Israel’s Future: Securing Her Art History Past

The state of Israel is one of the most polarizing subjects in modern politics. As a 1 day old state, on May 15 1948, Israel was invaded by 5 of its surrounding neighbours in The Arab-Israeli war. Then, in 1967 Gamal Abdel Nasser declared his plan to destroy Israel before deploying troops to Israel’s border, a move that sparked the Six Day War of 1967.

This was followed by the Khartoum Resolution of 1967 which birthed the famous “3 No’s”:

“No peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with it.”

Despite open hostility, in the intervening years there have been numerous attempts at brokering peace agreements between the two sides, but none have succeeded and the region remains enveloped in tension. To the reductionist pro-Israeli, the Arabic and Muslim nations want to destroy Israel, and to the reductionist pro-Palestinian, Israel is illegally occupying their land and should not even be recognized as a legitimate nation state.

With Israel’s identity being viciously scrutinized around the world; being labelled an apartheid state, the BDS movement and through distortionary propaganda, taking a stand for the arts arena is a move that confuses many people, given the unyielding threat of catastrophic violence looming over the region.

However, it is in the face of such turbulence that a stand for the arts becomes so vital. For centuries past, it has been the arts that have held the clearest narrative of times gone by. Just as studying the works of Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Bernini et al gives us a clear picture of life in 17th Century Europe, so too does Israeli art for this important chapter of history.

Just as these Baroque artists’ works show us aspects of their day-to-day life as well as giving us a broader education on the cultural movement out of which their art arose, so too does Israeli art. To discuss Israeli art in earnest, we must start in 1906, with the founding of The Bezalel Art School by Boris Schatz, 38 years before Israel’s declaration of independence.

Born out of a desire to blend European artistic styles with traditional Jewish designs, thus creating a culture that was representative of Israel at the time, the art that came out of Bezalel during this period and beyond is uniquely positioned to give us an important historical context that might otherwise be missed.

If we study the art that was produced by some of Bezalel’s illustrious alumni, what we see is not the depiction of struggle, distrust and tension that pervades contemporary consciousness regarding Israel. Instead, we see artists who translated the world as they saw it, different as it was decades ago, into paint, sculpture and more.

From Nachum Gutman’s, “Tiberias Landscape” and “Arab Boy Playing the Flute”, both painted in 1928, to Reuvin Reuben’s Arabic figure, “The Goldfish Vendor” from the early 1920’s to name but two of many examples, we see a picture of idealistic and hopeful harmony, set against the sun soaked backdrop of Israel and Palestine.

At a time where Israel is often portrayed as the indiscriminate aggressor and when the important historical context of modern day Israel is often cast aside, the need for truth rings clearer with each passing day. As we seek to preserve Israeli art, we seek to preserve the story of Israel as told without agenda, without malice and without prejudice. And that, dear reader, is why preserving Israeli art matters.

Written By: Rayah Levy, Art Market Expert
 LinkedIn, May 19, 2015:
https://lnkd.in/b9JtMBv