:interviewswithkeyhistoricalfigureswhomadetheirmarkinthearts that werenotalwaysdocumented, orinsufficientlydocumented(seeHarari2012), Idepend tion tothisart’shistoricaldevelopment. Becausemyresearchdealswithperformanceactivities grounding itsontological, phenomenological, andembodiedvalues, norhavetheypaidatten- of the1970s, theyhavefailedtotheorizeitfromthepointofviewperformancetheory, fore- Fourth, whileartcriticsandcuratorsofIsraelihavenotquiteneglectedtheperformative periods intowhichamoregeneralIsraelihistoryofthe1960sand1970scanbedivided. reflecting theperformativecharacteristicpeculiartoeachoneandparallelingthreedistinct festival ofIsraeliperformanceart. This denseperiodcanbedividedintothreemajorphases, to thesecondhalfof1970s, culminatinginMeitzag 76 ofJune1976, thefirstexhibition- period inIsraeliart. Third, theperformativeturninIsraeliartwasgradual, fromthemid-1960s )marksthe1970sasadistinct performance-based practices(andultimatelytotheartist’sself ideals. Indeed, itisnotunreasonabletosuggestthatthetransitionfromobjectaction-and Desert. (PhotoDesert. by Rivka Meyers) Figure 1. (previous page) Motti Mizrachi, of Art. Bezalel Academy of spectatorsattheBezalelNationalMuseum, mostoftheminvitedstudentsfromthenearby During his10-daystayinIsraelheexecuted18actionpaintings, someperformedliveinfront museum andwelleducatedinFrenchcultureart, toholdanexhibition(Fischer2015). boyant styleandpaintingtechnique), wasinvitedby Yona Fischer, thena young curatoratthe Museum inJerusalemMarch1962. Mathieu, theFrenchabstractionist(famedforhisflam- atically, GeorgesMathieu’salmostforgottenliveactionpaintingattheBezalelNational Heralding theonsetoffirstphaseshifttowardperformancewas, somewhatemblem- Performative Actions ofPainting 1962–1970 Foundation. [email protected] Resling Publications (2014).His research wasfundedbyagrant from theIsrael forthisarticle Science Self-Performance: Performance andtheRepresentation Art ofSelf, waspublishedinHebrew by Dror Harari is Senior Lecturer ofTheatre attheDepartment Arts, Tel Aviv University. His book, the paintersofOfakimHadashim(NewHorizons). The OfakimHadashimpaintershadquit artists challengedtheaestheticimperativeofmodernistabstraction zealouslyembracedby Israelis, broughtnewtechniques, materials, andexhibition formatstothelocalartscene. These 3. While the American and(mostly Western) European “major” history/iesofthisevolv- During thisfirstphaseanewgenerationofyoungartists, many ofwhomwerenative-born National Museum and in November–December 1962 at the Tel Aviv Museum. Mathieu’s action paintings were exhibited immediately following his visit: in March–April 1962 at the Bezalel 3

The Binding of Isaac, 1973. Performed photograph in the Judean Israeli Performance Art 43 - , February 1966 and , Works scale (Large for example, Most of its members were European Jews who had Jews who had members were European Most of its 4 — inviting the participating artists to creatively respond to the shared theme In the 1960s, the economic and security burdens of statehood were a lit- In the 1960s, 5 ceased to exist as an active group after its final exhibition in 1963. However, its impact con- impact its However, 1963. in exhibition final its after group active an as exist to ceased —

Many young artists active during this phase were informally and intermittently affiliated Many young artists active during this phase tinued to resonate for a long time. For a comprehensive history of this group, see Ballas (2014). Ballas see history comprehensive group, a this of For time. long a for resonate to tinued translations. my are texts otherwise Hebrew-language from quotations all indicated, Unless Inspired by trends in European and (later) American art, such as Pop Art and New Realism, Art and New Realism, as Pop such American art, European and (later) Inspired by trends in Ofakim 4. Ofakim Hadashim 5. tle bit less taxing than in the 1950s, allowing the young state to constitute and perform its iden- allowing the young state to constitute and perform tle bit less taxing than in the 1950s, tity and ethos. While tagged and referred to as a art groups. albeit short-lived, with one of two important, an entrepre- in every practical sense, “10+”) was, as tagged also Plus, Eser Plus (Ten “group,” whose organiza- Led by painter Raffi Lavie, clique. neurial framework for a rising young art new art Aviv’s Tel 10+ mounted 10 group exhibitions in tional skills proved to be effective, or technique, medium, Rather than adhering to and promoting a specific artistic style, galleries. to each of the exhibitions between 1965 and 1970 revolved around a chosen theme pertinent the history and practice of the visual arts , September 1970); , Mattresses March 1967); material ( October 1966); color (In Red, , Miniatures 10+ on November 1967); and history ( December 1966 and The Nude, , content (The Flower May 1967) , Venus orientation of many the stylistic Although pluralistic in attitude, playful ways. in unpredictable, Abstract painting (which most of the Art and American Pop of the works was a mixture of

the League of Painters and Sculptors in the Land of Israel due to managerial and aesthetic Israel due to managerial in the Land of of Painters and Sculptors the League months after Israel a few 1948, new art group in November and formed the disagreements art wings over Israeli ideological and aesthetic spread its Ofakim Hadashim attained statehood. the 1960s. 1950s and most of through the ence to universalist abstraction and the rejection of localism in Israeli art is noteworthy, given Israeli art is noteworthy, and the rejection of localism in ence to universalist abstraction prominence was critical in during which Ofakim Hadashim gained the fact that the period Ofakim Hadashim’s authoritative nation and forming its national identity. terms of building the historian of Israeli art Indeed, both inside and beyond the art world. position was acknowledged artists [...] springing up “abstract that Ofakim Hadashim’s success led to Gila Ballas observes (2014:15e). everywhere” the emerging new generation of opportunities and public attention, and eager for exhibition and interactivity spatiality, elements of time, young Israeli artists experimented by introducing meth- “characteristic was employed to question the A performative sensibility into their works. Clement Greenberg which according to “procedures,” its operative ods of [the] discipline,” While in some cases the pro- art (1993:85). was the essence and imperative of good modernist of the production relations were encouraged, cess of creation was exposed and object-viewer remained ultimately the main goal during this art objects for traditional aesthetic consumption the framework Pioneering performative manifestations took place predominantly within phase. As group events with an in museums and galleries. of organized group activities and exhibitions sensibility these activities adopted a performative eye towards public exposure and recognition, in contrast to the solem- fresh and light manner, that was employed operatively in a self-aware this respect, In painters of the previous generation. nity that characterized the devout abstract of the (avant)guard took place during the second it is worth mentioning that this changing “peaceful decade” considered by historians as the decade in the life of the young Israeli state, (Shapira 2012:262). studied at art schools in Europe before immigrating to Palestine in the 1920s and 1930s. Even Even 1920s and 1930s. to Palestine in the before immigrating art schools in Europe studied at War World due to York from Paris to New gravity had shifted art world’s center of though the focused on remained European, the artists’ orientation trends had evolved, and new artistic II, of abstract painting as the most contemporary art and the French style Paris as the capital of This adher (Shefi 1997:284). and the culmination of modern art progressive form of painting Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00792 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00792 by guest on01 October 2021

