TIME cites Israeli for creating ‘new art form’
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Music, Pop Culture, Technology, design
We wrote about him back in March and now the rest of the world is catching on. One of the top 50 inventions of 2009, according to TIME magazine is the music video montage Web site created by Israeli musicians Ophir Kutiel, who goes by the name Kutiman.
Kutiel’s site, thru-you.com, has atttracted more than seven million viewers with its striking remixes of video clips by amateur musicians from YouTube. TIME called the work “video jams of amazing funkiness, in the process creating an all-new art form.”
Kutiman takes YouTube footage of people giving gear demos and lessons on how to play certain riffs and combines them into incredibily cohesive and soulful songs. Hailed as the “psychedelic funk architect” Kutiman brings UGC (Users Generated Content) to the next level.
According to his record company NMC, Kutiman sat in his bedroom studio and watched and sorted thousands of music videos uploaded to YouTube by mostly anonymous users. Kutiman chose around a 100 of these videos – made by users from all around the world, featuring both musical instruments, vocals, toys and other surprising artifacts, and fused them together into Thru You. Using only materials found on YouTube, not playing a single note himself, Kutiman’s Thru You is a 21st century version of Found Art.
On an inventions list consisting of primarily gadgets and technology, Kutiman’s Thru You is certainly striking an appealing chord.
EVOO Israel style
It’s olive harvest time in these parts, which I was reminded of while passing [a possibly] public grove of olive trees on King David Street, in which several Arab women were picking and harvesting the crop.
Yes, charming and amusing and a reminder of the importance of olive oil, whether EVOO or other, in these parts. Now that Israel has beefed up on its boutique wineries, olive oil is the next cottage industry to hit the commercial mainstream, and enterprising olive oil producers are doing just that.
Here’s a nice little piece about four different olive farms…and if you can’t make it out to the farm — or the patch of olive trees on King David Street — just head over to liveO/Oil of Life in Mamilla or Tel Aviv, where their Negev Desert-sourced olive oil is packaged to perfection, whether as olive oil, straight; in soaps, jams (the Pear and Vanilla Jam is particularly good), or a myriad of other products.
According to the company, liveO produces five different lines of gourmet products based on their extra virgin olive oils, Picual, Souri, Barnea, Frantoio and Manzanillo. The oils are cold pressed, classified as extra virgin, and have a level of acidity not exceeding 0.5%. The gourmet line was created by Julian Attia, a French culinary advisor, inspired by the world of wines.
If you seek your own regular source of olive oil, LiveO will deliver a quantity of olive oil to your home monthly or quarterly, for a not insignificant sum. Or, you can cure olives yourself:
Olive-curing recipe:
Collect olives by hand in a clean plastic bucket to prevent bruising.
Day 1: Wash in running water. Add boiling hot water and allow to soak for 24 hours.
Day 2: Pour off cold water add more boiling water.
Day 3: Pour off cold water add more boiling water.
Day 4: Pour off cold water. Place the olives into clean jars and add a mixture of brine and white (or any other type) vinegar in the proportions of 3 to 1 by volume.Brine = 10%w/v salt in water that is 100grams/litre of final solution
Fill jars well and add a layer of olive oil.
liveO: Mamilla Avenue, Jerusalem / 21 Rothschild Blvd., Tel Aviv
Walking with the King – Israeli style
Filed under: A New Reality, Food, General, Israeliness, Music, Pop Culture, design
Even my wife can't resist the magnetism of the King.
An oasis of kitsch from the King right off the Neve Ilan turnoff on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway, the Elvis Inn is now an Israeli landmark that should not be missed – especially if you want to go home with an Elvis portable alarm clock or a postcard of Elvis as the baby Jesus, or a Bedouin nomad. It’s the kind of place that John Waters or David Lynch would have thought up for a scene for one of their movies.
The Elvis Inn is actually a restaurant – a garish, American-deco diner at that. You can’t miss the place, with the huge Jurassic Park-like statue of Elvis outside. But rather than serving the traditional cheeseburger and fries – after all, this is Israel – you can get your fries with pargiyot, kebab and any number of grilled Middle Eastern delicacies.
[The music is a taped loop of greatest hits by the King, which I'm sure the staff must be sick of hearing by now. The gift shop is chock full of the Elvis memerobilia described earlier, and the wall and ceilings are jam-filled with photos of 50s Elvis, pre-army Elvis, movie-star Elvis, Las Vegas Elvis, and wall murals of the King's numerous movie rolls. Then there are the statues and figurines throughout the restaurant - magnets for photographs. We went home with an Elvis Inn mug, and a few pilfered Elvis sugar packets.
