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Press Releases Welcome to the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel's largest museum and leading cultural institution - and one of the world's great museum stories of the 20th century. No journey to the Land of Israel is complete without a visit to the magnificent treasures displayed throughout the Museum's four wings and expansive gardens, covering periods and world cultures from ancient through modern times: A renowned permanent collection in all of the fine arts ; Rare Biblical artifacts included in the world's most comprehensive collection of the archaeology of the Land of Israel ;The Shrine of the Book and the Dead Sea Scrolls ; The world's most complete collection of Judaica and Jewish ethnography ; The Ruth Youth Wing ; The Billy Rose Art Garden ; And over 30 new exhibitions each year
Made in China: Over 100 works from the Estella Collection on view September 18, 2007 – March 1, 2008 The Estella Collection from New York is one of the world's largest and most comprehensive collections of contemporary Chinese art. The fifty-seven artists in the exhibition were born in the years before, during or immediately after the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), and the highly politicized climate of that period, together with the tragedy of Tiananmen Square in 1989, were formative for their art. While some of these artists work and live in China, many are members of China's artistic diaspora, living in the US, Europe and Australia. The works displayed in the exhibition use a wide range of medums, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, video, installation and performance art. "The incredible variety of expression reflected in the works of these artists attests to the fertile creativity that can emerge from any sociopolitical setting," states Museum director James S. Snyder. "Each work in this exhibition reflects the dialogue between the artist and the issues emerging from life in China during this dramatically transforming time." The Mao Legacy Dialogue with Tradition Chinese art was once closely associated with landscape, until this tradition was suppressed during the Revolution, and contemporary artists now relate to this tradition in a variety of ways. Rendered on the surface of artist Huang Yan's body, Chinese Landscape – Tattoo reasserts the life force, or qi, that was always present in the landscape in traditional Chinese painting, and signals how China's cultural legacy has left a deep mark on its people. Liu Wei's manipulative photomontage Landscapes No. 1-6 refers to the ongoing presence of tradition while engaging in a humorous dialogue with China's strong taboo against depicting the naked body.
With the disappearance of a state-mandated collective identity, contemporary Chinese artists address issues of individuality and new identity. In his Exchange Series, Cang Xin raises fundamental questions inherent in the attempts of young people in China to forge an identity for themselves that is strikingly different from that of their parents. By changing clothes with people in various occupations, the artist questions the role of external appearances in defining one's identity. Made in China has been organized by the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark, and curated in Jerusalem by Suzanne Landau, the Israel Museum's Yulla and Jacques Lipchitz Chief Curator of the Arts and Landeau Foundation Curator of Contemporary Art. It is accompanied by a one hundred-page, full-color catalogue in English, along with a Hebrew insert. The exhibition is made possible by the Sam Weisbord Trust, Los Angeles. A wide away of public programs and events will be held at the Museum in concert with the exhibition.
The Israel Museum, in
Cooperation with the Company for Location and Restitution of Holocaust
Victims’ Assets Launches Special Website for Works Stolen
during World War II Following the end of World War II, the Jewish Restitution Successor Organization (JRSO), charged with reclaiming stolen Jewish property, transferred many works of art and Judaica to Jewish institutions in Israel and worldwide. These objects either had no record of prior ownership history or came from institutions which did not survive the war. As part of this initiative, the Bezalel National Museum, the Israel Museum's predecessor, received several hundred works for custody. These works were moved to the Israel Museum in 1965, when the Museum was founded. Details on all works are now available online, in an initiative coordinated with the Company for Location and Restitution of Holocaust Victims' Assets, in order to make information readily available to survivors and possible heirs and to assist in their efforts to reclaim objects formerly in their families' possession. The website, entitled World War II Provenance Research Online, is part of the Israel Museum's website, www.imj.org.il, and includes a link to website of the Company for Location and Restitution of Holocaust Victims' Assets. It is accesible worldwide and provides information in the categories of paintings, works on paper and objects of Judaica. Information includes images of all objects, titles of works or other descriptive information, names of artists (if known), countries of origin (if known), dimensions and other identifying characteristics. Requests for restitution should be submitted to the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, following instructions provided on the website. Israel Museum - World War II Provenance Research Online The website for the Company for Location and Restitution of Holocaust Victims' Assets is www.hashava.org.il.