44 Dror Harari unknown; of Benno Kalev) courtesy exhibition at the Tel Aviv Artists House, 10 February 1966. (Photographer Figure 2. 10+ artists’ live painting on the opening night of the Mashkof wasspontaneously formedbyyoung artists fromvariousdisciplines ing artthatwas “more impressive andattractivethansoloexhibitions” (in Avron Barak2015a). international art. Mashkof, says Ben-Shaul, knowinglyappealedtothegeneralpublicbymak - lished IsraelMuseum(1965)that orienteditself, sotheyounggenerationclaimed, towards immigrants, whoformany yearsdominatedtheJerusalemartworld, andtothenewly estab- ment,” Ben-Shaul referredpredominantlytotheveterancoterieofpainters, mostlyGerman power [...] We weredisappointedintheestablishment” (in Avron Barak2015a). By “establish- ers, theartistDediBen-Shaulsaidofgroup: “Politically, groupingtogethergaveusalotof found- until 1970, wasforminginJerusalem. Consideredinretrospect byoneofMashkof’s attracting theattentionofbothcriticsandgeneralpublic, theMashkof(Lintel)group, active ever waystheywished. rd such as Allan Kaprow’sYa the entireHa’KibbutzGalleryin Tel Aviv, notunlikeearlier American performativeventures Mattresses (10September1970), comprisedanenvironmentmadeofused mattressesthatfilled something different, young, wild, andspecial” (2008:29). The group’s10thandfinalexhibition, long timeinordertoimpresstheaudienceanddisplaynotjust ‘another exhibition’but, rather, that works, themodelsdisplayeddressesmadeoffabricspaintedbyartists. BennoKalevnotes into theexhibition. Oneofthespecialeventswasafashionshow. Paradingamongtheart- a programofpoetryreadings, electronicmusic, theatre, andmovies, thusinjectingothermedia desired, colorfulsquareandcirculardiscsplacedonawoodenboard. Large Works alsoincluded presented anobjectthatinvitedviewerstoarrangeandrearrange, inwhatevershapethey keyword inthesociologyof10+” (1980:251). ered itselfasasociologicalfactorratherthananartisticone. Contactwithsocialrealitywasa of art’sivorytower. InIsraeliandmodernartcuratorDoritLevita’swords: “The groupconsid- Hadashim’s stringentmodernistideology, whatissignificantaboutthe10+groupitsrejection artists couldnotquiterelinquish, giventheirtraininginthattradition). ComparedtoOfakim In 1968, asthe10+groupexhibitionswerevitalizing Tel-Aviv’s growinggalleryscene, Large Works wasthe10+group’smostinvestedexhibition: “meticulously preparedfora (1961). The visitorscouldinteractwiththefoundobjects inwhat- Large Works ple,painter AharonWitkin and theartworks. Forexam- interaction betweenviewers in theexhibitionencouraged some oftheworksdisplayed the collectivelivepainting, of attention. Inadditionto painting itself, wasthefocus of painting, ratherthanthe ers, thefirsttimethatact formed liveinfrontofview- the creativeacthadbeenper first timeinIsraeliartthat significant one. Itwasthe sical, moment, andyeta edly aminor, probablywhim- watched. This wasundoubt- gallery wallwhileanaudience ists paintedtogetheronthe House, theparticipatingart- Worksthe Tel,at Aviv Artists inaugural exhibition, Large the openingnightoftheir On 10February1966, — plastic arts, - Israeli Performance Art 45 –1966 [...] an an [...] –1966 (Mar-Haim 2015). 2015). (Mar-Haim 16 Millimeter Earrings Earrings Millimeter 16 Figure 3. Painting throughout the night on a bulletin board in Jerusalem. From From Jerusalem. in board bulletin a on night the throughout Painting 3. Figure Gaon) Yafa by (Photo 1970. April 23 Gaon. Izika and Shatz Shaul left: The group’s next exhibition-event opened on 7 October 1968 at the opened on 7 October 1968 The group’s next exhibition-event 6 - and shared a com in its cafes and bars, hung out in Jerusalem, who lived An Apartment — —

live painting, Happenings, environments, and intermedia. Mashkof’s intermedia. and environments, - first collabora Happenings, live painting, (1968), took place in a Jerusalem Volkswagen car dealership. It was a one-off It was a one-off car dealership. Volkswagen took place in a Jerusalem My Car (1968), —

Among those who lived and/or studied in New York in the 1960s were poet Yossi Ofek, painter Tzivia Weinman, Weinman, Tzivia painter Ofek, Yossi poet were 1960s the in York New in studied and/or lived those who Among 1964 was “It recalls: Weinman Mar-Haim. Yossi musician-composer and Tolkovski, Zvi painter incredible experimental atmosphere of theatre, music, Jazz, art, everything.” And Ofek adds: “And Happenings, Happenings, “And adds: Ofek And art, everything.” Jazz, music, theatre, of atmosphere experimental incredible (in artistic doing and together being of idea the got we happenings” how is This everywheretime. the all and dance Armorythe at Rauschenberg Robert and Cage Show, John seeing recalls Mar-Haim 2015c). Barak Avron Monk’s Meredith and Church, Judson the at works 6. Combined Arts: Painting, Combined Arts: venue). not a regular art Painting, in Jerusalem (again, Angel commercial gallery by pairs of poets lithographs produced at Ben-Shaul’s studio presented a series of Music Poetry, added graphic nota- Mar-Haim Yossi Composer on each piece. and painters who collaborated and two additional musicians Mar-Haim On the opening night, tion to some of the lithographs. from the lithographed poetry. notated lithographs while the poets read performed some of the During their next exhibition, fully realized only in and as performance. The lithographs were Red and Blue on the Mezzanine Floor 220X125 (4 January 1969), the painters worked with only red and blue paint on stan- dard industrial plywood on the Artists House mezzanine floor during one day for invited and That eve- passing spectators. ning they exhibited the paint- Less than a month later ings. (10 February 1969) the group mounted its next exhibition at the same venue This on the Mezzanine Floor. time they installed an apart- ment made of found objects col- lected from a local rubbish pit (a shoe toilets, a stove, double bed, Sound and more). storage racks, ema- composed by Mar-Haim nated from tape cassette play- ers concealed in toilet bowls, and poetry and paintings were Other The exhibition culminated in an auction of the objects on display. hung on the walls. organized separately either by the poets (live events took place as part of the group’s activities, One poetry readings combined with aleatory music) or the painters (live painting sessions). was an action painting performed spirit of Mashkof, very much inspired by the such initiative, April 1970 painted on a bulletin the night of 23 who through by Izika Gaon and Shaul Shatz, Gaon As passersby watched, board located on King George Street in the center of Jerusalem.

intermedia durational event of poetry reading, action painting on large sheets of paper, and ale- sheets of paper, painting on large action poetry reading, durational event of intermedia artistic activities was introduced improvised simultaneous, of live, Such a format atory music. the United States where they had of its members who had returned from to the group by some Barak Avron (Ofrat 1984:39; and other performative art practices been exposed to Happenings 2015). 2015c; Mar-Haim poetry, and music poetry, tion, mon interest in experimentation and challenging Jerusalem’s conservative art scene. They They art scene. conservative and challenging Jerusalem’s in experimentation mon interest of 1960s New experiments inspired by the performance exhibition-events mounted several York Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00792 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00792 by guest on01 October 2021

