Bansky, Batia and the Two Banks "Historic Palestine"

Batia Ofer has taken on Bansky.  Background at Israelycool.

His pro Palestinian and anti-Israel posters:

a.

and

b.


Her counter poster:

So I commented:

If they insist on "Historic Palestine", well, that means all of Jordan need be included as only in 1922 was it officially separated from the original territory of the reconstituted-to-be Jewish National Home. Oops.

So Bansky becomes Two Banks.

Do read the comments left at her poster.


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Exhibit of Political Outlook

This exhibit is just closing:

Aircraft Carrier

American Ideas and Israeli Architectures

November 3, 2013-January 11, 2014

Location: Spertus Gallery

Artist:

Assaf Evron, Frenando Guerra, Florian Holzherr, Nira Pereg,  

Jan Tichy, and product designer Tal Erez

Curator: Guest Curators: Milana Gitzin-Adiram, Erez Ella, and Dan Handel

Story here.

And what was one of the "artistic representations"?

Credit: Deenah

Have any "across-the-Green-Line-artists" been invited to exhibit?

Ask.

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Worse and Worse - Batsheva in the UK

I couldn't decide which was worse in this report.

Was it

a) the lack of adequate security?

...Pro-Palestinian demonstrators managed to bring to a halt the performance of the Batsheva dance troupe on three separate nights during one of the country’s biggest arts festivals...during their final performance on Saturday night, up to 20 protesters entered the Edinburgh Playhouse auditorium and “ran amok” during performance, forcing security staff to eject them at least nine times.

b) that the dancers presented a rather timid and cowed charcater, very un-Israeli:

Witnesses reported that on each occasion the dancers stood stock still on stage, the curtain was lowered and the house lights brought up until the protesters were ejected.

c) that the audience seemed to be uninvolved accept for a post-demo cheer:

At the end of their performance, the highly-regarded, ethnically diverse contemporary dance group was greeted with enthusiastic applause and standing ovations...One audience member told The Daily Telegraph: “A few audience members, including a group including several children, left after the first disruption but other than that the audience remained calm and seated.

d) that the police ignored a criminal act and permitted threatening behavior::

More than 200 protesters have also rallied outside the theatre and have been seen shouting abuse at patrons as they left. No arrests have been made.“As we left the protesters simply screamed and yelled angrily, behind a line of police.”

e) or that they included the music of the German anti-Semite - and banned in Israel - Wagner:

During their three one-hour performances of “Hora”, they danced to a "mash up" including the Star Wars theme and music from Richard Wagner, the renowned German composer.

f) or the scurrilous and fascist attitude of certain 'persons of the spirit'

Leading up to the festival writers and artists including Iain Banks, Tom Leonard and Al Kennedy called for the festival's artistic director Jonathan Mills to axe the Israeli dance troupe. 

g) or the craven response of the festival spokeswoman, who viewed the protest and the dance performance equally and who said: 

"The festival supports freedom of expression and people's right to protest. “It welcomes constructive criticism, regularly facilitates debates and recognises the right to peaceful and orderly protest in any public place including outside its theatres. Equally the festival defends the rights of all artists, irrespective of nationality, creed or culture to have their voices heard."

h) or that the most robust and confrontational counter-attack came from...Brendan O'Neill who I presume is not Jewish:

Boycotts of everything Israeli have well and truly crossed the line from political campaigns into expressions of bigotry against the people and produce of Israel...This highly intolerant effort by one group of artists to have another group of artists banned – or perhaps quarantined at the borders until they renounce their home country and everything it stands for – is part of a bigger chattering-class trend to ghettoise Israeli culture...they practise cultural apartheid against Israelis...But there is nothing political about these censorious efforts to keep everything Israeli out of Britain. It is just an acceptable form of bigotry, a way of advertising one’s own moral decency by contrasting oneself to an inferior, infected people from Over There.

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Michael Netzer's Early Israel Art

I remet Michael Netzer, comic book illustrator and artist, last week while babysitting for my grandchildren at Ofra where he lives. Last time was maybe two months ago at the bus station while waiting for the 148 to take us home. He has such an amazing personal history.  So I thought I'd mention our connection.

I first met him via Rachel Katsman (now Ginsberg) who roped him in to provide illustrations and even a strip for COUNTERPOINT (known for its 1987 interview with Bob Dylan when he visited Israel) which she and I co-edited in the mid-to-laye 1980s. Rachel now is with Mishpacha.

Here is her story/interview with him when back when (he had black hair):-

Here's the full artwork:

Here are two examples of a comic strip he created of political commentary:

and here is one of his covers, from December 1984, following the elections which forced the 'pushmi-pullyu'  national unity coaliton, comment on what eventually turned into the infamous subterfuge moves of Shimon Peres at the London Conference:

That's, from l-r, David Levy, Ariel Sharon, Yitzhak Shamir and Peres with American officials Hosni Mubarak and King Hussein in the doorway.

