Local Art Between Wars.2C 1967-1982 Visual arts in Israel

1 local art between wars, 1967-1982

1.1 art of protest
1.2 want of matter
1.3 post conceptual art in 1970s
1.4 place , concept , action
1.5 identity , body
1.6 political art
1.7 1980s in israeli art
1.8 1990s , after

local art between wars, 1967-1982

yigal tumarkin

he walked through fields, 1967

until 1970s, mainstream israeii art dealt broad artistic , personal spectrum but, part, ignored political issues. artists portrayed cultural or jewish content in works considered anachronistic artistic establishment of time.

in 1960s american artistic influences began reach israel, abstract expressionism, pop art, , later, art pauvre of conceptual art. in addition bringing new artistic forms, these influences introduced direct engagement political , social issues. events of 6 day war , yom kippur war intensified these influences , led variety of politically charged artistic expressions became trademark of entire generation of younger artists. under influence of american conceptual art, there developed among israeli artists tendency emphasize dimension of artistic creativity, is, ars poetica discourse, , how perceived viewer of art within society. in spirit, artistic activity in israel seen part of country s social-political reality.

art of protest

among first artists began express these artistic influences in works sculptor , painter igael tumarkin, art expressed engagement burning political issues. @ encouragement of yona fischer , sam dubiner, tumarkin returned israel in 1961 east berlin, had been set manager of berliner ensemble theater company, under direction of berthold brecht. works, such panic on trousers (1961) created expressive assemblages. sculpture take me under wings (1964–65) (the first line in well-known poem hayyim nahman bialik), example, tumarkin created sort of steel casing rifle barrels sticking out of it. sculpture s mixture of nationalism, lyricism, , eroticism became tumarkin s hallmark in 1960s , 1970s. technique can seen in famous sculpture walked in fields (1967) (the same name moshe shamir s famous story), protested against image of mythological sabra ; tumarkin strips off skin , exposes torn innards weapons , ammunition protrude , stomach, contains round bomb looks suspiciously uterus. during 1970s tumarkin s art evolved include new materials influenced earth art , such dirt, tree branches, , pieces of cloth. in way tumarkin sought sharpen focus of political protest against saw one-sided approach of israeli society toward arab-israeli conflict.

after six-day war israeli art started gravitate away describing war , symbolic content. tumarkin s sculpture still dealt it, began express in variety of more abstract ways.

want of matter

raffi lavie

untitled, 1969

israel museum, jerusalem



michal na aman

anal, banal, canal, 1978

tel aviv museum of art

in mid-1960s group called 10+ appeared on scene. group, led artist raffi lavie, sought alternative lyric abstraction of new horizons group. important innovations of school importing pop art , avant garde art israel, developing unpolished style, , combining photography, readymade, , collage. among many artists in group buky schwartz, ziona shimshi, pinchas eshet, tuvia beeri, uri lifschitz, , others. since ostensibly lacked clear ideology, group focused on organizing series of exhibits in galleries tried emphasize idea of blurring of distinctions between different kinds of media in contemporary art. in addition, group pioneering force in introduction of video art israel. although 10+ officially disbanded in 1970, members of group carried on spirit , style, taking final form group revolved around art school college (ha-midrashah). esthetic principle of group came called want of matter .

the theoretical underpinning of group established curator sara breitberg-semel, in exhibit want of matter: quality in israeli art , took place in march 1986 in tel aviv museum. roots of style found, according her, in wide acceptance of european , american art in israel, pop art, art pauvre, , conceptual art. these influences expressed use of industrial materials, such plywood, industrial paint, collages , assemblages, etc. element, in breitberg-semel s opinion no less central, non-aesthetic approach, roots of allegedly found in jewish tradition of talmudic studies, places text, , not form, @ center of culture.

according breitberg-semel, want of matter began painting of new horizons group. members of group developed style came called lyrical abstract , within framework of painters created abstracted form of reality expressionistic overtones. works of followers, aviva uri , arie aroch, used national aesthetic model called want of matter , utilizing materials in art compatible ascetic outlook , combining abstraction implied iconography.

visually, want of matter style distilled characteristics these diverse influences, preferring painting three-dimensional sculpture. overall, style can summed focusing on use of low-cost materials identified establishment of israel, such plywood, cardboard, collages photographs arranged collages, industrial paints, , writing , scribbling within work. use of these materials gave intentionally humble appearance surface of paintings, meant add dimension of criticism artists toward israeli society.