New Exhibition at Ticho
House: Hidden Cities by Yemima Ergas Hidden Cities (2006-2007) is a new series of drawings by veteran Israeli artist Yemima Ergas. In these works, cities rise out of charcoal strokes and smudges, creating familiar-looking, yet unidentifiable places: a building, a street, a bridge, a stadium. These hidden, anonymous cities contain structures that are repeated again and again in the various drawings, sometimes in the foreground and sometimes fading into the distance. The combination of elements in Ergas' drawings creates images of cities that are futuristic and somewhat utopian. The grid-like plan and neo-classical style of the public buildings recall the perception of the future at the beginning of the 20th century, exemplified in the fascist architecture of Germany and Italy. However, by changing the way we look at the images, a longer examination reveals that Ergas has not actually drawn pictures of imagined cities but rather computer motherboards. Once the illusion is broken, the so-called cities lose their mystery. Their hyper-organization, perceived isolation, repetitive elements and protrusions that did not seem to fit when the mind was telling the eye to see an urban center make perfect sense when it realizes it is actually confronted with the internal workings of a computer. The computer motherboards add another layer of meaning, showing how the grand cities of the future as seen 100 years ago are today reduced to the inner workings of a tool that defines the reality of that "future." Yemima Ergas The Ticho House Israel Museum Breaks Ground on Comprehensive Campus Project to Transform Facilities, Increase Gallery Space and Enhance Overall Visitor Experience Museum Plans Active Schedule of Exhibitions and Programs throughout
Project Period "The founding of the Israel Museum was one of the most important events following the founding of the State of Israel," remarked Israel's President-Elect Shimon Peres at the Museum's International Council, which convened earlier this month. "Its renewal is central to the destiny of Israel. If politics is part of everyday life, the Israel Museum is part of life's inspiration." The design of the campus project is a joint initiative of James Carpenter Design Associates, New York, and Efrat-Kowalsky Architects, Tel Aviv, with additional support by Lerman Architects and Town Planners, Tel Aviv. The project is the most comprehensive initiative undertaken since the Museum opened in 1965, and was inspired first and foremost by the desire to enhance visitor services and facilities on a campus which has grown ten-fold over the past four decades. The multi-year program will create new entrance facilities, an enclosed route of passage from the front of the campus to a relocated main entrance hall with access to all of the Museum’s curatorial collection wings, reorganized and expanded collection galleries, and newly centralized temporary exhibition space. Overall 80,000 square feet of new construction will be added and 200,000 square feet of gallery space will be re-ordered, renewed and expanded, largely within the Museum's existing 500,000-square-foot architectural envelope. The Museum is also concurrently working with Pentagram Partners, London, to renew the Bronfman Archaeology Wing, planned to provide a narrative timeline of the archaeological history of the ancient Land of Israel. The Museum anticipates celebrating the staged completion of the project and complete reinstallation of its collection galleries in time for its 45th anniversary in May, 2010. "We are entering an exciting period during which the Museum will continue to operate in fresh and innovative ways for our public even as our campus undergoes a process of transformational renewal, which will define the course for its future vitality," said James S. Snyder, the Museum's Anne and Jerome Fisher director. "We are grateful to the many friends from around the world whose commitment and support are making this program possible, and to our local constituency whose dedication to the Museum and impressive engagement with our campus and ongoing program of exhibitions and activities are the impetus for this major undertaking." Project Funding The international donors to this fund include: Judy and Michael Steinhardt, New York; the Estate of Dorothea Gould, Zurich; Herta and Paul Amir, Los Angeles; the Nash Family Foundation, New York; the Marc Rich Foundation, Lucerne; the Bella and Harry Wexner Philanthropies of The Legacy Heritage Fund, New York and Jerusalem; and Linda and Harry Macklowe, New York. Donors in Israel, whose contributions matched challenge grants from the Schusterman Foundation – Israel and Yad Hanadiv, the Rothschild Foundation in Israel, include: the Federmann Family, Tel Aviv; Debbie and Erel Margalit, Jerusalem; Dina, Michael, and Oudi Recanati, Tel Aviv; Rivka Saker and Uzi Zucker, New York and Tel Aviv; and Judith and Israel Yovel, Herzliya. The renewal of the Bronfman Archaeology Wing, built originally through the generosity of the children of Samuel Bronfman on the occasions of his 80th birthday, is being supported by Charles Bronfman and his family, in memory of Saidye and Samuel Bronfman, with additional support from the Wolfson Charitable Trust, London. Remaining funding to complete the project's overall budgetary scope includes matching support from the Government of the State of Israel. Exhibition and Program Highlights The Museum's ongoing program of public activities regularly includes