A visit to the Elvis Inn shouldn't be missed - for a combination of Israeli and American pop culture excess at its most peculiar. Even better if you can make it on the annual commemoration of Elvis's death, when the cadre of Israeli Elvis impersonators converge for an evening of sneering and attempts at Israeli accented "Jailhouse Rocks."
Accessorize it
Filed under: Art, Business, General, Israeliness, design
Eva Teffner necklace and earrings
With discounts of 20%-30% on the current season, and 60%-80% on previous seasons, deals are clearly to be had. And while I don’t know all the designers who will be present, I can tell you that Or Forbin, whose line of jewelry, Eva Teffner — named for her grandmother — will be there, and she offers some extremely clever and affordable costume jewels. She uses elements of collage, printing on metal and then incorporating that into the earrings, pendants and pins that are part of her inventory.
The Mohawk Returns to TA
Filed under: General, Israeliness, Music, Pop Culture, design
An Israeli with a Mohawk at Nitzanim Beach (Photo credit: MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)
But given the centrality of hair in my life for the last week, I paid special attention to a Haaretz Gallery article this week about the increase of Mohawk haircuts on the streets of the Big Orange. It’s a look that attracts attention, as pointed out by Haaretz writer Tahel Frosh — whether it’s a modified, messed up or done up Mohawk. And given the recent harkening back to the 80s in the fashion world, it’s not a big surprise that this particular Punk style — and my mushroom head — is back.
According to stylist Maayan Goldman, the fashion statement being made by the current Israeli variation says, “I am not radical in any way, but I am here. I have fashion sense, but I’m not going to die for it.”
I mean, after all, it is just hair. It grows back.
An Israeli diamond in Manhattan
Living in Israel, we’re always used to some people – both native Israelis, immigrants and visitors – saying, ‘why can’t they do this like in America?’ about some particular thing that bothers them.
So, it’s especially gratifying to learn that an Israeli model for something is being adopted in the US. In this case, it’s the shining star of Ramat Gan, the towering Diamond Exchange, which is going to be copied to build a Manhattan Diamond Exchange.
According to a report in Ynet, the Internationl Gem Tower which is due to be completed in mid-2011, will house the largest diamond and jewelry center in the US, and will revolutionize the Manhattan’s diamond district.
Builders of the new project, US-based Extell Development, claim that hundreds of people in the diamond business around the world are renting old, dilapidated buildings in the New York diamond district, and are forced to deal with below par work conditions on a daily basis.
Extell additionally claimed that the existing level of security is insufficient for dealing in diamonds and jewelry. This also happens to be the reason the American company takes pride on the fact that it has planned the new complex based on the Israeli model, in which four buildings are interconnected through a system of bridges, which provide diamond dealers from around the world comprehensive and total answers for all their needs. The model has been combined into one 34-storey, 70 sq. meter (about 750 sq. feet) building
The new center is in actuality an exact copy of the model used in the Israeli Diamond Exchange, which is located in Ramat Gan, and will provide all the necessary services for the industry under one roof and will up the level of personal security provided to those working in the field. The project will cost an estimated $750 million.
“Israeli diamond dealers have grown accustomed to doing business under the mantle of increased security provided by the diamond exchange in Ramat Gan that provides quite a wide range of services,” said Extell’s Senior Vice President of Project Management, Raizy Haas. “The tower that will be built will provide the perfect response for all the needs of the diamond and jewelry dealers, including the most advanced security methods in the world.”
The head of the Israel Diamond Exchange President Avi Paz told Ynet he wasn’t surprised that the Manhattan tower is going to be based on the Israeli model: “From India, from Turkey, and from other countries, people have come to learn from us how to organize secure compounds for diamond dealers. We teach them how to provide a commercial infrastructure for the diamond dealer from a security perspective and supporting services for the diamond dealers.”
Looming like a beacon of light off the Ayalon Freeway, the Israel Diamond Exchange has always been a source of Israeli pride. Now that light has just gotten a little brighter.
Mama Mamilla
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, General, Holidays, Israeliness, Life, design
Even though I should be used to it, I can never seem to get over what a hopping place
Jerusalem can be. Maybe it’s from growing up in a small New England city where three cars at a red light constituted a traffic jam.
Yesterday, part of the family took a stroll along the Alrov Mamilla Avenue, the posh outdoor shopping promenade that opened up a year or so ago, just outside the Old City walls. Granted it’s during Hol Hamoed Succot, so people are on vacation, but the place was bursting – like the Maine Mall on Black Friday after Thanksgiving.