He is still drawing and we wish him well and continued success.

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The Shiloh Holiday of Tu B'Av in Art

The holiday of Tu B'Av represented in art:

Source

I'm For Artists4Israel

I posted some of their work when a group came to visit and I met with one artist activist (say that fast three times).

They are Artists 4 Israel.

Now read this.

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Artistry At Bet El

Heard of this group?

Artists4Israel?

No?

Go here and here.

And here they are at Bet El, painting caravans and anti-terror road blocks, with help from One Israel Fund:

Full story here.

Meet Monique

I have met Monique Lester through Facebook and discovered that in addition to sharing quite similar outlooks on Jewish and Zionist issues - she blogs here, that she paints:



Nice work.

Here's Looking At Ya

(adapted from a Max Factor ad)

Wall Painting

Everytime I pass this, on Aggripas Street just down from the Shuq, I can but admire:

Taken at 7:50 AM while waiting for the barber.

Art Misunderstood

An art exhibition was removed, banned.

Art exhibition including seven paintings of female suicide bombers depicted as Madonna holding baby Jesus in their laps slated to open Thursday at Journalists' Association in Tel Aviv. Following protest, association says will remove paintings. Artist: Art is meant to ask questions

Seems, though, thanks to Judy Balint, that the artists were simply misunderstood, or that they missed the controversy their exhibition would generate):

Art project on FERROR (Female Terror)

Today, the world faces a new gender problem– we are being murdered by women-suicide bombers (ferrorists). Preparing this kind of terrorist act is a rather simple task: women do not have to be trained in arms, do not have to be educated in militarily academies or in sophisticated explosive weaponry- they have become a disposable and cheap weapon themselves. Human life is invaluable, and through this project we want to remind of this fact once again. To substitute love with craving for death is the very anti-moral atrocity and disgraceful abomination of any civilized society and culture. Among numerous terrorist acts carried out by ferrorists in Israel, we have chosen only seven. However, this problem is not pertinent only to Israel. Ferror has become a murdering phenomenon throughout Europe, Asia, and almost every continent on earth.

The Exhibition consists of 3 parts:

7 canvases of altered images of Madonna
Madonna, even without a religious connotation, is a world accepted symbol of motherhood and love and responsibility for a child. Lovingly she cradles a child in her lap, protectively holding it with her hands. In the warped world of extremism, love in the heart of a woman is replaced by such hatred that even motherhood is replaced by desire for annihilation and mayhem. Ferrorists – female terrorists – have one goal – massacring as many Jews as possible and only death satisfies their thirst for blood.
It is erroneous to think that Palestinian terror is only an Israeli problem. The whole world is under the threat, and a universal child on Madonna’s lap is in grave danger.

Latest "Obama Art"

Found over at Atlas Shrugs

Bent Beckham

David Beckham - a model for fascist art?



Unfortunately, I can't say he's "over-the-top":



Leni Riefenstahl would have been so proud and probably all aglow.


And I thought his Mom was Jewish but "non-practicing:





Source

The Obama White House

Painting by Ron Keas, found here:

An Artisitc Expression of Post-Zionism

What happens when ideological fervor melts:




(found in an office building in Jerusalem. Photo credit: Y. Medad)

Wanna Get Dizzy?

Marxist Dogma Doesn't Fade Away

I saw this advert for the HaShomer Hatzair gathering:



and it immediately reminded me of these posters and others of the Soviet propaganda machinery:



and even this




And I found this:-

Art in the Service of Ideology: HaShomer HaTza'ir Political Posters HaKibbutz Ha'Artzi, Engaged Art, and the Historical Background by Eli Tzur.

HaKibbutz Ha'Artzi was the settlement arm of HaShomer HaTza'ir youth movement. Established in Eastern Europe on the eve of World War I, HaShomer HaTza'ir underwent a process of ideological and political radicalization during its first two decades of existence. This process was also manifested in the artistic media. Reflecting by the atmosphere prevailing in 1920s Europe, the process was influenced by currents of pacifist, socialist revolutionary and anti-establishment artistic movements that had deep impact on artists who, as youngsters, were members of HaShomer HaTza'ir. This trend was reflected in the politics of the Yishuv mainly from the 1930s, using posters and other visual means of political propaganda. Although ready to use these works of art, the Kibbutz Ha'Artzi leadership was reluctant to exert direct pressure on artists to make them "politically useful"

Old Marxist dogmatists die hard.

Wall Art (literally)

Off of Aggripas St., just before Mahane Yehuda.

Does Art Humanise Evil? Should It?

Join a discussion over at Jewess.

I'm debating, I think, Menachem Wecker.

Dollars Are Losing Their Value in Israel

From the artwork of Chen Schulman as found in Ma'ariv:-