46 Dror Harari cal Happening changed itsfunction, turningintoatemporaryoutdoorgallery. This unpretentiousbutcriti- ers ofadsandposters(andprobablyforgotten). Forthedurationofitsrental, thebulletinboard period, oneweek and wine). The abstractpaintingremainedonthebulletinboardfordurationofitsrental and ShatzwerejoinedbyBezalelstudentsothermembersofthegroup(whobroughtfood vice, sentanunprecedented lettertoPrimeMinisterGoldaMeirexpressingtheirreservations in April 1970agroupofsenior highschoolstudents, priortotheircompulsorymilitary ser while euphoricfeelingsprevailed, disillusionmentwas beginning tosprout. Thus, forinstance, Egypt andIsraelalongtheSuezCanal. This causedthenational moodtobackslidebecause continuously inflammatoryandviolent. InMarch1969 the War of Attritionbrokeoutbetween tion alongIsrael’srecentlyexpandedanddisputablefrontiers with Egypt, Jordan, andSyriawas This senseofpotencyandoverconfidencedidnotlastforlong. AftertheSix-Day War thesitua- and hencetheendof(adiasporic)historybeginning anewnationalhistoricalorder. miraculous ideal of “Greater Israel,” thewar into aregionalsuperpowerafterswiftvictoriouscampaign. ForsupportersoftheBiblical Six-Day War signifiedformanyIsraelistheomnipotence oftheyoungstatethathadturned hotly debatedasIsraelisocietywassplitwithregardtoterritories occupiedduringthewar. The and itscircumstances. ParticularlyaftertheSix-Day War of1967, thisrealitywasseethingand tions, effects, andsponsorsinfavorofalessmediatedinvolvementreality, itsconditions, tation oftheneedtoliberateartandartistsfromgrasptraditionalaestheticforms, func- Mashkof group. of thatperiod, overshadowingthesupposedlylessdistinctiveandseriousactivitiesof gotten, asmanifestationsofconceptualartgainedmoreprominenceinthehistoriography board was, tomymind, apioneeringmoveinthatdirection. However, ithasbeenlargelyfor logical, andultimatelyalsopersonalprocesses. GaonandShatz’sactionpaintingonthebulletin tion venues, asartistsstartedtointerveneintheenvironment, experimentingwithsocial, eco- During thissecondphase, theshiftfromobjecttoactionextendedbeyondtraditionalexhibi- Outdoor Activities 1970–1974 art heralding thechangefromfirstphaseintransitionobjecttoperformanceIsraeli and presentedoutsidethemuseumorgallery;asimpleactofplace-making. Infact, Iseeitas intervention inapublicsphere, ofarttakingplaceoutsidetheartist’sstudioorasimilarvenue cious” (1969:14). know whataHappeningwasbutsensedthatitshouldbesomethingveryinterestingandauda- being attachedtovariousartisticoccasionsinorderattractthepublic “who didnotquite by avantgardeartists, Talmi wentontosarcasticallyremarkthattheterm “Happening” was explaining tohisuninitiatedreadersthatthisbughadbeenengenderedintheUSA1950s servative Jerusalem, whichreadilyandjoyfullywelcomedthenews” ofthenewartform. After newspaper, wroteon26December1969thattheHappening “bug” hadarrived, infecting “con- buzzword ontheIsraeliartscene. Menachem Talmi, aculturalcolumnistfortheMaarivdaily was importedintothelocalartdiscoursewithoutbeingtranslatedHebrew 7. — Artists movingfrommuseumsandgalleriestospecificoutdoorenvironmentswasamanifes- considered everything they did consideredas Happening. Israeli everything Happening began in Yafa Gaon, the widow that “the of Izika Gaon, claims in an interview spirit of It isinterestingtonotethatbytheendof1960sterm “Happening” performative actionsofpainting — marked therealizationofmythicEretz Yisrael (theBiblical “Land ofIsrael”) 7 wastomyknowledgethefirstcaseinIsraeliartofperformance-basedartistic — a traceandmaterialevidenceofitsproduction — whose resultswereconsideredalsointheologicaltermsas — to thesecondphase, thatofoutdooractivities. Mashkof — Mashkof was Happening. They later tobecoveredbylay- ” (in Avron Barak 2015b).

— — which atfirst became a - - Israeli Performance Art 47 at the turn after the Six- — — such as action art, body art, and body art, such as action art, — had a particular significance for Israeli art, since what had a particular significance for Israeli art, — . A fantasy river made of sounds flew in in flew sounds of made river fantasy A . Project Jerusalem River The 4. Figure Joshua Creators: 1970. October 27 and 13 between drya Jerusalem near wadi courtesy Milon; Reuven Marx. by (Photo Gerard and Batlle, Georgette Neustein, Neustein) Joshua of War protesting against the prevailing world order and the Cold — into Israeli art after the Six-Day War: into Israeli art after the Six-Day

—

During this phase, Israeli art- During this phase, gen- The altercation over Israel’s national borders paralleled a challenging of boundaries coun- and soon in this West, erally in conceptual art as it evolved in the art centers of the (1998:323) and cultural parameters. adapted to the local political try as well, The Jerusalem River Project (1970) has been recognized as River Joshua Neustein’s by now canonic The Jerusalem ists started to seriously question ists started to seriously social life, the relevance of art to activ- initiating outdoor artistic ities as a proactive intervention. were Performative art strategies Israeli col- employed to criticize beliefs, lectivist and chauvinist These out- and norms. values, the door activities transgressed culturally regulated accepted, boundary between artistic pro- cedures and social-political ones, encouraging a dialogue between politi- scientists, artisans, artists, These and other citizens. cians, were manifestations of what Israeli visual culture theorist Ariella Azoulay has termed “art which outside the place of art,” and in this way to return field over artistic activity, “sought to abolish the monopoly of the art Going outdoors in the late 1960s 75). (1993:73, art to its role as an art of needs” Bank (JudeaWest the extensive territories in the Golan Heights, and the occupation of War day and the Sinai Peninsula and Samaria), museum and gallery (“the place of art”) with its self- lay outside the autonomous territory of the and a dis- untroubled narrative of art history was a complicated historical situation contained, “Here the land who had said: artist Efrat Natan, Gideon Ofrat quoted puted territorial reality. Yisrael.” Eretz here it was in the USA was cosmopolitan, Art [Whereas] Land is a national myth. Art Land “[Israeli] works and concluded that Ofrat pointed at the political charge of such It is in this regard that curator Ellen Ginton (1993:127). became an art of (occupied) territories” strategies understood the successful admission of conceptual land art art proposed strategies and practices which “Conceptual Ginton convincingly observed that than traditional painting and sculpture” ‘fluid’ circumstances were far more adequate to the of utopian aspirations among the younger genera- Contemporaneous with the revival (322). West tion in the regarding the territorial occu- regarding of War prolonged the pation, with a ceasefire Attrition (ending - and the govern 1970), August in to nego- ment’s unwillingness then president of tiate with the Nasser. Abdel Gamal Egypt, of the 1970s Israeli performative conceptual artworks reacted, with some delay, to the unfold- with some delay, of the 1970s Israeli performative conceptual artworks reacted, conceptualizing a War, ing conflictual sociopolitical circumstances in Israel after the Six-Day different reality. a Project took place in a wadi, River The Jerusalem the first Israeli conceptual art outdoor activity. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00792 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00792 by guest on01 October 2021

48 Dror Harari tive wayofartmakingandadifferentperspectiveregardingwhat shouldbethetopprioritiesof between 1971and1973incollaborationwithotherartistsor students, introducinganalterna- ically. Geva, amemberofKibbutzEinShemer, performedmanyofhisenvironmentalprojects outdoor activitiesandinitiativesweredoubtlessthemostprogressive, bothartisticallyandpolit- cal environment Sea; in1973hetraveledaloneto Alaska toseeifhecouldassimilateintoadifferentphysi- where nonecouldbesustained” (CohenGan1974:43)bytransplantingfishintotheDead shed overthecows’manger;inTheDeadSeaProject(1972)heattemptedto “introduce life of Etchings intheCowshedofKibbutzNirim(1972), CohenGandisplayed22etchingsinacow- with integratingtwocontrastingconcepts/elements/environments. Forinstance, inExhibition that hecalled “activities,” whichscientifically, aesthetically, andbiographicallyexperimented alongside thearidwadiandfantasizeaflowingriver. be distinguishedasthefirstIsraeliparticipatoryoutdoorHappening, invitingviewerstojourney Fischer 1971:n.p.). While conceivedbytheartistsasa “sound sculpture,” thisprojectcanalso a riverisshownormentioned[...W]ewillcreate/inventinJerusalem, a ‘sound’ river” (in in thelandscapeofJerusalem,” hewrote. “In theBible, ancientmaps, andfolkloreofJerusalem, flowing wateralongthewadi. “Thereisanunconsciousaswellarealneedforwetelement Batlle andGerryMarx, placedflowerpotswithhiddenloudspeakersemittingthesoundsof dry riverbed, inJerusalem, facingtheJudeandesert. Neustein, incollaborationwithGeorgette order hadbegunaftertheSix-Day War. entifically establishedlaws, biologicallaws, physicallaws” (63) were conceptualinthattheyfuturelessfromthestart sense, thatis, beyondhistory” (63). Inlightofthis, alloftheoutdooractivitiesduringthisphase laws ofnature” (63). Marcusefurtherstressedthat “only suchaprojectisUtopianinthestrict (1970:65). Suchwouldbethecase, hestated, “when aprojectforsocialchangecontradictsreal sive societiesintofreeones, “signify abreakratherthancontinuitywithprevioushistory” Marcuse maintainedthatutopias, intheirquintessentialintentionoftransformingrepres- War. Inhislecture “The EndofUtopia,” givenattheFreieUniversitätBerlinin1967, Herbert critical antiutopianresponsetotheeuphoricmoodthathadenvelopedIsraelafterSix-Day the situationinhubristicIsraelwasquitedifferent. These outdooractivitieswereadisillusioned World War IIworldorderanditsdevastatingeffects, andwerecallingformajorsocialreforms, young Europeansand Americans hadtakentothestreetsinprotestagainstprevailingpost- to thesociopoliticalsituationinIsraelattime. While inthelate1960smanythousandsof also challengednature, concretelyandsymbolically, andthus, Imaintain, criticallyresponded not onlyshedlightonthepoliticsofartfieldanditsmonopolyoverartisticcreation, but the confinesofconventionalartisticvenuesandtransplanteditintorealoutdoorenvironments Neustein, CohenGan, andotherconceptualartistswhoexpropriatedthefantasticimagefrom Sea beconnectedtotheoceanicwatersystem, norcouldCohenGanbeassimilatedin Alaska. dicted nature’slaws:FishcouldnotbetransplantedintotheDeadSea, norcouldtheDead like Neustein’sfantasticJerusalemRiver, werefuturelessfromthestart, becausetheycontra- half ofthe1970semployedtransplantationasaperformativemethod, andallofhisprojects, Dead Seawater, whichheemptiedathisdestination. All ofCohenGan’sactivities inthefirst eled towheretheIndianOceanand Atlantic Oceanmerge, transportingtwogallonsof end ofgeography” (1974:38);andintheCapeofGoodHopeProject(1974),- CohenGantrav 8. In termsofmobilizingartforsociopoliticalendsandfulfilling humanneeds, Avital Geva’s Between 1971and1974PinchasCohenGanperformedaseriesofenvironmentalprojects Haaretz (2 January 1972) 1971 and January 1972 and whose opinions regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict were published in Hebrew in The critical ideas developed by Marcuse — “to travelfromoneendoftheearthtoother, toreachyourownend, — were familiar to the young Israeli radical leftists. generation, particularly — the Jewish-German philosopher who visited Israel between December 8

