r- After Rabln NewArt frorm lsra After Rabln NewArt from 'Aya & Gal'Ido Bar-El 'Avner Ben-Gal . i-::;has Cohen Gan'Nurit David ' Belu-Simion Fainaru ' Barry Frydlender lsrael ' Gideon Gechtman ' \{oshe Gershuni' Pesi Girsch ' Israel Hershberg'Nir Hod . Joel Kantor Zvika Kantor 'Uri Katzenstein' Roi Kuper Moshe Kupferman . i'= Lavie . Merilu Levin . Limbus Group'Ariane Littman-Cohen 'Hilla Lulu Lin . Tal Matzliah . Adi Nes . Lea Nikel. Moshe Ninio Ibrahim Nubani' Gilad Ophir David Reeb . Simcha Shirman . Doron Solomons . Igael Tumarkin ' Uri Tzaig'Micha Ullman ' Pavel Wolberg S - SA N TU M A R K lN C OO D MAN WithcontributionsbyAdamBaruch,YaronEzrahi,TaliTamir After Rabin: An Introduction SUSAN TUMARKIN COODMAN by the artists demon- I recently gave a lecture on contemPorary Israeli art degree of innovation encompassed undermines any monolithic at a synagogue in NewYork City' My presentation, which strate how decisively their work themselves explored current artistic developments in Israel as well cultural or aesthetic point of view. If they see past decades, it is in terms as preeminent contemPorary Israeli artists, was met with in the reflection of Israeli art of past art almost unanimous discomfort and unease. The audience of their actively deconstructing or reinterpreting raised questions about the loss of aesthetic values forms and conventions. capture the flavor of and authenticity, about the art becoming arid and devoid Yet, as this exhibition seeks to by considering of spirituality, and too focused on discord and pain. a turbulent, splintered time in Israeli society I offer this anecdote to illustrate the difficulty for a stylistically and ideologically diverse group of artists, the works many Americans of accepting the harsh, unadorned, we note that, despite the plurality of styles, and social references often subversive work of current artists in Israel today. disclose a common sensibility. Political is an art that projects It also indicates the extent to which Israel is subject to may be indirect or explicit, but this Even in the American expectations, and how difficult it for a museum an inner turmoil-without nostalgia or comfort. personal concerns' if in New York to address the reality of contemporary work of artists who express intensely victims Israeli culture free of preconceptions, myth, or clich6. we dig more deeply we may find an elegy for the to the stress of life in Israel. Artists who American Jews confronted with new Israeli art are forced to of war or a response for its very acknowledge that the country in which they have invested live in a society that continues to struggle pervades their lives hopes and dreams, and which many still regard as the survival cannot ignore the tension that is little wonder that each work has an ultimate Jewish haven, can no longer be perceived in mono- and thoughts. It of uncen- lithic or utopian terms. In fact, the history of art in Israel undercurrent and is committed to the expression is a complex one, determined by numerous factors relating sored opinions. Israeli art, to language, culture, religion, and politics. Contemporary In this exhibition catalogue, leading role and place of Israeli art is neither circumscribed by a national ideology cultural, and social critics write about the and in the world at large' nor by a prevailing concept or uniform aesthetic vision. Israeli art within their own society We focus in this exhibition and catalogue on new Their observations are insightful: they describe how exploring art created during the three years since the assassination of the gaze of Israeli artists may be turned toward as problem Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, presenting the work personal identity or societal issues, such the the ongoing of both established and emerging artists working in Israel of survival in an antagonistic political climate' of culture today. They have all lived outside the country, many for absorption of new immigrants, internal clashes and idealist extended periods. Although the artists are highly visible at and communities, a deterioration of collective dream that home, and a number have been recognized internationally, values, and the loss (or success) of the Zionist the majority will be unknown here. The careers of these mobilized the creation of the state. Israel today is also diverse artistic personalities span four generations, ranging increasingly multicultural and diverse-with its different from the work of Lea Nikel, who was born in 1918 in ethnic communities that include recent immigrants from Zhitomir, the Ukraine, and immigrated to Palestine when Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union, polarized religious Arab minority, she was a young child, to that of Nir Hod, who was born in and anti-religious factions, a more vocal Tel Aviv in 1970. The range of styles, perspectives' and the and men and women concerned with the implications of gender all seeking self-definition, influence, and expression and originality. rvithin the