Category Archives: Art

Phoenician Glass-blowing to Chihuly

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Glassblowing is a glass forming technique which was invented by the Phoenicians in about 50BCE along the Syro-Palestinian coast. The earliest evidence of glassblowing comes from waste from a glass workshop, including fragments of glass tubes, glass rods and tiny blown bottles, that was dumped in a mikveh (ritual bath) in the Jewish Quarter dated to the time of King Herod, from 37 to 4BCE.

During excavations in the Jewish Quarter by Avigad and Geva in the 1970s they discovered in the eastern wall of the Fresco room (F3) in the Palatial Mansion a niche in which was standing a glass jug by the 1st C artist Ennion of Sidon with his name in Greek on the vessel. This rare piece can be seen as part of the glass collection in the Israel museum’s archaeology wing. The buildings, with mosaic floors and frescoes, have been preserved in the Wohl museum and are worth a visit.

If you are interested in glass-making it is also worth checking out the Glass Pavilion at the Eretz Israel museum in Tel Aviv which exhibits ancient glass vessels, representing 3 chapters in the history of glass production:

  1. Pre-blown glass
  2. Blown glass from Roman/Byzantine period (they also have one of Ennion’s works, Blue Jug)
  3. Blown glass of Islamic period

Currently (January 2011) there is a gold-glass panel (table top) with mosaic-glass tiles found in the Byzantine “Birds Mosaic” mansion in Caesarea on display in Israel for the first time. Both museums collect and exhibit contemporary glass art.

Some of the earliest pieces of blown glass have been discovered in Israel and the tradition of glass blowing developed in this area but since then there has been little activity in glass art. Only in the the mid 1970s with Marvin Lipofsky’s visit to Israel was there an opportuity to try glass making. Lipovsky built the first glass furnace for the Ceramics department at the Bezalel Academy of Art in Jerusalem, the first courses were taught in the late 70s but a formal department with a full curriculum was established only in 1997. The glass furnace built by Lipofsky over 35 years ago is the same furnace in use today and to date Bezalel remains the only university where students can study glass making in Israel.

In 1962 Dale Chihuly, a 21 year old American, came to Israel and volunteered on Kibbutz Lehav north west of Beersheva in the Negev.

I discovered there was more to life than having a good time,” he has said of his kibbutz service. “It’s difficult to explain how this change came about, but it had a lot to do with going out on border patrol during the night with guys my own age who had more responsibility and maturity than adults twice their age in the States.

Chihuly credits this Israel experience as the turning point in his life. He recalls that he began to think of how he could make a contribution to society. He became dedicated to the hard work and long hours necessary to realize his goals. Conceivably, the collective nature of kibbutz life also inspired him to work with a close-knit group of artisans for a common purpose, the creation of art.

Chihuly’s choice of a millennium project was his famous installation at the Tower of David Museum inside Jaffa Gate in 2000, a project that proved to be “history-making in its ambition, its difficulty and its enormous popular success”. The Light of Jerusalem 2000 installation was composed of 10,000 pieces of individually hand-blown glass weighing a total of 42 tons, the various elements of the work were shipped to Israel in 12 40-foot containers from five different countries. I was one of more than a million people who saw his work.

The installation was the fruit of Chihuly’s relationship to Israel and to the history of blown glass. Chihuly was aware that two thousand years ago, some of the oldest glass in the world had been made in Jerusalem and that just before the birth of Jesus, glassblowing was invented. Israeli artists say that Chihuly’s exhibit was an eye-opening experience and defining moment for them so like Israel affected Chihuly, he affected Israel.

Chihuly at Tower of DavidIf you’re interested in glass art check out the Litvak Gallery in Tel Aviv near the Gallery of Art for their current exhibition. They have works by Chihuly as well as other contemporary glass artists. There was a special Chihuly exhibit in January 2011.

Meze Appetizers

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While in Israel try meze (also spelled mezze), a selection of small dishes served in the Mediterranean and Middle East as appetizers, think of Spanish tapas.

The word meze was probably borrowed from the Greek mezés (μεζές), which was borrowed from Turkish meze, which was in turn borrowed from Persian maze ‘taste, flavour, snack, relish’, and is found in all the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire.

The meze served depends on the chef and the restaurant but could include some or all of the following:

  • Labne – strained yoghurt cheese
  • Babaghanoush – eggplant (aubergine) mashed and mixed with various seasonings
  • Muhammara – a hot pepper dip with ground walnuts, breadcrumbs, garlic, salt, lemon juice, and olive oil
  • Pastirma – seasoned, air-dried cured beef
  • Tabbouleh – bulgur, finely chopped parsley, mint, tomato, scallion, with lemon juice, olive oil and various seasonings

Walking along the promenade from Jaffa to Tel Aviv, you’ll find Etzel Pini BaChatzer, a restaurant that offers typical Mediterranean dining by the sea (not kosher) with a good selection of mezes. One of their specialties is chopped beef and lamb salad with Swiss chard and pine nuts.

