Abstract
This research pinpoints a local pattern of migratory aesthetics recurrently employed by four Israeli artists in the early years of the 21st century. I argue that works by artists Philip Rantzer, Gary Goldstein, Haim Maor, and David Wakstein showcase a hybrid migratory self-definition that is embedded in the artistic language itself. By harnessing a collagistic language of juxtaposition and fragmentation, they frame Israeli identity as uncanny, reflecting a cultural mindset of being neither “here” nor “there”. I contend that this pattern is used by a particular generation of artists, born in the early 1950s, and reflects a reaction, in hindsight, to the Zionist ethos of collective local identity. Employing old photographs from their family albums that they transform into framed detached figures, these artists draw upon childhood memories of immigration. Their art marks an identity clash between two homelands, which is the result of intertwined aesthetic and socio-cultural characteristics. The first is evident in the prevalent use of collage in local art—in itself a language of oppositions. The second is the negation of the diaspora in the Israeli socio-cultural mentality, which constructs identity through binary thinking. To date, no other study has acknowledged this aesthetic pattern nor the common ground these artists share in their works.
Highlights
On the way to my first meeting with Israeli artist Philip Rantzer last spring, on a busy industrial street in South Tel Aviv, I noticed a small barred window at the entrance to his studio in which a stenciled sentence in Romanian sits above three miniature sculptures (Figure 1)
The art scene in Israel has witnessed a growing surge of works that address the notion of immigration and focus on personal narratives of diasporic origin
2017).with migration and diaspora has always been present in local Israeli art, it Artistic 1920–Israel preoccupation was consistently marginalized in the past
Summary
On the way to my first meeting with Israeli artist Philip Rantzer last spring, on a busy industrial street in South Tel Aviv, I noticed a small barred window at the entrance to his studio in which a stenciled sentence in Romanian sits above three miniature sculptures (Figure 1). I contend that this particular pattern marks an identity rift between two homelands and is the result of local, intertwined aesthetic and socio-cultural. Former representations of migration differ significantly from contemporary ones in their use of symbolic language, as exemplified by the works of artists Naftali Bezem (Germany 1924–Israel 2018) and Yosl Bergner 2017).with migration and diaspora has always been present in local Israeli art, it Artistic 1920–Israel preoccupation was consistently marginalized in the past. Former representations of migration differ significantly from contemporary ones in their use of symbolic language, as exemplified by the works of artists Naftali Bezem (Germany 1924–Israel 2018) and Yosl Bergner (Austria 1920–Israel 2017). I contend that this particular pattern marks an identity rift between two homelands and is the result of local, intertwined aesthetic and socio-cultural characteristics. The second is the negation of the diaspora in the Israeli socio-cultural habitus, one of constructing identity through binary thinking
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