Abstract
Lecture in conjunction with an exhibition of Israeli video art and photography.
When it comes to the subject of Israel, nothing is simple; not its history, geography, politics, peoples, or multicultural and religious core. The points of view are as varied and passionate as the people who populate this land that is the site of conflict, ancient and recent, and promise. A new exhibition, The Compromised Land: Recent Photography and Video from Israel, organized by the Neuberger Museum of Art of Purchase College, confronts many of Israel’s issues head on. Organized around themes of coexistence and conflict, history and memory, and the importance of land, the work of twenty-one contemporary artists will be on view from August 11 through December 1, 2013. The opening reception is Sunday, August 11, 1–3pm.
The Compromised Land revolves around the notion of land, which, in Israel, is regarded as a sacred as well as a geographical, economic, social, and political organism, rooted in the psyche and culture of its peoples, and thousands of years of history. The work of established and emerging artists, who are emotionally and intellectually invested in their country’s fate, gives voice to their sense of unease and threat, as they consider, reveal, interpret, and question, often with an abiding, if complicated love, Israel’s politics, culture, and future. The exhibition also examines Israeli photography and video, practices that dominate contemporary Israeli art and for which Israel is internationally recognized.
Featured artists include Boaz Arad, Yael Bartana, Joseph Dadoune, Nir Evron, Barry Frydlender, Dani Gal, Ori Gersht, Dor Guez, Oded Hirsch, Miki Kratsman, Sigalit Landau, Dana Levy, Shahar Marcus, Adi Nes, Nira Pereg, Gilad Ratman, Michael Rovner, Lior Shvil, Sharon Ya’Ari, and Rona Yefman with Tanja Schlander.
The exhibition is curated by Helaine Posner, Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, and guest curator Lilly Wei, and is accompanied by a fully illustrated 96-page catalogue with essays by Ory Dessau; Ron Pundak, Israeli historian and chairman of the Israeli Peace NGO Forum; and the co-curators.