a wide range of concerts, films, symposia, gallery talks, special
events, and school programs. The beginning of on-site work on the
campus renewal project coincides with the kick-off of the Museum's
Summer of Renewal program of activities and events, including: The Museum also continues its traveling exhibition programs, through which it shares its collections and curatorial initiatives with audiences worldwide. Currently on tour in the United States, the exhibition Cradle of Christianity: Jewish and Christian Treasures from the Holy Land is on view at the Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta through October 14, 2007. Beliefs
and Believers: Ancient Art from the Israel Museum New Exhibition Highlights the Best of the Israel Museum's Archaeological
Holdings This week, the Rockefeller Museum opens a new exhibition, Beliefs and Believers: Ancient Art from the Israel Museum, which showcases, in its own unique setting, 34 of the most striking and significant objects from the permanent archaeology galleries of the Israel Museum. Common to all of the objects, which span from the Prehistoric to the Islamic period, is the focus on ritual and religion. In contrast to modern art, ancient art was not a form of personal expression; it did not reflect the worldview of the individual, but rather that of the community. As such, it mainly served religion, mediating between the believer and his god/s. Thus the objects displayed in the exhibition are a primary source for understanding the beliefs of the inhabitants of the Land of Israel over the centuries. The depictions of humans in ancient times resemble those of the gods, their creators. Thus, for the modern viewer, it is not always easy to distinguish between human and divine. The objects in the Beliefs and Believers exhibition include statues of life-like figures that represent both gods and immortals, such as the image of the storm god standing on a bull from the 13th century BCE, vessel-shaped images representing worshipers from the Iron Age (First Temple Period), and magnificent stone statues of the Greek and Roman gods. In order to shed light on ritual form in ancient times, the exhibition includes a variety of ceremonial objects including a 9,000 year-old Neolithic mask used as a part of rites for the deceased, clay musicians participating in a religious ceremony from the Iron Age, an altar depicting the Roman wine god Dionysus, and Byzantine 'magical' plaques that were used to ward off demons and evil spirits from the home. Exhibition curators: Fawzi Ibrahim and Dr. Tallay Ornan Rockefeller Museum
Water in Art and Life
New Exhibition Presents the Many Faces of Water in Works by Israeli and International Artists Jerusalem – June 17, 2007 –The Ruth Youth Wing in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, is focusing this summer on water, its role in our lives, and its representation in works of art from ancient times until today. The Water in Art and Life exhibition brings together works of painting, sculpture, photography and video art, as well as interactive installations, multimedia educational information and a variety of hands-on activities. Through the eyes of artists from Israel and abroad, water is used as a tool for a wide variety of expression and commentary on personal, social and environmental issues. "There is no life without water," says exhibition curator Hagit Allon. "Water is the source of all living things and yet, in the history of art, it has been so infrequently a subject of exploration in itself. It is fascinating how, over the years, the use of water in art has transformed from being predominantly scenic to being a subject on its own." Japanese artist Mariko Mori's photographic work Empty Dream (1995), covering an entire wall at the entrance to the exhibition, is a man-made beach that plays with the boundary between real and artificial, in which the artist herself appears four times as a mermaid. Other playful works include Gennady Berinsky's The Little Mermaid (2007), an interactive environment in which a siren-like mermaid beckons the visitor toward a torrential waterfall, and Shira Zelwer's Tub (2006, wax and acrylic), in which a gleeful child enjoys her bath. Other artists explore subjects such as pools, waterfalls, fish, the sea and the movement of water: Eden Ofrat's The Pool (2005) is a video of the daily progress of a pool's reflection, projected on plexiglass and surrounded by dry leaves; Céleste Boursier-Mougenot's untitled work (1999–2002) uses a water pump to propel assorted bowls around at inflatable plastic pool; and Shelly Federman's video Underwater (2004) uses an underwater camera to film the dance of a group of smiling synchronized swimmers. One section of the exhibition deals with the subject of water in Israel. Young Israeli artists have become increasingly disturbed by Israel's chronic water shortages, as well as by water pollution, and this concern is a central theme in their work. Some of the artists use