The exhibition "Stop Making Sense" presents nine artists who live and work in Israel and whose backgrounds are Europe, Maghreb, the Middle East, or Palestine (Israel before 1948). The purpose of the exhibition is to call attention to the complex cultural identities, the artistic legacy and the socio-political orientations that engage contemporary artists who live and work in Israel.
The images have been broadcast again and again – the quiet streets of Haiti seconds before the earth starts to shake, the relaxed beaches of Thailand minutes before it was hit by the Tsunami - was there anything in the moments preceding the disasters that could have warned people? Is there anything on the sunny streets of Tel Aviv that foreshadows the storm that seems to hang perpetually on the horizon?
Nancy Berman, Sonia Cummings, and Laura Maslon, Los Angeles Chairs of The Jewish Federation’s Tel Aviv/Los Angeles Partnership Visual Arts Committee, invite you to a panel discussion based on the concurrent Nira Pereg exhibitions: "Kept Alive" and "Shabbat 2008".
Kept Alive (which refers to the text engraved upon headstones to reserve pre-purchased burial spots) is a three-channel video and photo installation focused on Jerusalem's "Mountain of Rest". The installation's documentary approach is employed to address the enormous cemetery's three primary activities: construction, burial, and visitation.
Video, b. 1969, Israel; lives and works in Tel Aviv and Berlin
1989-1993B.F.A., Cooper Union Institute and Academy of Art and Science, New York
1998-2000M.F.A., Fine Art Department, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem
The Santa Monica Museum of Art will present the United States premier of Sabbath 2008 in Project Room 2 from January 16 through April 17, 2010. Sabbath 2008 documents the closing down of the ultra-orthodox neighborhoods in and around Jerusalem on the eve of the Sabbath. In most cases, public access to these neighborhoods is blocked by means of temporary barriers, which remain closed for 24 hours—thus creating an artificial border between these areas and the rest of the city.
Art TLV, the International art biennial running from September 10–24, 2009 with professional previews on September 9, is the main art event of Tel Aviv-Yafo’s centennial celebrations, featuring leading contemporary Israeli and International artists creating exhibitions, installations, performances, screenings and talks throughout the city.