culture. Most of these different assertions of The omission of certain artists and works should identity run counter to the normative, traditional, and, in also be noted. Ibraham Nubani (plate 35) is the only Arab the past, collective view. And since many Israeli artists Israeli artist shown in the exhibition. Another Arab lsraeli believe it is their role to confront cultural stereotypes and artist who was asked to participate in the context of the to eschew preconceived loyalties, they often project a 50th anniversary of the founding of Israel refused on the subversive or marginal point of view-directly or implicit- grounds that it would be construed as an endorsement iy-in their critiques of sociological, political, ecological, of official policies toward Israel's Arab citizens. Clearly, ethnic, ideological, and aesthetic issues. artists who share this viewpoint have asserted their cultural, By the very nature of their work, Israeli artists who religious, ethnic, and political identity in Israel as Arabs. follow the subversive path create a wedge between them- Another voice unrepresented in this exhibition is that of the selves and their public-including an American public that, Orthodox Jewish community, in part reflecting the fbr reasons of nostalgia and sympathetic identification, secularism of the Israeli art world; the religious communi- or to justifr their own support of the country, may prefer to ties have produced very few artists in Israel. One whom celebrate Israel's achievements rather than focus on its we had hoped to present declined to participate because problems and failed hopes. Contemporary Israeli art that we did not select work that expressed his view of "Israeli ignores, baffles, or makes fun of its audience runs the risk values." of offending that audience. If we have identified certain broad and inclusive A goal of this exhibition and catalogue is to portray themes in the art, they are obviously loose and fluid, and the vitality and innovation that characterize the work of they overlap and interconnect. Nevertheless, the works artists who currently live in Israel. We did not aim to select represent cultural perspectives and concerns ranging from artists who fit into stylistic molds, or whose work could political and social critiques to the most personal passions simply be identified as Israeli. Rathet the art reveals a and preoccupations. For certain artists, there seems no configuration of seemingly eclectic, often competing, visions choice but to focus on a society under stress by capturing and attitudes toward Israeli life that has emerged and and illuminating its pervasive anxiety, tension, and disquiet. evolved in the years following Rabin's death. This group As engaged citizens, these Israeli artists understand that a exhibition cannot claim to represent the range or complexi- work of art is not ideologically neutral, but implicitly takes a ty of Israeli artistic development and thinking even during position. Works of art can be used to comment on specific this brief three-year period, and this selective survey is social or political situations or to convey a particular intended to suggest the existence of a much greater reservoir message. They also employ the more explicit rhetoric of of mature and rich material. Furthermore, the curatorial shock that overturns conventional expectations, forcing us choice has been made by an outsider, an American, based on to confront widespread concerns about security, military personal appraisal resulting from countless conversations service, war, terrorism, occupation, and the ongoing battle rvith Israeli artists, curators, and critics, along with for territory. Military themes are prominent in Israeli life viewings of the art. The choice of artists-which includes and art, understandably since mandatory service swallou,s both emerging and established figures-was intended up three years in the lives of men (and two years for to assert the importance of artists demonstrating risk women), in addition to one month each year-until age 55 slorving down of the peace for men and age 50 for women-spent in the reserves. change oi government, and the had a The Limbus Group's Embroideries of Generals (plate 4), for process negotiated in Oslo are events that have life of the coun- example, deconstructs the mythic Israeli war hero and decisive influence not onlv on the political leader-and cult of the macho male-by displaying trr', but also on its cultr,rral development' Any consideration deep portraits of former Israeli Army chiefs of staff printed on of art during the last terr'r-eats t.l.tust acknorvledge the That moment on needlepoint canvas, a material traditionally associated with sense of loss surrounding Rirbir.r's murder. aura of hope domestic life and women's decorative crafts. Nor-en.rber -1, 199,i, destroi'ed the e\traordinary Israel. Rabin's There is a strong emotional tone to much socially- and liberation that had tlorvered brief'lv in the snbraleadet in an and politically-oriented art.