in article accompanying want of matter exhibition, breitberg-semel focuses on raffi lavie typical representative of style. lavie s work typifies tel aviv spirit , european-zionist modernism mixed neglect , abandonment. on years image of raffi lavie himself, dressed in sloppy short pants , rubber flip-flops, intentionally native , sabra in appearance, displayed expression of problematic aesthetic approach. lavie s paintings, include childish scribble, collages of magazine pictures, posters advertising tel aviv cultural events, stickers words head or geranium printed on them, , recognizably, sawed-off sheets of plywood painted chalky white, came epitomize want of matter style.

in addition crystallizing clear visual language, lavie careful keep discussion of work on formalist level. in interviews consistently avoided interpretation of work outside sphere of artistic language in modernist form. in spite of clear iconographic imagery in work, lavie insisted these images of no historical importance. furthermore, according lavie , breitberg-semel, use of collages , other materials lacked halo of artistic approval, meant undercut , undermine significance of visual images. lavie s students continued formalist approach in art, consistently relating modernist tradition, in works visual images began appear made difficult maintain lavie s didactic separation of form , content .

yair garbuz s connection lavie dates time young man. number of years lavie garbuz s private teacher. [44] later garbuz went being pupil being senior teacher in college . garbuz s work these years combines characteristics of zionist ethos, reflected in popular culture, political , social criticism. two-dimensional works 1970s include mix of newspaper photos, documentary photographs, texts , other objects, combined in compositions have no clear hierarchy. of works, such evenings (arabs) pass quietly (1979) , arab village in israel resembles life of our forefathers in ancient times (1981), criticized stereotypes rampant in israeli society. in installation if not giant @ least in garden (1981), garbuz created environment saturated photographic images, of enlarged , turned sculptures in space. between images photographs of new immigrant transit camps , development towns, of father reading newspaper davar daughter, etc. in background recording of toy whistle can heard creating noise of toy forest .

michal na aman s works of 1970s used photography create collages. in these works na aman created images emphasized inadequacy of descriptive language , vision, , in way, showed possibility different , imaginative interpretations of visual representations. practical implications of debate or of axiomatic phrase demonstrated failure of descriptive language. against background of visual dimension of want of matter style, texts written in commercial style or in handwriting appeared, reflecting semiotic collapse of image presentation. examples of approach can found in loyal fish , bird (1977) or message according bird (1977), in na aman merges fish , bird images hybrid monsters. in other works, such series blue retouching (1975) see protest against society s accepted moral , esthetic principles.

in spite of clear feminist connections, in yehudit levin s works, see more personal , less intellectual approach in works of other students of raffi lavie. many of levin s works made of plywood , constructed @ end of 1970s , beginning of 1980s. in these works levin created compositions of sawed , painted plywood, accompanied photographs leaning against wall. names of these works, such bicycle (1977) or princess in palace (1978), suggest domestic connection. though these works three-dimensional, main interest lies in complex connection between drawing , visible area of work. work bursts out of frame , spreads out space.

post conceptual art in 1970s

benni efrat

energy, 1969

tel-aviv university, tel aviv-yaffo

conceptual post-minimalist installation artists avital geva, joshua neustein, micha ullman, buky schwartz, benni efrat, zvi goldstein, yochevet weinfeld, adina baron, nahum tevet, or ner, michael gitlin, pinhas cohen gan discarded conventions of taste, heroics of authenticity, , provincial narrative. sheer force , power of evading ‘taste’ while yet remaining in context of art, art redefined, field expanded , artist liberated achieve unique existence , value. (see clement greenberg)

the axioms of 1970s group indifference zionist aesthetics; general distaste regionalism, national myths, , individual heroics. avital geva’s exchange of cultures brought arab villagers , kibbutzniks exchange books 1 another. define purpose art, moved activity greenhouse grow vegetables , fish ponds resistant students, make art educational tool.

ullman’s berlin library created standard memorial sculpture. negative space sculptures made digging under ground. buky schwartz made perspective correction , earliest video art in country. neustein (in collaboration marx , batlle) made first environmental work. jerusalem river project 1971 sound river @ edge of judean desert. boots @ bet omanim jerusalem agglomeration –five truck loads- of army boots left various armies in region, piled random heaps.

joshua neustein, ash city bne brak , herzeliyah museum, 2000

joshua neustein s 5 ash cities geographic ambivalences realized in 5 museums in usa, germany, poland , israel. ash cities on-the-floor relief maps made tons of ashes , chandelier.