their works as criticism of the way the country and its people are dealing with the issue, painting a disturbing picture, while others convey a kind of nostalgia for the way things used to be before the current emergency situation. Alongside the works, educational information explains the problems and suggests ways in which the public can help solve them. The exhibition ends with an artistic homage to water as a purifying and sanctifying element, as seen by many different cultures, from the ancient world until today. Various artifacts and photographs document religious traditions and ceremonies that have developed around water. A 13th century Iranian fountain and Said Nuseibeh's photograph of the courtyard pool at the Queen Arwa Mosque in Yemen (1994), used for washing the feet before entering the mosque, are examples of the role water plays in the Islamic tradition; a certificate of baptism in the Jordan River (2007) and Dan Arnon's photograph of the Syrian Orthodox Church's Holy Thursday foot-washing ceremony depict water's significance in the various Christian traditions; and an illustration of a woman bathing in a 'mikvah' (Jewish ritual bath) in a 1739 Viennese book of blessings illuminates Jewish religious practices. Works exploring other cultures include Yossi Zeliger's photograph Immersion in the Ganges (1994, India) and the bronze Aphrodite rising from the sea from around 200 BCE. Summer in the Youth Wing: The Joy of Water During the summer months, the Youth Wing courtyard will be transformed into a "lakeside," around which the whole family can enjoy getting wet. Children and adults alike are invited to construct boats and water toys, paint with watercolors, prepare food and drinks made with water and participate in competitions. At the entrance to the Youth Wing, the yard will be adorned with water sculptures, both comical and interactive, a lily pond, a giant sandbox for fun on the "beach," and appearances by guest artists and musicians. The Recycling Room will host a special water-related workshop throughout the summer as well. Extra charge applies for workshops and performances. Special Summer Hours The
Israel Museum Acquires Contemporary Works by
International Artists Jerusalem – May 20, 2007 – The Israel Museum announced today the acquisition of six works of contemporary art by Mark Dion, Ceal Floyer, Tim Gardner, Anne Hardy, Raymond Pettibon, and Na'ama Tsabar. The acquisition of these works was made possible with support from the Contemporary Art Acquisition Committees of the American Friends of the Israel Museum in New York, on the recommendation of Suzanne Landau, the Museum's Yulla and Jacques Lipchitz Chief Curator of the Arts and Landeau Foundation Curator of Contemporary Art. "Thanks to the ongoing support of our Friends organizations worldwide, the Israel Museum maintains an active program of contemporary acquisitions, a remarkable feat for a museum of such encyclopaedic breadth as ours," said James S. Snyder, the Museum's Anne and Jerome Fisher Director. "These new acquisitions underscore the focus of the Museum's agenda in contemporary art, which is committed to collecting signature works by established and emerging artists, in order to build a holding of singular examples of the work of the most significant artists of our time." The announcement of these acquisitions coincides with the creation of the Museum's first endowment fund for the acquisition of contemporary art. The Barbara and Eugene Schwartz Contemporary Art Acquisition Endowment Fund will allow the Museum, for the first time, to bolster its acquisition activity with assured endowment support, paralleling the ongoing efforts of its Friends' contemporary art committees in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv. The newly acquired works include:
Mark Dion, Antiquarian Book
Shop, 2006: In this
newly-conceived, site-specific work for the Museum's Billy Rose
Art Garden, American artist Mark Dion
re-creates the categorization and
exhibition practices of museums
and explores the intersection between art
collecting and display with
nature and archaeology.
Another of Dion's works, Packages,
2006-2007, is currently on view in the Museum's Surrealism and
Beyond exhibition Lives and works in The Antiquarian’s Bookshop, 2006 – Site-specific installation for the Billy Rose Art Garden Mixed media Gallery: Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York Raymond Pettibon, Sunday Night and Saturday Morning, 2005: This DVD animation by American artist Raymond Pettibon is based on his well-known drawings, which pull freely from a range of sources including music, politics, literature, art history, sports, movies, and comic books. His sophisticated combination of image and text critically questions popular myths.
Raymond Pettibon American,
born 1957 Tucson, Arizona Ceal Floyer, Double Act, 2006: This light installation by Pakistan-born, British artist Ceal Floyer suggests a stage set for performance, whereby the artist uses a spotlight to project the image of a red theatre curtain onto the gallery wall. Her witty use of illusion and double-takes gently subverts our usual viewing habits, raising questions about the relationship between reality and representation, illusion and imitation.