As you walk along the promenade there is a fun wall mural on a building facing the beach that shows some famous people enjoying the restaurant/bar scene in Tel Aviv. The mural was painted by Israeli artist Anna Kogan (http://tziur-kir.co.il).

Wall mural-Anna KoganTwo of the people are from Renaissance paintings – the gentleman in the large-brimmed black hat and yellow jacket is from a painting, La Buveuse (Woman Drinking, 1658) by Pieter de Hooche and the fellow with the red outfit and hat playing the lute is from a painting, Jester with a Lute, by the Dutch Frans Hals about 1625. The two young women (in positions 2 and 10) are both named Orit and lived in a building nearby. Position 3 is based on George Harrison from this photo of the Beatles. Position 8 is based on rapper, Master P.

So the people from left to right are :

de Hooche painting, Orit, George Harrison,  Marx,  Freud, Golda Meir, Einstein, Master P., Ben Gurion, Orit, Herzl, Jester with a Lute, model, Golda Meir

Art and Architecture, Jaffa

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The Tachana (“Station”) complex includes the historic train station built in 1892, the freight terminal, German Templer Hugo Wieland’s tile factory and cement works and the Wieland family’s home. Today the complex has been renovated and houses restaurants and cafes, fashion, art, antique and jewelry boutiques, a large art bookstore, galleries and every Friday an organic food market. Notwithstanding the commercial aspect, it’s still a historic site and standing on the station platform it’s easy to imagine being transported back to a time of steam engines, pilgrims and pioneers.

The German Templers Society (Tempelgesellschaft) were a Protestant sect who originally settled in Haifa and established the German Colony there; subsequently they built settlements in Sarona and Jerusalem. After the visit of the German Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1899, another wave of pioneers founded Wilhelma, Walhalla, Bet Lehem HaGlilit and Waldheim. The colony’s oranges were the first to carry a “Jaffa Orange” brand, one of the better known agricultural brands in Europe, used to market Israeli oranges to this day. The Templers established a regular coach service between Haifa and other cities and made an important contribution to road construction. They  were architects and engineers, ran hotels, beer gardens and promoted the country’s tourist industry.

The Wieland family came to Israel in 1900 and established its building materials factory beside the Jaffa train station and the nearby Templer neighborhood. The patriarch, Hugo Wieland, built the villa in 1902 as a single storey structure; a second storey was added a few years later to accommodate the family of 12. The building was designed in the Templer style, stone buildings with a tile roof, wooden shutters, balcony. The front room served as a lounge and was the most beautiful and impressive room in the house, it had a painted ceiling and coal fireplace for heating. The floors were made of decorative tiles produced by the family factory.

During restoration work, some paintings of scenes of women, drinking and dancing, were discovered on walls in one of the rooms. Originally the thought was that these were copies of caricatures from a German magazine. In further investigation it was discovered that these painting were done by Gerd Rothschild, partner with Zev Lipman in Roli Graphic Studio, between 1942-1946. Rothschild learned graphic design in the first class of the Bezalel School of Art in Jerusalem. He was enlisted into the British army as a cook but when his artistic talent was discovered he wandered from British base to base in the region – Palestine, Libya, Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon and Cyprus painting on walls. In later years, Rothschild used art therapy to work with children with disabilities and painted murals in pediatric psychiatric wards. He died in 1991 at the age 72. The British used the buildings in the Jaffa rail yard as a base for supplies after the German Templers were deported to Australia during WWII.

Another atmospheric building is the Red House, an example of typical Arab construction in the Jaffa area that got its name from the red plaster used on its walls. This building was probably built before the Wieland villa as part of the Manshiya neighborhood, adjacent to the train station complex. A unique feature is the western entrance accented with chiseled sandstone left unplastered which frames the symmetrical series of three openings. Two round openings on the facade, common in Arab buildings are for ventilation.

Tour of Herodium Palace Complex

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In Ehud Netzer’s book on the Palaces of the Hasmoneans and Herod the Great he writes:

In its day, Herodium was one of the largest palaces in the Greco-Roman world. It is actually the most spacious one of that time that is known to us from archaeological studies.