efrat’s “ararat express” 1986 procession of horses passed through streets. each horse carried television set on saddle. documentary film projected on television screens showed throngs of people displaced disaster, famine or war, wandering.

efrat, neustein , gitlin produced methodical, basic, severe graphics re-defined materials, tools , viewer s roles. efrat’s double silks , shadow pieces dealt concrete aspect of pictorial surfaces. neustein’s torn paper works, erased drawings, magnetic fields, steel wool, carbon copy drawings adhered unity , uniformity of making objects or images. transformed drawing three-dimensional practice yigal zalmona, josef maschek, robert pincus witten , other international critics called type of art epistemic abstraction . gitlin hacked plywood boards strategy devised neustein of removal , replacement. gitlin s sculptures, however, more architecturally oriented. nahum tevet’s work summarized james trainor: basic building blocks comprise tevet’s formal vocabulary of sculptural units, both small wall works , large, sprawling, encyclopedically heroic sculptural installations, simple, verging on platonically archetypal—the table, chair, box, boat hull, rectilinear plane, book-like block, framework armature, etc. sarit shapira wrote: in possible context, identify mutants of territory, or agents of de-territorialization. quasi-modeled arrangement of these works presents not model of given production mechanism of objects, or distinguish such model; @ most, model-proposal mechanism of objects not yet exist. purpose, tevet replicates items in limited series (the number of items replicated in each work limited, number of times tevet replicates entire works or major parts of them), distancing them automatic , motoric—that is, obedient , “blind”—reproductive mechanism.

these dozen artists not organized movement, there no manifesto rather there strong opinions , ideology, timely kinship found common desire collective agenda. referred post minimal, or conceptual, elaborate israeli visual culture , escape hegemony single group. hallmark public exposures in 5 shows: concept + information 1971 (musag + informazia), beyond drawing 1974, kibbutz ashdod exhibition mikum kivun 1978, 1970s tel aviv museum 2008 art , language , 2006 tel aviv museum eyes of nation ellen ginton 2008.

buky schwartz

levitation, 1976

the perception of want of matter center of israeli art grew in wake of breitberg-semel s influence, pushed many artists side of center. gideon ofrat, in years not art critic , independent curator, partner in various artistic initiatives, set in opposition tel aviv school , new jerusalem school , term origin lay in christian metaphysical interpretation of city of jerusalem. central difference between definition of group , tel aviv school , according ariella azoulay s interpretation, lay in difference in way defined status of art in relation public space. while tel aviv school tended create art within traditional definitions, jerusalem artists sought establish eruv (a ritual enclosure) between art , life. different interpretation, formulated itamar levy, saw in these 2 approaches 2 dialectical concepts opposed conceptuality picturesqueness , universal abstraction specific locality.

another trait of artistic school influence of conceptual art , innovative media such installation , performance or display. worth noting @ time boundaries between these types of media blurred, , use of terms activity , concept , instead of terms installation , display , coined in 1976, referred more intentions of artist final artistic result. photography well, 1970s began means of expression artists, seen tool combining images in conceptual art, , means documenting installations , displays. @ same time, , in distinction american art of time, small amount of art created in israel represented conceptual art entirely minimilistic or concrete, is, art entire reason being of negate definition of art representation or imitation. among artists work in part did represent approach benni efrat, buky schwartz, michael gitlin, , others.

ellen ginton, in article eyes of nation: visual art in country without boundaries (1998) presented art of 1970s response political , social problems of israel during period. artistic formalism perceived not framework social , political content, in addition, according itamar levy s formulation, every element in artistic work perceived both design activity , ideological concept. ginton claimed these political expressions, increased in intensity after political , social crisis followed young kippur war, continued until 1980s, @ time artists abandoned these subversive artistic practices , returned more traditional artistic activity.

place , concept , action

joshua neustein, gerard marx, georgette batlle, jerusalem river project , 1970



dani karavan

monument negev brigade, 1963-1968

beersheba



yitzhak danziger

serpentine, 1975

the yarkon park, tel aviv-yaffo



micha ullman

passage, 1982

israel museum, jerusalem



avital geva, greenhouse , ein-shemer kibbutz, israel

one of first projects carried out in israel under banner of conceptual art implemented sculptor joshua neustein. in 1970, neustein collaborated georgette batlle , gerard marx create jerusalem river project . in installation, in east jerusalem in dry wadi in abu tor neighborhood between st. clair monastery , nachal kidron (the kidron brook), taped water sounds projected out of speakers. imaginary river not created artistic environment outside boundaries of museum, hinted ironically @ concept of messianic redemption appeared after 6 day war in spirit of book of ezekiel (chapter 47) , book of zechariah (chapter 14).