Ceal Floyer, British, born
1968 Karachi, Pakistan Tim Gardner, Figure Watching the Moon, 2006: This watercolor painting by Canadian artist Tim Gardner depicts a moonlit seascape with a solitary figure, lost in an expanse of sea and sky. Inspired by Romantic masters and based on photographed images, this remarkable work addresses such themes as the balance between the sublime and the banal in a contemporary context.
Tim Gardner, Canadian, born
1973 Iowa City, US Anne Hardy, Untitled IV (balloons), 2005: This photograph by British photographer Anne Hardy seems at first glance to show an abandoned space following a party. On closer look, however, the photograph reveals itself to be a meticulously staged and disconcerting 'interior landscape' that the artist built in her studio with found objects.
Anne Hardy, British, born 1970 Na'ama Tsabar, Encore, 2006: This installation by Israeli artist Na'ama Tzabar comprises a rock stage suspended in space, covered with musical instruments, microphones and speakers, all completely masked with black gaffer tape to create the illusion of a blackened field of ghosts. This work was recently shown at Tel Aviv's Dvir Gallery and will be exhibited at Art Basel this June. *
One of Only a Few Surviving Hebrew Manuscripts from the 600-Year "Silent Era" Jerusalem, May 27, 2007 – The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, announced today the unveiling of an extremely rare and never-before-exhibited Hebrew scroll fragment from what is known as the "silent era" – the six-hundred year period from the 3rd through 8th centuries CE from which almost no Hebrew manuscripts have survived. The fragment, dating from the 7th or 8th century, is believed to have been part of the Cairo Genizah, a vast depository of medieval Jewish manuscripts discovered in Cairo's Ben Ezra Synagogue in the late 19th century. The manuscript is a fragment of a Torah scroll from the book of Exodus (13:19-16:1), which includes the Song of the Sea, widely recognized as one of the most beautiful examples of biblical poetry. The Song celebrates the Israelites' safe crossing of the Red Sea, praises the Almighty for vanquishing their enemies, and anticipates their arrival in the Promised Land. "The Song of the Sea manuscript is one-of-a-kind in terms of its historical and literary significance," said James S. Snyder, Anne and Jerome Fisher Director of the Israel Museum. "It bridges the gap in the period of history between the Dead Sea Scrolls [1st-2nd century CE] and the Aleppo Codex [10th century], both of which are permanently housed in the Shrine of the Book. The opportunity to display this manuscript fragment alongside the Museum's own remarkable holdings of ancient biblical texts provides a unique example of textual continuity that can only be seen here, in our Museum's Shrine of the Book, in Jerusalem." On May 22, on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, celebrating the anniversary of the giving of the Torah to the Israelites at Mount Sinai, the Song of the Sea manuscript began its first public display in the Shrine of the Book. It remains at the Israel Museum on extended loan from Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, with gratitude to Dr. Fuad and Mrs. Terry Ashkar, Miami, Florida and Prof. James H. Charlesworth, Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey. The "Silent Era" of Hebrew Manuscripts The Song of the Sea manuscript provides a rare historical bridge. Written centuries after the last Dead Sea Scrolls (approximately 2nd century CE), the manuscript includes some examples of delicate lettering that resemble the Scrolls, while other letters recall examples from rare 6th century manuscripts. However, the text is also strikingly similar to the Masoretic (traditional) version familiar from such later Biblical codices as the 11th century Leningrad Codex in the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg. Many stylistic elements of the Song fragment link it to manuscripts originating in Egypt, including those found in the Cairo Genizah. "The Song of the Sea manuscript demonstrates the tremendous fidelity with which the Masoretic version of the Bible was transmitted over the centuries," said Dr. Adolfo Roitman, head of the Shrine of the Book and curator of the Dead Sea Scrolls. "It is incredible how the distinctive prosody of the Song of Sea is the same today as it was in the 7th-8th centuries." There are several conjectures as to why very few manuscripts in Hebrew survive from the period of the 3rd – 8th centuries CE, the most prevalent of these being the continuing persecution of the Jews and the related destruction of Jewish manuscripts. Biblical manuscripts do exist from this period in Greek, Latin and other languages, but it is only from the 9th century onward that Hebrew manuscripts have been found in greater abundance. From Obscurity to the Shrine of the Book Until the late 1970s, the Song of the Sea manuscript was part of the Hebrew manuscript collection of Lebanese-born American physician Fuad Ashkar. Dr. Ashkar was not aware of the historical significance of the Song manuscript until he contacted Professor James Charlesworth at Duke University, now the George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature at Princeton Theological Seminary. Carbon analysis proved that the manuscript dated from "the silent era" of Hebrew biblical manuscripts and was therefore one of a few of its kind ever to have surfaced worldwide. The fragment was subsequently housed in the Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Special Collections Library at Duke University. In 2004, Prof. Charlesworth brought the manuscript to the attention of Dr. Adolfo Roitman, and it is now on extended loan to the Museum. Since its arrival in Jerusalem, the manuscript has undergone extensive conservation treatment, undertaken by Michael Maggen, head of the Israel Museum's Paper Conservation Laboratory, in consultation with Duke University.