— unable tocontradict “certain sci- — implying thatnonewhistorical Israeli Performance Art 49 Information- exhibi + project. During the four months of this outdoor project, the art- project, During the four months of this outdoor project.

A repeated concern of Geva was to investigate the indispensable relations between art and A repeated concern of Geva was to investigate held meet- mobile studio where they The group of artists used a derelict bus as a temporary, art as a sociocultural activity. “It is one big triangle,” said Geva: “The art, the industry, and the and the industry, “The art, Geva: said “It is one big triangle,” activity. art as a sociocultural of a by inventing some kind these elements intermediates between The art being. living human Experiment was the title Settlement 1973:37). (in Sharon sprout” causes the seeds to process that between Ein Shemer, in his kibbutz, that Geva conducted of conceptual art activities of a series in the kibbutz with he covered the streets As part of this series December 1970. October and stalks harvested from with fresh green the painted streets weeks later covered paint and some The transfer of the for a period. “The contours were thus eliminated the surrounding fields: unity [...] the neighborhood came created an illusion of environmental material from the fields (in Fischer the environment” the green agricultural background of into direct contact with the connection of the kibbutz to included on 5 October 1970, experiment, Another 1971:n.p.). the painted single yellow line that in Israel marks road extending the Aviv–Afula Tel the main the Concept shortly before and on 26 January 1971, edge of intercity roads; tion at the Israel Museum in February 1971, Geva performed a sequel action in which he con- Geva performed in February 1971, tion at the Israel Museum and the same yellow painted line, the main entry road of Jerusalem with nected the museum to - with the relationship between periph This action engaged to his kibbutz. metaphorically, thus, and self- between the ideals of a productive between art institution and kibbutz, ery and center, It also parodically responded and the aesthetic ideals of city dwellers. actualizing kibbutz society War (The Green Line) following the Six-Day to the debate over the state’s unsettled borders Bank. West and the occupation of the consumed, [...] is an art which will be produced, art of needs “An Azoulay explains: real needs. superstruc- and not in the community that needs it, and distributed within a particular social the commod- social and political) in which art is only one more commodity in tures (economic, as cooperative for public works,” “Artistic that end Geva envisioned an To (1993:75). ity market” Although he failed Gershuni (in Ofrat 1993:85). he described it in a 1972 letter to artist Moshe Yehezkel between June and October 1972 artists Micha Ulmann, to materialize this vision, Gershuni had followed Geva’s initiative and carried out a series of events near and Yardeni, Jewish set- an area that contains by other artists), Geva’s kibbutz (they were joined occasionally The agriculture. industry and educational institutions, factories and Arab villages, tlements and actions was to allow the participants to artistically main purpose of these outdoor experimental to the process bringing and demographic factors, ecological, respond to specific geographical, These young artists were very much inspired by the innovative and creative ways of thinking. Danziger with whom they used to meet in Geva’s kibbutz. Danziger, Yitzhak ideas of sculptor Ofakim Hadashim group but later became the most had been a member of the abstractionist and an advocate for the role of the artist in society, instrumental Israeli artist in reformulating Danziger’s most prominent environmental for art. the environment as a legitimate medium Collaborating with scientists from the project was the Rehabilitation of the Nesher Quarry (1971). initiated a program whose aim was to revital- Danziger in Haifa, Technology Israeli Institute of surrounding topography and flora. ize the quarry by reintegrating it into the later came to ings (among themselves and with invited visitors) and made preparations for what be known as the Metzer-Meiser orga- up meetings with members of the kibbutzim, set ists visited local factories and schools, experimented with various materials and found objects and nized symposia on ecological issues, All these activities were and conceptual works. used books) to create sculptural elements (e.g., as they intended environmental in both the strict and the broader humanistic sense of the word, to encourage collaboration to establish reciprocal relations between nature and industry, the gap between to minimize of course, and, region, Arab inhabitants of the between Jewish and reality emphasized the tension “on” and “in” These socio-ecological actions art and life. the epis- and stimulated discussion of the ontology, between the pragmatic and the aesthetic, In of art among the participating artists (Gershuni 2006). and the meaning the role, temology, Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00792 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00792 by guest on01 October 2021 50 Figure 5. Micha Ullman, Dror Harari pit in Kibbutz Metzer. (Photo by Micha Ullman) tity ofIsraeliZionistsociety” (1993:108). the Israelicase, referstothespecific, dominant, andprivilegedcollectivethat “definestheiden- while opposingindividualismandrelatedsocialpowerrelations, thenotionofcollectivism, in critical oftheseeminglysocialinterventionalstanceGeva’s collectiveprojects, statingthat liticized appropriation, ofcolonizationviaartisticreconceptualization. Furthermore, Hinskiis cific landintoa “landscape.” Hinskiarguesthattheseartworksareaform ofOrientalistdepo- Israeli landartwasanotherversionofterritorialoccupationthat transformshistoricallyspe- anti-Zionist tal projects. Shecontendsthatwhileonthesurfacethey seemantiestablishment by naturalprocesses. were thenhermeticallysealedanddepositedinanopenpit20-metersdeep, lefttobecovered of theirlife[...]thathinderdevelopment” inthebags(in Tamir 2014:281). The filledbags bags (whichwerealsomailedtopeopleinIsraelandoutsideit), askingthemtoput “fragments In anotheraction, artistDovOrNerprovidedinhabitantsofMeiserandMetzerwithplastic potential totransformreality. ronmental specificities, immersedinphysicallabor, drivenbycreativeenergy, andwiththe commodity. Instead, theytriedoutandcreatedartthatwasinspiredbyrespondedtoenvi- object-oriented art, challengingtheideaofindividualartistproducingworksartasa their interventionalartisticactivities, thegroupofartistsquestionednotionautonomous, 10. any solutionbasedon “land forpeace” (particularlyUNSecurityCouncilResolution242). rial imperative, arebukeofthearrogantIsraelileadershipwhoafterSix-Day War rejected 9. Israeli criticaltheoristSarahHinskideconstructsthepoliticalimportofGeva’senvironmen- /%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/IP%20S%20RES%20242.pdf. The UN Security Council Resolution 242 can be accessed at www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf question Hebrew word for message or moral lesson (meser), implying the need to talk over and solve the territorial While the original title of Ullman’s action was — Metzer-Meiser, 1972. — it later came to be better known as in fact, theyreflectandsharetheideologiesofestablishment. Sheassertsthat Digging an 80 Metzer-Meiser Land Exchange. × 80 × 80 cm — the name of the Arab village connoting the piece his famous, politicallycharged ites. MichaUllmanperformed and Arabs, farmersandurban- ies accessibletoeveryone, Jews to createopen-airmobilelibrar ous locationsintheareaorder tainers andplacethematvari- load usedbooksintoopencon- local recyclingpaperfactoryto made anagreementwiththe to theZionist-Israeliterrito- exchange wasacriticalresponse tual actofsoiltransplantation- dug-out soil. Ullman’sconcep- the exchanged nearby —and one inKibbutzMetzerlocated the Arab villageMeiserand pits, identicalinsize, onein ect): Hehaddugtwosquare gave itsnametothewholeproj- As partoftheproject, Geva Metzer-Meiser — specifically 9