this work can viewed indication of growing number of artists found out in middle of israeli landscape, under influence of american trend toward land art . many of these works expressed dialectical , ambiguous relationship iandscapes of land of israel , orient , in turn expressed increasing political criticism. in many works included metaphysical , ritual aspects, development , influence of caananite sculpture , abstraction of new horizons school can seen.

in art of yitzhak danziger, work had been dealing local landscapes years, conceptual aspect of israeli variation of land art expressed. danziger felt there need reconciliation , improvement in damaged relationship between man , environment. belief led him plan projects combined rehabilitation of sites ecology , culture. repair of landscape artistic event developed danziger in project rehabilitation of nesher quarry , on northern slopes of carmel mountains. project created collaboration between danziger, zeev naveh ecologist, , joseph morin soil researcher, attempted create, using various technological , ecological means, new environment among fragments of stone left in quarry. nature should not returned natural state , danziger contended. system needs found re-use nature has been created material entirely new concept . after first stage of project, attempt @ rehabilitation put on display in 1972 in exhibit @ israel museum.

another example of kind of experiment created in 1977 @ ceremony in 350 oak saplings planted in golan heights create space immortalizing fallen soldiers of egoz combat unit. danziger suggested emphasis of monument placed on view , on creation of site differed functional quality of memorial. concept implemented using ideas behind bedouin , palestinian ritual sites throughout land of israel, sites in trees used alongside graves of revered leaders ritual focus and, in danziger s words, bright swatches of cloth in blue , green hung branches […] driven spiritual need, people come hang these pieces of fabric on branches , make wish

in 1972 group of young artists in touch danziger , influenced ideas created group of activities became known metzer-messer in area between kibbutz metzer , arab village meiser in north west section of shomron. micha ullman, of youth both kibbutz , village, dug hole in each of communities , implemented exchange of symbolic red soil between them. moshe gershuni called meeting of kibbutz members , handed out soil of kibbutz metzer them there, , avital geva created in area between 2 communities improvised library of books recycled amnir recycling industries. artist influenced danziger s ideas igael tumarkin who, @ end of 1970s, created series of works entitled, definitions of olive trees , oaks , in created temporary sculpture around trees. danziger, tumarkin related in these works life forms of popular culture, particularly in arab , bedouin villages, , created them sort of artistic-morphological language, using impoverished bricolage methods. of works related not coexistence , peace, larger israeli political picture. in works such earth crucifixion (1981) , bedouin crucifixion (1982), tumarkin referred ejection of palestinians , bedouins lands, , created crucifixion pillars these lands.

another group operated in similar spirit, while @ same time emphasizing jewish metaphysics, group known leviathians , presided on avraham ofek, michail grobman, , shmuel ackerman. group combined conceptual art , land art jewish symbolism. of 3 of them avraham ofek had deepest interest in sculpture , relationship religious symbolism , images. in 1 series of works ofek used mirrors project hebrew letters, words religious or cabbalistic significance, , other images onto soil or man-made structures. in work letters of light (1979), example, letters projected onto people , fabrics , soil of judean desert. in work ofek screened words america , africa , , green card on walls of tel hai courtyard during symposium on sculpture.

identity , body

gideon gechtman

exposure (installation view), 1975

the landscape space performance , expressions of gender, occupied center stage in american art of period, never caught on in israel did in united states. ilana tannenbaum claimed that, in contrast artists worldwide, works of israeli artists restrained in artistic language , tended reductionist regard forms. in works of many israeli artists, such moshe gershuni, tamar getter, , others, relationship body assimilated sociopolitical significance. in work letter beuys (1974), example, getter wrote fictitious letter artist joseph beuys. letter included 3 different biographies , asked beuys make coat , shoes.

in work via dolorosa (1973), motti mizrachi, walked on crutches, created series of photographs documenting walking along route of via dolorosa on crutches while carrying large portrait of himself on back. works of gideon gechtman during period dealt complex relationship between art , life of artist, , dialectic between artistic representation , real life. in exhibition exposure (1975), gechtman described ritual of shaving body hair in preparation heart surgery had undergone, , used photographed documentation doctors letters , x-rays showed artificial heart valve implanted in body. in other works, such brushes (1974–1975), uses hair head , heads of family members , attaches different kinds of brushes, exhibits in wooden boxes, kind of box of ruins (a reliquary). these boxes created according strict minimalistic esthetic standards.