Israel Museum Presentation
Marks First Public Display of the “Heliodorus Stele”
Jerusalem, May 3, 2007 - The Israel Museum unveiled today a unique 2,200-year-old stele (inscribed stone block) that provides new insight into the dramatic story of Heliodorus and the Temple in Jerusalem, as related in the Second Book of Maccabees. “The Heliodorus stele is one of the most important and revealing Hellenistic inscriptions from Israel,” said James S. Snyder, Anne and Jerome Fisher Director of the Israel Museum. “It contextualizes the Second Book of Maccabees and provides an independent and authentic source for an important episode in the history leading up to the Maccabean Revolt, whose victorious conclusion is celebrated each year during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.” The newly deciphered stele presents new information about Heliodorus, who, according to the Second Book of Maccabees, received orders to seize the treasure in the Temple in Jerusalem, but was driven from the sanctuary by the miraculous appearance of a fearsome horseman accompanied by two mighty youths. This presentation marks the first public display of the Heliodorus stele, which is on extended loan to the Museum from Michael and Judy Steinhardt of New York. The stele documents a correspondence in ancient Greek between Heliodorus and King Seleucus IV, ruler of the Seleucid Empire from 187 to 175 BCE, who was succeeded by Antiochus IV Epiphanes (best known from the story of Hanukkah). In his letter, King Seleucus announces the appointment of an administrator to oversee the sanctuaries within the province that included the Land of Israel. The appointment of an overseer of the sanctuaries - including the Temple in Jerusalem - was intended to bring the province into line with the rest of the Seleucid Empire. This position included authority over the sanctuaries’ revenues and, above all, taxes due to the king. It is likely, however, that the Jews regarded this appointment as an infringement of Jewish religious autonomy. This episode may have foreshadowed events yet to come. Less than
ten years later (169/8 BCE), a new Seleucid king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes,
and his armies would enter Jerusalem, massacre its inhabitants,
rob the Temple treasury, and desecrate the Holy of Holies. Thus
the new appointment, recorded on the stele, appears to mark the
beginning of Greek/Seleucid interference in Jewish religious affairs,
which eventually led to the outbreak of the Maccabean revolt in
167 BCE. The writings on the Heliodorus stele have been deciphered and interpreted by Professor Hannah Cotton-Paltiel of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Professor Michael Woerrle of the Commission for Ancient History and Epigraphy at the German Archaeological Institute in Munich. Analysis of the stone’s patina by Professor Yuvel Goren of Tel Aviv University suggests that the stele most likely came from the lowlands between the Judaean hills and the Mediterranean coast. New Research on Historical Significance of the Heliodorus Stele The Heliodorus stele preserves three missives from the royal administration of King Seleucus IV (187-175 BCE). The earliest and most significant of the three letters is from King Seleucus IV to Heliodorus, of which only the preamble remains. In it, the King announces the appointment of an administrator to oversee the sanctuaries within the Seleucid province of Koile-Syria and Phoinike, including the Land of Israel. The other two, dating from the late summer 178 BCE, are shorter notes transmitting the directives of the King from Heliodorus to his subordinates. By this appointment, the King intended to bring the province of Koile-Syria and Phoinike into line with the other regions in the empire. The appointment of a new overseer would help ensure royal control over the sanctuaries and their revenues. The opportunity for this new appointment was necessitated by the death or dismissal of a former governor, who had also served as chief priest in the province and presumably controlled the revenues of its sanctuaries. Correspondence between the previous governor and Antiochus III, the father of King Seleucus IV, is preserved on the Hefzibah stele, also included in the current installation, which went on display in the Israel Museum following its discovery in northern Israel in the 1960s. The complete findings of Cotton-Paltiel, Woerrle, and Goren have
recently been published in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und
Epigraphik, the leading international journal for the publication
of documents from classical antiquity. Dorymenes to Diophanes greetings: The copy of the letter given us by Heliodorus who is in charge
of the affairs is enclosed. You will do well therefore if you take