(whichlater 10

- Israeli Performance Art 51 - 80 cm pit in the Arab village of of village Arab the in pit cm 80 × was struggling to find his place 11 80 × Digging an 80 an Digging he cannot assimilate into a new environment (see he cannot assimilate into a new environment , 1972. , Metzer-Meiser

The transition from object to performative practices during this second phase was also The transition from object to performative Cultural theorist Ella Shohat writes: “[O]fficial Israeli/Zionist policy urges Arab Jews (or, more generally, Oriental Oriental generally, more (or, Jews Arab urges policy Israeli/Zionist “[O]fficial writes: Shohat Ella theorist Cultural denies ideology official The Jewish. as identity real only their see to Mizrahim) or Sephardim as known also Jews, (1999:5–6). opposites” irreconcilable as Jewishness and Arabness positing Jews, Arab Arabness of the In light of Hinski’s reading, I think that Cohen Gan’s conceptual outdoor activities enacted I think that Cohen Gan’s conceptual outdoor activities In light of Hinski’s reading, in the newly born country whose cultural identity and social hegemony were utterly European- in the newly born country whose cultural considers himself Cohen Gan still for most of his life, Although he has lived in Israel oriented. like the fish of his Dead Sea Project and, lost his home, to be a Moroccan Jewish refugee who has Alaska project, to or himself in the Journey Harari 2015). These were either into the Israeli art discourse. reflected in the introduction of new terms one can find for instance, Thus, into Hebrew. used in their English original or translated (action) pe’ula ; and pe’ilut (activity), hitrahashut as well as its translated version, “Happening” (performance). mofaa and eruaa (event), an individualism that undermined the Israeli collectivist ethos. His futile transplantation proj- His futile transplantation collectivist ethos. an individualism that undermined the Israeli uprooting from his native Morocco and his migra- ects reflected his personal biography: his Migrating from a Muslim country, a year after the state’s establishment. tion to Israel in 1949, Mizrahi), (in Hebrew, “Easterner” Arab Jew, the Cohen Gan, Meiser. (Photo by Micha Ullman) Ullman) Micha by (Photo Meiser. cumstances. The Yom Kippur War of October 1973 traumatically cracked the foundation of the War Kippur Yom The cumstances. 11. Performance Art and the Body Performance this final phase in the transi- Not unlike the two previous phases but in more inextricable ways, historical cir tion from object to performance in Israeli art of the 1960s–’70s bears the scars of 1973–End of the 1970s Figure 6. Micha Ullman, Ullman, Micha 6. Figure Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00792 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00792 by guest on01 October 2021

52 Dror Harari Sharon Keren) parade action protesting guerilla the art military in Jerusalem. of (Courtesy Figure 7. Parade (May 1973). Traces of Gabi Klasmer and Sharon Keren’s by artstudents and byartistswhoreturnedfrom thewarbattle-scarred. most significantly, abhorrencefor the establishment(seeRam1998:342). Manywerecarried out tion wereunbearable. The radicalizedartactionsafterthewarreflectedtrauma, griefand, political leadershipandmilitary commandwereblindtotheacutenessofescalatingsitua - spectacle. and appropriatedmilitarysigns todenouncethefabricatedheroismofapproachingmilitary art action, executedshortlybeforetheparade, leftno evidence astotheidentityofitsinitiators needs aparade?” onthestreetswheretroopswereexpected tomarch. This graffitiguerilla cils topaintwhiteimagesofmarchingsoldiers, tanks, andairplanes, aswellthephrase “Who Day 1973. OnesuchguerillaactivitywasParade (May1973). KlasmerandKerenusedsten - to theIDFmilitaryparadethatwasscheduledtakeplacein JerusalemonIndependence Bezalel Academy of Arts andDesign, executedseveral guerilla andprotestactionsinresponse feared wouldquicklyescalateintoviolence, GabiKlasmerand SharonKeren, studentsatthe The highcostofhumanlivesin the Yom Kippur War andtherealizationthat smug In May1973, afewmonthsbeforethewarbutintense militarysituationthatmanyhad Israeli society. curity thathadtakenholdof expressed theexistentialinse- Israel afterthe Yom Kippur War in performanceandbodyart live acts. Likewise, theincrease their being(hereandnow)via to anexistentialpresence-ingof in theiractsofcreation, aspired artists, embodiedandpresent (1998:17). Hearguesthatthe caust, andtheatomicbomb after World War II, theHolo­ transience thatgripped many rience oflossandthesense 20th-century arttotheexpe- sition fromobjecttoactionin Paul Schimmelrelatesthetran- emergence ofaction-basedart, 2015:83). Inhisreviewofthe the “ThirdTemple”Harari (see situation tothedestructionof ment comparingthecalamitous Minister MosheDayan’scom- ulated bythethenDefense Israel duringthewarwasartic- existential distressthatgripped Failure). The magnitudeofthe is knownasHa’mechdal(The and militaryunpreparedness edness, strategicmisconception, guard. This politicalshortsight- off caught War —was Day power afteritssuccessfulSix- of itsmilitarysupremacyand Israel — ­ hubristic the warwasnotunexpected, Israeli experience. Eventhough overconfident Israeli Performance Art 53 - promi the by Mother Third The a young, socialist, agricultural agricultural socialist, young, a born from the Zionist ideal- born from — 12 (1969), (1969), Ketchup (1968), War Me and the Next You, —

(2011:445). man 13 satirizing Israeli militarism, its culture of bereavement and satirizing Israeli militarism, — Also significant in this respect were the satiric cabaret plays by the 14 no more canvases, marble, brushes, or paint; the artist’s body, his or paint; the artist’s body, brushes, marble, no more canvases, who heroically sacrifices himself in battle in order to save his comrades and the nation. the and comrades his save to order in battle in himself sacrifices heroically who — — antihegemonic representations of the Israeli-Zionist body shown as vulnerable, body shown as vulnerable, antihegemonic representations of the Israeli-Zionist —

emblematically represented in the image of the young, wholesome, and robust Israeli wholesome, in the image of the young, emblematically represented —