When I guide Herodium, I include a comprehensive tour of Lower Herodium, outside the archaeological park and the area that Prof. Ehud Netzer excavated in 1972 looking for Herod’s tomb. I point out

  • the overall planning of the site – the relationship between the palace/fortress on a man-made mountain south of the site and the palace complex at its foot
  • the concentration of structures around the pool, more characteristic of present day complexes such as a university campus or large hospital
  • the addition of formal gardens against the background of the barren Judean desert
  • where and how Herod overcame the topography and lack of water to build Herodium
  • Netzer’s discovery of the Monumental building where he thought Herod was buried

In its current state it can be difficult to imagine what Herodium must have looked like. Then I was introduced to the Hungarian-born artist and illustrator, Balage Balogh. Balogh has done paintings where he has recreated (Biblical) settings with a startling degree of accuracy based on a combination of intensive archaeological investigation, scriptural and ancient text research and a measured dose of interpretive insight. He has kindly given me permission to include his illustration of Herodium here. To better picture the ancient world check out his website at
http://www.archaeologyillustrated.com/


(Click on the image to view it in more detail)

墨絵 Jerusalem Sumi-e

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My son Amitai and I had the privilege to study 墨絵 sumi painting together with a master, Jan Zaremba, for a couple of years when we were living in Cambridge MA. Amitai was 12 years old when he started sumi, at the time of this post he is 20 and serving in an elite combat unit in the Israeli army. Not being able to study with Jan is one of the few things that I deeply miss since coming back to Israel. The pine tree in this painting is inspired by a traditional sumi painting, the scene of Jerusalem in the background is my creation. I did this painting shortly after returning to Jerusalem, for an artist and friend, Avraham Yakin, on his 80th birthday.

It might seem strange to think about Japanese art and culture while in Israel, you probably are here to explore and experience the history, religions, archeology, etc. of this land. However, if you are going to be in the north, you might want to visit the Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art in Haifa, the only one of its kind in the Middle East. Felix Tikotin, an architect by profession, was an internationally renowned collector and dealer in Japanese works of art. For more than forty years he amassed his valuable and rare collection and organized exhibitions of Japanese art in many museums. During the Second World War, because he was Jewish, Felix Tikotin had to flee for his life from the Nazis; he hid his collection in Holland to prevent it from falling into their hands. After the war, Tikotin decided that his unique collection should be taken to Israel.

Tikotin purchased the “Kisch House” and in accordance with his ideas and plans, a Japanese pavillion to be used as an exhibition hall was added. In 1995 a new wing was added to the existing hall. It was designed by one of the renowned architects of Japan Junzo Yoshimura (1908-1997) of Tokyo, together with the Israeli architect Professor Al Mansfeld (1912-2004) of Haifa. Mansfeld is known as the architect of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem who with architect Ms. Dora Gad in charge of the interior design were awarded the Israel Prize. The Tikotin Museum’s collection comprises some 7,000 items of art and crafts – paintings, prints, drawings, painted screens, textiles, antique illustrated texts, ceramics, miniature carvings (netsuke), lacquer and metal work, antique swords and functional art works, mainly from the 17th to 19th centuries, as well as a collection of modern Japanese art.

Another connection between Japan and Israel is the story of Chiune Sugihara (杉原 千畝) the Japanese Vice Consul to Latvia during World War II. Sugihara single-handedly provided transit visas to more than 6000 Jewish refugees from German-occupied Poland and residents of Latvia who would otherwise have perished in Nazi Europe, risking his career and his family’s life. In 1985, Israel honored him as Righteous Among the Nations for his actions and a tree was planted in his honor at Yad Vashem.

Olive Park, Ramat Rahel

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Concepts of rootedness and disconnection which mark the complex relation of our civilization with the earth are central to the world of oppositions manifested in the sculpture’s plastic form. Olive trees, ancient symbol of strength, fertility and peace, continue their life in a transplanted and disconnected state.

Ran Morin, environmental sculptor

The park lies at an elevated and windy location overlooking Jerusalem and Bethlehem with views over the Judean desert, Herodium and as far as the Dead Sea. In preparing the park, mature olive trees were transplanted in 1987 from the experimental orchard of Prof. Shimon Lavee of the Vulcani Institute in Rehovot. Besides various types of olives that grow in Israel, there are olive trees that originate from Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, Argentina and the USA.

In the center of the park is a structure of 3 steel columns covered with basalt stone aggregate that form a triangle, sitting on a stepped platform of concrete and Jerusalem boulders. On the top of the columns, 11 meters in the air, three 80 year old olive trees are growing, supported by a customized drip irrigation system.

Part of the artistic project deals with the properties and spiritual harmonies of the number three: 3 monotheistic religions, 3 forefathers of the Jewish people, 3 Magi who came to visit Jesus, etc. The location at the edge of the desert and near a blood-stained political border connects the different elements in its surroundings and relates to more ancient periods when olive trees and plowed earth were characteristic of man’s intervention in this arid landscape.

Morin’s projects can be construed to have political undertones, mainly because it can’t be avoided in Jerusalem and the areas where he works. Personally, however, Morin tries to stay away from such sensitive issues. It’s hard though: “I am dealing with earth and olive trees and actual places where there are borders. A Palestinian once told me, ‘Okay we don’t have to fight over the land; we can grow the trees in the sky’.”

Yerushalayim shel maala, heavenly Jerusalem. If we could only bring it down to earth.