care that everything is carried out according to the instructions. Heliodorus to Dorymenes his brother greetings: King Seleucus to Heliodorus his brother greetings: Taking the utmost consideration for the safety of our subjects, and thinking it to be of the greatest good for the affairs in our realm when those living in our kingdom manage their lives without fear, and at the same time realizing that nothing can enjoy a fitting prosperity without the good will of the gods, we have given orders from the outset that the sanctuaries founded in the other satrapies receive the traditional honors with the care befitting them. But since the affairs in Koile-Syria and Phoinike stand in need of the appointment of someone to take care of these (i.e. sanctuaries) … Olympiodorus ... . The Israel Museum
Presents its First Solo Exhibition of Tel Aviv-native Michal Helfman (b. 1973) has become, since her graduation from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in 1998, a well-known name on the local art scene. Winner of the prestigious Wolf Foundation Anselm Kiefer Prize in 1998 and the Young Artist Prize in 2001, Helfman’s installations have been seen in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Israel and abroad. Traditionally, her work has been associated with nightlife. Formerly the designer for the club Haoman 17, many of her earlier works explored the nightclub scene in all of its glitter and youth, darkness and emptiness. Just Be Good to Me shows a significant change of tone. While retaining her earlier trademark focus on light and darkness, in her new installation, Helfman uses motherhood, representations of womanhood and the transition from childhood to adulthood to examine the boundaries between interior and exterior, conscious and unconscious, orderly life and destructive passion. Just Be Good to Me integrates video, sculpture, installation and drawing. The opening scene of the film, which is screened in the first room of the exhibition, shows Helfman herself diapering her son. The atmosphere is one of cozy domestic intimacy. However as the camera retreats we see that what we thought was a house is only a stage set in the middle of the desert. Playing in the background is the pop song Just Be Good to Me, which, without its rhythmic accompaniment, sounds like a primal human entreaty. The artist picks up her son and heads for the mountains, recalling the departure of Hagar and Ishmael from Abraham’s camp and the beginning of their journey into the desert. Although at first glance the artist appears to be inviting the viewer to a rite of passage from an existence within regulated confines to a life of freedom, in actual fact this is a journey in which uncertainty and terror overcome security and innocence, and there are no moments of exaltation. Among the devices the installation uses to express movement and the transition from one state to another are objects from the world of dance: a sculpture reminiscent of Degas’ famous Little Dancer of Fourteen Years, now grown up and sexually mature; a ballet dancers’ barre, twisted out of shape and no longer useable; and a nightclub dancer’s pole growing out of a hole in the ground with the dancer’s shoe placed beside it. The exhibition’s Hebrew name – Bat-Dor – is the same as that of the classical and modern dance troupe that enjoyed great success in the 1970s and was recently disbanded. The name contains a promise of modernity and a willingness to be mindful of the present, to be “a daughter of the generation” (bat ha-dor) and, indeed, the daughter of every generation. However, the troupe itself did not survive the test of time and the promise was not kept. This is also the case with the transition between the different sections of the installation, which is not linear but complex, offering no solutions and providing the visitor with a simultaneous experience of completion and disintegration. The continual apprearance of mirrors and mirror-like surfaces throughout the exhibition is a reminder to the viewer that s/he is part of the theme, in transition as well. Exhibit Curator: Amitai Mendelsohn EDEN
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Toward a New China
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Opening Jan, 18 through June 2007 Five installations by multidisciplinary
artist Hadas Ophrat combining sculptural elements with video and
sound. The works deal with cycles, contrasts and reconciliations
between extremes, and processes of birth and death. All combine
a component of absolute order with a powerful emotional and physical
element. The central images - gardens, seeds, spice-boxes, female
portraits, orchids - are arrayed around the figure of the artist,
who appears in the videos, but is also alluded to in the myrtle
leaves (hadas in Hebrew) that decorate the garden and are carved
in the spiceboxes. The myrtle leaves become the exhibition's "skin,"
as well as a metaphor for the artist's physical presence in the
very spirit and soul of the artwork.
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