Queen of a Bathtub (1970) After the Six-Day War very few artists dared challenge the ethos of the chosen Israeli very few artists dared challenge the ethos War After the Six-Day Israeli critical anthropologist Meira Weiss writes that “The Zionist revolution that aimed to create a new a people create to aimed that revolution Zionist “The that writes Weiss Meira anthropologist critical Israeli movement cultural and political, national, a just not was Zionism new a for fit aspect. bodily unique a had land 2002:1). (Weiss revolution” bodily a also but liberation, of a specifically was Zionism that shows theory, Mosse’s George following Kamir, Likewise,Orit critic feminist legal Jewish the of movement liberation national exactly by play canonic Shamir’s Moshe to allusion critical-parodic a is piece grotesque Tumarkin’s of title The lament ballad-like the from line a to allusion an was itself name, which same the was Statehood after weeks two only 1948, May 31 on premiered play Shamir’s Alterman. Natan poet Israeli nent participating Arab-Israeli 1948 the battles of the in were women and men Israeli young many while and obtained Sabra the of ethos the glorifies and embodies Uri, character, main The War. laborer and warrior and laborer - to undermine collectiv aesthetic) led artists and artistic, authority (sociopolitical, Distrust of physical and most intimate experiences have turned into the subject of the work. turned into the subject of the work. physical and most intimate experiences have (Breitberg-Semel 1975) After the devastating Yom Kippur War, more and more artists rejected this heroic image more and more artists rejected War, Kippur Yom After the devastating Israeli artists were concerned with the self Several 1975 exhibitions showed how much has been barely shown in Israel and is This exhibition belongs to an art form that Art is characterized by the fact that the artist’s body becomes Body Art. called Body his raw material soldier who sacrificed himself for the greater good of the nation. One such critical response to himself for the greater good of the nation. soldier who sacrificed sculpture Tumarkin’s Yigal was of the invincible Sabra (native-born Jew) the heroic depiction is a gro- This War in 1967. the Six-Day first exhibited following , through the Fields Walked He of bronze and parts of machine soldier composed of an assemblage tesque portrait of a Sabra organ protruding from his military trousers, his sex mouth open in horror, showing his guns, and his body dismembered. body ist ideals, interests, and identities by turning to and presenting the body as a contested and ideo- as a contested and and presenting the body by turning to and identities interests, ist ideals, apart identity was ripped of collective Israeli “we” The fabricated social site. logically regulated Israeli The and personal experiences. suppressed identities of these artists exposed as the work 2002:1) (Weiss “the chosen body” of the body, conceptualization - In his anal shattered. was War, the Six-Day and exalted after “new Jew” vigorous ization of the Michael Gluzman century), Hebrew literature (late 19th and early 20th ysis of early modern was specif- “new Jew” the Zionist conceptualization and representation of claims that the bodily who was depicted “old Jew” repudiating the properties of the exilic decisively ically masculine, (2007:13). as debilitated and feminine 12. 13. 14. prominent Israeli playwright Hanoch Levin and the self as a source for artistic creation the concept of body art and of these exhibitions, With “This activity is related to albeit not without reservations: increased in the Israeli art discourse, one reviewer wrote lying beyond our borders,” a set of concepts that belong to the art world that not everything that is legitimate in a foreign “we should keep in mind who cautioned that Sabra heroism. To say that these works outraged many Israelis would be an understatement. many Israelis would be an understatement. say that these works outraged To Sabra heroism. and staging instead grotesque representations of moral and physical imperfection up front, impotency and injured. bleeding, feminine, Mizrachi, imperfect, disabled, These exhibitions needed to had been out-of-bounds. a subject that until then and the body, reviewing Gideon Gechtman’s landmark exhibition For example, be explained by art critics. Sarah Breitberg-Semel wrote: (1975), Exposure Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00792 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00792 by guest on01 October 2021

54 Dror Harari Figure 9. Motti Mizrachi, 15. (Photo by Gideon Gechtman) display of Gechtman’s shaved head and body hair in Perspex boxes. Figure 8. Gideon Gechtman, the myth of his self-castration fueled the local artistic imagination (see Ronnenthe myth of his self-castration fueled the local artistic 1976). A photo document of one of Schwarzkogler’s Via Dolorosa, 1973. (Photo by Avrali) Exposure, Yodfat Gallery, 1975. A Aktions was presented in Jerusalem at the Debel Gallery in 1975; a sampleofanartificialheart Gechtman’s artificialheartvalve, an x-rayofhisthoraxshowing Perspex boxesofvarioussizes, body hairpiledseparatelyin a displayofhisshavedheadand 1972 andoftheurineexcreted, during oneweekinDecember and medicinesconsumedperday the quantitiesoffood, liquids, he consumed, adetailedlistof jars ofthemonthlydosedrugs of themedicalstaff, adisplayin objects wereclose-upportraits tion ofsorts. Among Exposure ’s the exhibitionareconstruc- ricated documents, thusmaking the surgeryusingrealandfab- events andproceduresrelatedto revisiting andreenactingthe tion, itsdramaturgyreliedon no liveelementinthisexhibi- heart surgery. While therewas heart diseaseandhis1973open- tion thatopenlydealtwithhis was anautobiographicalexhibi- (Baharuzi 1976). in ordertorelievethemselves” to psycho-artisticphenomena These [young]artistshangon ventions art, whichitisnot. to beafreshandfreeofcon- was egoistic: “This issupposed many criticsthoughttheart lective, anddisembodied “we,” ied “I” againsttheabstract, col- that pitstheexistentialembod- itics ofthisnew(forIsrael)art Rather thanrecognizingthepol- intimate scars” (Natan1975). lic attentionbyexposingtheir art not contentwiththeworkof “There areartiststodaywho unsympathetically observed: ture” (Flexer1975). culture isacceptableinourcul- — Gideon Gechtman’sExposure they wanttoattractpub- 15 Another Israeli Performance Art 55 - - , 1973. (Photo by Avrali) by (Photo 1973. , Dolorosa Via Figure 10. Motti Mizrachi, Mizrachi, Motti 10. Figure - - - Mizrachi was one of the pioneers of Israeli body and performance 16

With respect to this observation, it is important to mention that many young Israeli artists early 1970s, the in observation,this to Israeli importantis respect it young that many mention to With and inspira- particularlyart,of students knowledge of arton counted heavily who source major a as journals although words, other performance In images. still of form the in documentation as mainly encountered tion, distinc- ontological the make not did they journals, those in newthe discovered they artistic by enthused trends performance(the) as accepted they which documentation, its and act Consequently, se. per live the between tion performance-making:of methods artists performanceor action of terms in thought who three of one in engaged usually spectators, occasional of presence the in or spectators; invited of front in live work their executing either (performedimage photographic staged single a as spectatorship photography). future a for or outdoors; Motti Mizrachi’s exhibition The second item was a fabricated medical record allegedly written and signed by the intern a fabricated medical record allegedly written The second item was 16. ents who, not being able to cater not being ents who, to grow sent him to his needs, he fell When up in a kibbutz. sick while on the kibbutz he was embarrassed to tell anyone that Gechtman he did not feel well. is cited in the medical record as “The kibbutz society is saying: unsympathetic to weaknesses” While the (Gechtman 1975). accusations refer specifically to they his parents and the kibbutz, seem to be directed in general to the insensitivity of Israeli society towards whoever falls short of its standards. (1975) at the Sarah New Faces Gilat gallery in Jerusalem com- prised a series of photographic documentation including what Philip Auslander terms “per formed photography”: “perfor mances [that] were staged solely prior existence as autonomous events presented to be photographed [...] and had no meaningful The space of the document [...] thus becomes the only space in which the perfor to audiences. ther stripped of his manhood, identity, and power (shades of Delilah giving Samson his haircut, haircut, giving Samson his (shades of Delilah and power identity, of his manhood, ther stripped during and of the concentration camps of prisoners of the 1973 war, but also resonating images the Holocaust). The the history of the disease. detailing for his surgery in 1973, who had admitted Gechtman the cause record suggested that medi- of Gechtman’s acute neglect cal condition was his par as a child by his biological (2012:49). mance occurs” valve, photographs of the hospital building and bed, and the patient’s discharge letter. A record - A discharge letter. and the patient’s building and bed, of the hospital photographs valve, medically autobi- the exhibition’s artificial valve heightened sound of Gechtman’s ing of the a video an ethical-political overtone: strongly added of the items Two ambiance. ographical orig- reenactment of the The videoed being completely shaved. naked Gechtman showing the being fur exposed, a man embarrassingly gallery visitors with confronted the inal procedure art. Already as a student at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, his work was Arts and Design in Jerusalem, Academy of Already as a student at the Bezalel art. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00792 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00792 by guest on01 October 2021