Around a third of a mile long pedestrian mall with mostly upscale shops and restaurants geared to tourists, the $150 million, the classy avenue was designed as a luxury destination in the style of Los Angeles’ Rodeo Drive or The Grove. Of course, those places don’t have The Tower of David looming over it in the background.
There’s about 140 businesses, including international names like Rolex, H. Stern, Nike, Polo Ralph Lauren, Nautica, and Tommy Hilfiger, as well as local chains like Castro, Ronen Chen, Steimatzky Books, and Cafe Rimon.
The Alrov Mamilla Avenue also includes the luxury David’s Village residential project, the David Citadel hotel, the Karta parking lot (site of plenty of haredi Shabbat protests recently) and the newly opened Mamilla Hotel. During the Ottoman period and the British Mandate, Mamilla was a successful financial district, but in the 19 years between the War of Independence and the Six Day War, Mamilla fell into decay. Looking at the area now, it’s hard to remember how dilapidated it was only a few years ago.
We stepped in to check out the first Gap store in Israel, and enjoyed ogling the merchandise, while rolling our eyes at the prices, browsed through the crafts fair on the upper level, and enjoyed the street musicans along the way. The place was bustling with energy and excitement, and provided further proof that Jerusalem is one rocking place.
Pin-ups
I’m a sucker for calendars, because I love the feeling of filling up the days of the month with what’s happening, from dentist appointments and school events to visits from friends, deadlines and, hopefully, vacations. So the advent of a new year is always advantageous for me, because everyone is passing out calendars these days.
There’s my fruit-and-vegetable guy, who always prints a magnetic one for the fridge:
And Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, which runs the pool and gym complex in our area, was offering their own version this year:
My mother-in-law always buys one for us each year, because she’s also a big fan of calendar-filling:
And then I noticed this item in Ha’aretz, pointing out that this year’s Carlsberg Beer calendar is using Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef as the pinup figure to be admired, rather than the usual photos of good-looking young folk quaffing a few cold ones. According to the report, the calendar, which was distributed along with the Shas newspaper Yom Leyom, was seen as disrespectful by more than a few in the ultra Orthodox community. I can see that. But I gotta get a copy…
Israeli Hallmark
Filed under: Art, Business, Holidays, Israeliness, Pop Culture, design
If you haven’t sent out those Rosh Hashana greetings yet — whether in card or email format, or, lo, facebook — never fear. A fantastic Jerusalem collage artist has created greeting cards that will negate all belated wishes, because they’re just so fun and clever.
Yael Bar, according to her bio, is a Jerusalemite who has never lived in Tel Aviv. (Another reason to like her.) After earning a first degree in the history of art and theater, she is now a recent graduate from Bezalel. I think she’s looking for a job, but in the meantime, is making these one-of-a-kind greeting cards that include all sorts of Israeli and non-Israeli personalities, from Shoshana Damari to Leonard Cohen.
Besides the Rosh Hashana editions, which I’m sending to my nearest and dearest, there are cards for all sorts of occasions, from Mazal Tovs and Chag Sameachs to her particular take on Israeli life, with collages lifted from recent newspaper articles, such as Divorce in Modi’in and prime ministers’ ranking.
My favorite Jerusalem gift store, Nisha, was selling the cards, but you can also contact Yael by email and order some of your own.
LoveBox
Along very Israel21c lines, Israeli Roy Shechter was having a hard time dealing with negative images of Israel, so he decided to take action. He teamed up with an American friend to create a website showing the best parts of Israel, as well as a few Israel ‘Loveboxes,’ filled with Israeli items that can be sent to loved ones. The idea being to connect you to Israel even when you’re not here, with things like soup nuts and Bamba. You don’t have to necessarily spend money; there is, of course, a facebook group option, where ‘friends’ such as Zeev Bielski have commented with admiration.
According to Roy, the lovebox concept is simply a way for Jews to feel connected to Judaism and Israel even when they are not in the Holy Land or don’t always feel they can display their Judaism proudly. So take a look at the loveboxes and see what you think. There’s a certain charm to the website and the idea, what with ‘The Gathering of the Tribe Lovebox,’ ‘The Israeli Wannabe Lovebox,’ and ‘The Worried Jewish Mother Lovebox.’ For just $19.90, $29.90 or $39.90, and a collection of kiddush cups, Psalms key chains, Turkish coffee, Bamba, sunflower seeds, Elite instant coffee and instant soup mix (+ soup nuts), you can show your love of Israel.
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