political art

after yom kippur war there palpable intensifying of protest in israeli art against perceived israeli militarism or relationship palestinians, dominant medium performance.

one of leading artists in protest movement pinchas cohen gan, created number of works of political nature during these years. in work touching border (7 january 1974), 4 iron missiles, israeli demographic information written on them, sent israel s border. missiles buried @ spot israelis carrying them arrested. in performance in political camp in jericho , took place on february 10, 1974 in northeast section of city of jericho near khirbat al-mafjar (hisham s palace), cohen created link between personal experience immigrant , experience of palestinian immigrant, building tent , structure looked sail of boat, made of fabric. @ same time cohen gan set conversation israel 25 years hence , in year 2000, between 2 refugees, , accompanied declaration, refugee person cannot return homeland .

the artists gabi klasmer , sharon keren ( gabi , sharon ) gave number of performances of political nature , based on current events in public places in jerusalem. on april 24, 1973 2 of them drew airplanes, tanks, , soldiers on streets of jerusalem, accompanied caption, needs parade? on same day 2 of them showed @ medal of courage , medal of valor ceremony @ jerusalem theater swathed in bandages , decked out in military medals.

efrat natan created number of performances dealing dissolution of connection between viewer , work of art, @ same time criticizing israeli militarism after 6 day war. among important works head sculpture , in natan consulted sort of wooden sculpture wore kind of mask on head. natan wore sculpture day after army s annual military parade in 1973, , walked various central places in tel aviv. form of mask, in shape of letter t , bore resemblance cross or airplane , restricted field of vision .

a blend of political , artistic criticism poetics can seen in number of paintings , installations moshe gershuni created in 1970s. gershuni, began famous during these years conceptual sculptor, art , definition of esthetics perceived parallel , inseparable politics in israel. thus, in work gentle hand (1975-1978), gershuni juxtaposed newspaper article describing abuse of palestinian famous love song zalman shneur (called: heart gave him , first words of gentle hand , sung arab melody days of second aliyah (1904-1914). gershuni sang muezzin loudspeaker placed on roof of tel aviv museum. in work, zionist , not? (1979) gershuni wrote these words on walls of gallery pinkish-red pastels. in these works minimalist , conceptualist ethics served tool criticizing zionism , israeli society.

joshua neustein, still life on border , tel-hai, israel, 1983

joshua neustein’s still life 1983 shape of phantom jet made of burning car tires on lebanon border.

the 1980s in israeli art

nahum tevet

jemmáin, 1986

kunsthalle, manheim



gideon gechtman

cart, 1984



larry abramson

from tsoba, 1993-4

impression on newspaper no.xiv

private collection

most of artists worked in 1970s conceptualist artists in variety of media changed style in 1980s , returned part medium of painting. this, under influence of european , american art, characterized during years mixture of styles grouped under accepted esthetic of minimalism, including american neo-geo style, pop art style of artists such jeff koons, , fashionable expressive style, known bad painting , of artists such george baselitz , julian schnabel, defined post modernist spirit in art around world.

these international trends filtered israeli art, reflected attempt undercut values of contemporary israeli society. in art of decade, toward end, discourse of identities developed, discourse incompatible institutional hegemony; narrative painting returned , regained status among local artists, intentionally combining post modernist use of high , low in aspects of implementation , themes of works of art.

the expressive style in painting adopted in israel great many artists. michal na aman, created collages , other conceptual art in 1970s, moved large scale paintings psychological , psychoanalytic overtones. moshe gershuni moved conceptual , minimalistic sculpture painting full of impasto (thickly laid on paint) in combined homoerotic symbolism images of soldiers jewish associations, such verses bible , other judeo-christian sources. prominent aspect of art in years use of references holocaust , jewish culture in europe. gershuni s painting techniques included applying paint hands, without using brush, transforming act of painting sort of solo performance.

in parallel expressionist approach, other artists worked in more formalist approach. painter diti almog exhibited large paintings textile motifs, such buttons, shirt fabrics, etc. works abstract , decorative in style. gap between calculated, formalist (formal) approach , use of everyday themes result of feminist approach derived it. in works of painters such isaac golombek , nahum tevet preoccupation deconstructing personal narrative dealing in formalistic way relationship between form , content, in evidence.

if in 1970s israeli art full of social , political messages, art in 1980s more concerned protest . attribute evident in second half of 1980s, under influence of events such 1982 lebanon war , outbreak of first intifada. painter david reeb, example, painted works of clear political nature, such green line green eyes (1987), showed borders of israel without land conquered in 6 day war, beyond green line, combined portraits of arabs face covered , coastline of tel aviv beach. painter, tsibi geva, created oriental figures, drawn in expressive-naïve style, combined captions here arara or umm al-fahm .