56 Dror Harari (PhotoDesert. by Rivka Meyers) Figure 11. Motti Mizrachi, The BindingofIsaac. Kippur War, MizrachistagedtwoperformedphotographsintheJudeandesert: Bindingsand her growinginterestinsynesthesiaaswellconcernwith bodyart: art, inthetraditionofconceptualart. graph asdocumentation, asamaterialconservationofsomerealhappeningoutsidetheplace timony. Itbearspoliticalramificationsthatexceedtheordinarystrategicfunctionofphoto- same time, ontologically, adocumentofsomethingthathappened, and, epistemologically, ates- about the event. implies thepresenceofsomeexterioronlookerorwitnesswhomightyetsavehimtestify angle shotofonethephotographsestablishesMizrachi’shelplessnessbut, atthesametime, ing fromhisbodyalongthesurroundingslopestobeyondphotographicframe. The aerial in thecenter, longstripsofblacknylonconnotingparachutecordsattachedtohimand stretch- Binding ofIsaac, Mizrachiisseenlyingfacedowninanaridravine, hisnakedbodymoreorless seen leaningagainstaboulder, half-naked, eyesshut, andrope-bound. Inthebetter-known The tions tothewarwerehisfirstattemptsatstagingphotographicself-portraits. InBindings, heis 18. 17. musical stimulation. (Weinfeld 2016) could bedonesynesthetically, forexampletocommunicate atactilesensationviavisualor someone elseyoursensationwhenyouprickyourselfwithaneedle? And Ithoughtthatit One ofthehardestthingstocommunicateinwordsissensations. Howdoyousharewith Juki) YochevedWeinfeld’s 1975exhibitionPains ( attheDebelGalleryinJerusalemreflected The photographasasingularmodeofrepresentation/recording/reportingisatoneandthe titled for the camera These two performances were shot onthe same occasion creating a series of photographs together self-mythologization. school’s bulletin board (Mizrachi 2005 and 2016). he scattered at school. On next to a mirror another occasion he placed one of his printed portraits on the tion. Sometime before performing presencing that responded to the Bezalel freshmen’s indifference to his status as head of the student associa- Mizrachi said that Sacrifice. Bindings, Via Dolorosa 18 Exemptfrommilitaryservicebecausehewasdisabled, Mizrachi’sreac-

1973. Performed photograph in the Judean started off as a parodicstarted attempt at forming a personality cult; an act of self- Via Dolorosa, Mizrachi produced screen which prints of his self-portrait, Via Dolorosa was an amplification of this motif, an act of ers. ferers, martyrs, andredeem- myth andwithalonglineofsuf- experience withtheChristian Mizrachi associatedhisbodily photograph ofhisself-portrait. his backanenlargedicon-like his crutchesandcarryingon city ofJerusalem, supportedby Jesus’s mythicrouteintheold Dolorosa (1973), Mizrachiwalked ual acts(Mizrachi2016). InVia mythic symbols, images, andrit- performative-transformative infused himwiththepowerof religious background, which ing, disabledbodyandtohis tightly connectedbothtohisail- response tothecalamitous Yom 17 Laterthatyear, asadirect Israeli Performance Art 57 Yocheved Yocheved - was not intended to be feminist Weinfeld Yocheved Figure 12. Yocheved (Juki) Weinfeld’s performance of actions alluding to Jewish performance Jewish to alluding actions of Weinfeld’s (Juki) Yocheved 12. Figure partas rituals, cleansing exhibition her of mourningwomen’s and . Debel Gallery, 16 May 1976. (Photo by David Darom; courtesy of Darom; David by (Photo 1976. May 16 Gallery, Debel . Weinfeld Weinfeld) Yocheved dealt with “daily dealt with Pains

. Natan paraded in Tel Aviv wearing on her head a T-shape plywood T-shape wearing on her head a Aviv Tel Natan paraded in . Head Sculpture at Debel Weinfeld Yocheved

Weinfeld’s next exhibi- Weinfeld’s saw writ- Efrat Natan studied privately with Raffi Lavie in whose library she Weinfeld, Like sculpture she had built, alluding variously to the cross, an airplane, and a minimalist shaman’s an airplane, to the cross, alluding variously sculpture she had built, This solitary and introverted outdoor piece questioned Israel’s imagined collectivity head mask. and extroverted self-confidence. tion, tion, was even Gallery in May 1976, addressing her more personal, her family’s biog- recent divorce, and the death of her raphy, This multimedia exhi- mother. bition comprised family photo- images from her Stitches graphs, series — processed photographs face, depicting parts of her body, and palms that appeared to be and a video stitched together, artwork responding to excerpts Karo’s 1563 codex Yosef from . Aruch Shulchan of Jewish laws, on 16 May, In this exhibition, gave one performance Weinfeld of a piece that consisted of a sequence of 19 scripted actions alluding to Jewish mourning and women’s cleansing rituals. A female performer who resem- (bled a mikveh Jewish ritual bath) attendant aggressively performed the actions on the passively asserts that While Weinfeld seated Weinfeld. manipulation of her passive female body inevita- images of abjection and the insensitive (2016), bly imparts such a reading. and Acconci, Vito Klaus Rinke, ing about and pictures of the body art of Bruce Neumann, which she document her experiments with body art, In 1972 Natan started to Rebecca Horn. In herself. saw as a new strategy of conceptual art and a more straightforward means to express Natan per IDF military parade in Jerusalem, a day after the grandiose and provocative 1973, formed In contrast to the national In contrast War, Kippur Yom pains of the Weinfeld’s “unpleasant anecdotal pains,” one like the stinging sensations,” under the eyelids experiences pain when tired or the minor trimmed of having one’s nails pain Each exhibited (2016). consisted of three elements: (when a scientific explanation - descrip Weinfeld’s available), experience tion of her personal object and a visual of the pain, that captured and synesthetically communicated the pain. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00792 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00792 by guest on01 October 2021

58 Dror Harari Aviv, 1973. (Photo by Yair Garbuz) Figure 13. Efrat Natan performing urination, laundered clothes, andwateredplants. ing theJordanRiver, andindeedinafewofheractions, fluidsflowedasshestagedimagesof her childhoodmemories. The objectsweredisplayedonalongsheetofblacknylon represent- skin) andwithfragmentsoftexts, Natanperformedacollageofactionsandimagesalluding to Jordan River(e.g., boots, apail, abarrel, milkchurn, redflag, bed andmattress, cowbonesand body” (Natan2006). With variousobjectsshehadbroughtfromher kibbutzonthebankof much differencebetweenthisandtheatre, apartfromthe factthatIdiditwithmyveryown more anautobiographical, surrealist, visualtheatrepiece thanaHappening: “There wasnot duce arealeffectinsociety(Ben-Meir2009). performative manifestations, particularlyMizrachi’s, were actionsbecausetheyintendedtopro- cacy. Hemaintainsthatincontrasttotherepresentational qualityofthelatter, certain1970s Ben-Meir distinguishes “actions” from “performance art” onthebasisoftheirrespectiveeffi- Europe andtheU.S.A.” (506). LookingintoIsraeliartofthe 1970swithrespecttoBeuys, Kobi been comparedtotheconceptofartistasashamanin artofthesixtiesandseventiesin wholeness andunity” (1998:508). Headdsthat “expressions of ‘tikkun’ inIsraeliarthaveoften pate inthereformationorreintegrationofhavayah [Being]andraiseittoahigherlevelof specifically referstotheHebrewKabalisticnotionoftikkun: “to mend, torepair, topartici - body artofGideonGechtmanandMottiMizrachi, asattemptstohealanailingsociety. Omer works discussedabove, includingthelandartofMichaUllmanandPinchasCohenGan myth onmultipleIsraeliartistsinthe1970s. MordechaiOmer, forinstance, viewedmanyofthe as ashamanicritual. SheperformeditagaininJuneattheBezalel Academy of Arts andDesign. Acknowledging theeffectithadonaudienceandherdebttoBeuys, NatanthoughtofMilk It wasaccompaniedbyKarlheinzStockhausen’smournfulvocalpieceStimmung(Mood;1968). then squeezeditbackintothemilkchurn. The wholesequencetookapproximately15minutes. the stairswherespectatorsstood. Natanthendescendedthestaircase, wipingupthemilk, and Shmona. Natanpouredmilkdownastaircaseandwatcheditformpuddleatthebottomof response toaterrorattackthathadtakenplaceshortlybeforeinthenortherncityofKiryat to Staircases, wasperformedinMay1974atthe Art Teachers Training CollegeinHerzelia, in and quiteintensivelythroughthematerialtheatrical” (Natan2016). Milk, aHappening In 1975NatanstagedTheJordan Bridges atthe Artists Housein Tel Aviv. This workwas Several IsraeliarthistorianspointedoutthestronginfluenceofBeuys’sart, persona, and Head Sculpture near Dizengoff streetnear Dizengoff in Tel to attendtheautobiographical works [...T]hiswasaproposition Beuys for instancein[Joseph] new, andwewantedtojoin[...] autobiographical wassomething and painting, theadventof abstraction, minimalsculpture cal circumstances: “After lyrical personal responsetohistori- In theseworks, sheofferedher skills intheplasticarts” (2006). matic formsincombinationwith tion towardscontentanddra- suited mypersonalinclina- to measthemeansthatmost seemed atricality: “Happenings their narrativestructureandthe- works asHappeningsbecauseof ferent. Natanconsideredthese 1974 and1975wereverydif- Natan’s performancesof Israeli Performance Art 59 e.g., e.g., — at the Tel Aviv Artists House, 1975. Waving the red flag. flag. red the Waving 1975. House, Artists Aviv Tel the at (February 1971), and most significantly in Open and most significantly Information (February 1971), + The Jordan Bridges Jordan The The First Festival of Israeli Performance Art Art Performance of Israeli Festival The First — he replaced the conventional “archival” logic of the museum, which accumulates logic of the museum, “archival” he replaced the conventional

—

Gechtman, Mizrachi, Weinfeld, and Natan performed the grotesque, imperfect, and change- imperfect, performed the grotesque, and Natan Weinfeld, Mizrachi, Gechtman, exhibition, in June 1976, Gideon Ofrat curated in June 1976, exhibition, Seven months after the Open Workshop able body to contrast the standardized image of the perfect or perfectible Israeli body (see able body to contrast the standardized image with the logic of dualist ontology (stable/fluid, While the chosen body complies 2002). Weiss body defeats termination and death because it is the changeable live/dead), abled/disabled, Performing the sacrificed and redeemed. time, liminal and open: alive and dead at the same chosen body body was at one and the same time a critique of the heroic (but dead) “unchosen” generative alternative. and its vital, June 1976 June Meitzag 76 art were admitted into the Israel Museum In November 1975 live action and performance with Serge Fisher in collaboration Yona exhibition curated by as part of the Open Workshop conceptualized to allow the The exhibition was who had just graduated from Bezalel. Spitzer, with the audi- aiming to make contact “work in situ for several weeks, participating artists to of Israeli and modern curator Fischer, 1975). (Fischer ence throughout their creative process” played a decisive part in fostering art in the Israel Museum and aficionado of the avantgarde, In some of the exhibitions he curated the performative turn in Israeli art (Harari 2017). (February 1967), Concept (February 1967), Labyrinth Figure 14. Efrat Natan’s Natan’s Efrat 14. Figure (Photo by Dganit Berest) Dganit by (Photo and presents “tangible items supposedly resistant to change” (Taylor 2008:92), with the contin- 2008:92), (Taylor resistant to change” “tangible items supposedly and presents performance and that is, “repertoire,” recognizes as the Taylor gent methodology of what Diana (2003:17). “embodied praxis” focused mainly on artists performing a scheduled Artists House, Aviv Tel 76 at the Meitzag Workshop Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00792 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00792 by guest on01 October 2021

60 Dror Harari Kippur War. fed theproliferationofperformance-basedpracticesinBezalelyearsfollowing Yom the other, addedtothechangingsociopoliticalandaestheticagendasofearly1970s, and on aestheticperformativism(histerminology)theonehandandradicalperformance Bread andPuppet Theater, andtheSanFranciscoMime Troupe. The fusionofthesediscourses, methods andideologiesof American alternativetheatregroupssuchastheLiving Theatre, the students tothenotionofKirby’s “new theatre,” theaestheticsofHappenings, aswelltothe he examinedconceptualart, includingworksbyBeuysand Acconci. Ofratalsointroducedhis ofArt, andhisnotionofthe Definition “performative conceptionofart” (1975:157). Inthisclass 2006). OneofOfrat’scoursesatBezaleldrewonhisdoctorate, whichhepublishedasThe the HebrewUniversityinJerusalemandatBezalel Academy of Arts andDesign(Ofrat native theatre. UponhisreturntoIsraelin1971, Ofrattaughtinthe Theatre Departmentof enthralled bythepowerofstudentprotestsaswellinnovationsandpotentialitiesalter he spentayearinthelate1960satBrownUniversity. While intheUnitedStateshebecame and Philosophyat Tel Aviv Universityandaspartofhispostgraduate studies inphilosophy program ofeventsforattendingaudiences. OfratgraduatedfromtheDepartmentsof Theatre 19. the endofdecade. 1970s hadsowntheseedsthat sprouted intoanexcitingperformanceartscene, renounced itby enthusiastic artists(amongthemteachersandstudentsofart), whoatthebeginningof formance art’savantgardismhadrunitscourse, becomingapast fashionorfad. Manyformerly Treaty inMarch1979. Underchangingcircumstancesofthismagnitude, itappearedasifper Party defeatingtheLaborforfirsttime, and thesigningofEgypt-IsraelPeace of the1970s Moreover, thedifference wasaresponsetomajorchangesinIsrael’spoliticsthesecondhalf added: “Basically, theneweramarksareturntoexperiential essenceinpainting” (1981:3). is nolongerdoubtthatthe1980sinIsraeliartwillbegreatly different fromthe1970s.” Scheps years ithasbecomeclearthatweareinatimeofradicalchange, andbytheendof1981there by theendof1970slocalartscenehadshiftedbackto theartobject: “In thelastthree of praised theendeavorandindicateditshouldhappenmorefrequently. Itdidnot. works weretoosimplistic, superficial, amateurish, andmeaningless. Nonetheless, mostcritics reactions. Criticspointedtotheartists’mishandlingoftimestructuring, andthefactthatmany 1979b:9) laconic titleofherreviewfollowingtheeventreveals mous possibilities. Ithasfinallyarrived,” wroteartcriticZlilaOrgad(1979a:9). However, asthe been waitingeveryyearsince1976foranartisticgatheringofthismedium, whichholdsenor exhibition ofperformancearttookplace important, highlightthegrowingpresenceofperformanceartin1970sIsrael. neologism wasawaytocreatespecialHebrewtermreflect, conceptualizeand, noless (1976:n.p.). visual artobject[...]andhatzaga [stagedtheatreplay]withitsovertonesoftheatricalaction” tuting, ashewrote, “a hybridofthenounsmutzag [itemondisplay]withitsconnotationsofa to performanceart. teachers atBezalel. This exhibitionmarkedtheculminationoftransitionfromartobject A TurningPointIsraeli —12Artistsexhibition, curatedin1981bySarahBreitbergSemel, that Marc Scheps, directorofthe Tel Aviv Museumof Art, wrote inhisprefaceforthecatalogue Meitzag 76wasgenerallywellreceivedbycriticsandspectators. Three yearslater, another For 2005; Klasmer 2016; Mizrachi 2005 and 2016). Ofrat’s (see for example Kerenactivity in Bezalel was expressed contribution to performance in several interviews Meitzag 76, OfratcoinedtheHebrewtermmeitzag (meaningperformanceart),- consti — the showsdidnotmeetherexpectations. Indeed, Meitzag 79wasmetwithmixed Meitzag 76providedalegitimate, institutionalstageforperformanceart. Ofrat’s 19 — MostoftheartistswhoparticipatedinMeitzag 76werenewgraduatesandyoung most significantly, thepoliticalupheavalinelections of1977, theLikud — Meitzag 79. This wasalong-awaitedevent: “I have — “Performance art...boredom” (Orgad - - - Israeli Performance Art 61

- ]. Exhibition catalogue, curator Yona Fischer. Fischer. Yona curator Exhibition catalogue, Information]. + Informatzia [Concept + . Milan: Politi Press. . Art in Israel Musag Musag

–289. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv Museum Aviv of Art. Tel Aviv: Tel –289.

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