larry abramson presented critical view of israeli zionism in series of abstract paintings entitled tsoba . fragments of arab village sat on site of kibbutz tzuba until war of independence peek through. series created counterpoint abstract paintings of same name jossef zaritsky, in erased , were, remnants of arab village.

artistic photography gained status during period, emerging place had occupied many years negligible area of art. large number of artists returned studying photography in united states, among them avi ganor, oded yedaya, yigal shem tov, simcha shirman, deganit berest, etc. @ museum of art ein harod in mid-1980s, biennale of israeli photography held, presenting israeli photography first time in museum setting on large scale.

in press photography acquired new aspect, staged photography, in works of photographers such micha kirshner. in portraits, kirshner used artistic devices such makeup, lighting, , composition in attempt create desired effect on way subjects socially perceived. in portrait of model tami ben-ami (1982), kirshner emphasized artificiality of public image of model, , on gap between image , private person.

performance art began develop. important group functioning in area named shelter 209 , after number of tel aviv bomb shelter in performed. members of group danny zackheim, tamar raban, , anat shen. group, zik group , created images of large-scale cockroaches, burned in complex ceremonies included ritual elements.

the 1990s , after

adi ness

untitled (the last supper), 1999

israel museum, jerusalem



sigalit landau

the recorder of days , fruit, 2002

(from country )

the 1990s brought openness contemporary trends in international art. among elements responsible monthly journal studio , edited sara breitberg-semel, exposed israeli public contemporary international art; opening of new galleries displayed israeli art of times; increase in exhibitions featuring collaboration between israeli artists , foreign artists; , strengthening of peripheral museums (such herzliya museum, changed policies during these years). trend echoed in official art establishment founding of art focus project (1994), aspired biennale of international art, , in other projects during 2000s (decade).

as part of international influence, there significant growth in artistic , commercial importance of various types of media, such photography, installations, , video performance art. new technologies online video editing , image file processing in graphic programs, made use of these media easier israeli artists. trend of 1990s return realistic figurative painting, is, painting created looking @ object being painted. painter israel hershberg leader of trend , opened painting school in order train young artists in kind of painting.

in works of local sculptors of 1990s can seen tendency towards large , detailed installations. demonstrated kind of protest against social values using artistic symbols. michal rovner used medium of video art create rich , complex textures composed of images of people , produced primitive-primeval effect. guy ben-ner created videos narratives dismantle institution of family using comic, ars poetica effects.

in works such temple mount (1995) or country (2002), sigalit landau created environments rich in objects expressive appearance reflected interest in transitional situations , in social-political criticism. social criticism can seen in works of ohad meromi, exhibited works combined primitive images modernist values. in work clinic (1999), meromi presented traditional local architectures , confronted them primitive or foreign images. in work boy south tel aviv (2001), example, meromi created huge statue of black figure standing in front of looks road block.

even older generation of sculptors turned historical narrative of more personal nature , reflection on nature of art. philip rantzer, example, created sculptures , installations recreated childhood experience of being new immigrant , stranger in israel. penny yassour created works invoked memory of holocaust, along other personal experiences. nahum tevet created sculptural constructions strove reflect viewer perceptions, memory, object, , work of art. gideon gechtman emphasized connection through variety of means. in exhibition yotam (1999), gechtman displayed series of works connected death of son, within framework of works relating post modernist means of replication , reproduction.

in field of painting see attempt criticize society using language of art. nurit david , meira shemesh, example, created figurative paintings reflecting failed attempt @ family perfection , artistic perfection. artist tal matzliach created decorative paintings significance of show lack of sexual adequacy. tsibi geva continued work 1980s imagery such keffiyah , biladi , juxtapose american abstract art local images.

the tendency toward preoccupation central symbols can seen among artists thought of representatives of minority group within israeli society. artist assam abu shakra, example, made use of symbol sabra israelis thought of zionist symbol, part of process establishing israeli arab identity. artist, sharif waked, created in series jericho first (2002) metamorphosis of image of hunter in floor mosaic in khirbat al mafjar, north of jericho, means of political criticism.

the photographer adi nes used photographs of israeli soldiers, posed in various existential situations, combining them images of homoerotic significance , of death. in untitled photograph (1999) has come known last supper , soldiers sit around table in tableau reminiscent of last supper of leonardo da vinci.