Design Jerusalem

December 7, 2011 - 7:58 PM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Art, Business, design, Food, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life 

Basta Collection by Liran Shemesh (also available on Etsy)

Sometimes I love my city. It’s Design Week in Jerusalem, courtesy of The Jerusalem Development Authority and the Jerusalem Center of Design, and there are all kinds of funky events going on this week, having to do with design. And given that this is a city with many creative types, there’s what to be seen.

From the exhibit at the Hansen hospital

Turns out it’s the second year that the city has hosted this event, which includes a conference, an exhibit in the Hansen complex (locally known as the leper colony in J’lem, see the link) and events and what to see in the recently inaugurated ‘Designers in the City’, a wonderful studio cum cafe complex on Bezalel Street downtown that has more than a dozen cubicle-like studios for budding and established artists. They all work there together, plying their arts, including ceramics, jewelry, clothing, metalworks, Judaica, and passersby can come in, look around, purchase and stop to have a beer or coffee in the inviting cafe corner at the front. (There’s happy hour every evening, from 6-10.)

Many, but not all of the artists are recent or somewhat recent Bezalel graduates, which is fitting, given the location of the gallery on Bezalel, which is next to one of the school’s buildings downtown.

It’s really all about the redevelopment of downtown Jerusalem, which is important. Let’s keep these artist types here, them and their partners and kids, and make Jerusalem a living, breathing city.

For more information about Design Week events, which run through Friday, go to their website (see above).
Otherwise you can always support Jerusalem design at Designers in the City:
7 Bezalel Street
Sun., Mon., Wed., Thurs.: 10-2, 4-7
Tues., Fri.: 10-2

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Narkis

August 9, 2010 - 8:11 PM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Art, design, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life 

Israel's first tourism poster, by Narkis

An obit worth noting. Zvi Narkis, a prominent designer of Hebrew fonts, and the well-known Narkis, sans-serif font, died yesterday at the age of 89. His family of fonts was considered revolutionary for their contemporary appearance, according to Ha’aretz.

Narkis was born in Romania and settled in Jerusalem in 1944 where he first studied painting before turning to graphics at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. Like many successful people in this country, he first worked for the country’s largest employer, the army, and designed instruction books for the IDF. By 1955, he was out on his own, and for the next 50 years designed books, exhibitions, stamps, banknotes, coins, posters and emblems.

He specialized in designing fonts, and became the most prolific designer of Hebrew types in the 20th century. His book fonts, called Narkis, are the most commonly used in Israel. In fact, I used it today.

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Bezalel art

July 1, 2010 - 5:01 PM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Art, Business, design, General, Israeliness, Life 

Checking out the wares

If you’re moseying around Jerusalem this Friday or any Friday, check out the Bezalel Art Fair in downtown Jerusalem. A weekly fair that was established in the last year, the idea is for the fair to help revitalize and ‘brand’ Jerusalem’s center, working with the citizens and artists of the city, and honing in on the relocation of Hebrew University’s Bezalel art school downtown, which has brought a plethora of artist types into the center of the city. This weekly creative collection is aiming to be the largest in the country, featuring approximately 150 artists and creators, similar in nature to Tel Aviv’s popular Nachalat Binyamin fair that is held twice a week.

There’s a great combination of artists and works each week, ranging from drawings, textiles, wood and glass to photographers’ exhibits and the always-popular clothing items and accessories from local designers. There are also ‘social action’ stalls of various organizations, recruiting volunteers, signatures and resources.

Sprawled across the Bezalel pedestrian alley, the newly pedestrianized Shatz alley (both streets which are also home to some great cafes, wine stores and clothing boutiques), and Gan HaSus (the small park marked by a horse sculpture across from the Mashbir plaza which is often dominated by skateboarders), the fair has a lively, artsy air, with musicians seated throughout the venue and much to see and choose.

If it takes off, we can thank the Jerusalem municipality arts wing, as well as several other municipal departments and community centers for coming up with the endeavor. With current traffic of some 10,000 visitors on an average Friday, the organizers are hoping to offer a source of income to downtown’s struggling businesses and artists in the city’s center.

So head downtown, grab a cold drink and wander around the stalls. You’re sure to find an excuse for spending some hard-earned shekels.

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Foto Friday – Face, Body at Bezalel

January 15, 2010 - 6:59 PM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Art, design, Foto Friday, General, History and Culture, Life 

Jerusalem’s Bezalel Academy of Art & Design will be holding a conference this coming Tuesday entitled “Face, Body”.

Bezalel is Israel’s oldest and most prestigious academy of art and design whose students in the arts, design and architecture become leaders in their fields in Israel and the world.


Photo by David Adika

The conference, hosted by Bezalel’s photography department, will deal with the ways in which the face and body is presented in the plastic arts, in poetry, film and video, as well as in philosophy and science.


Photos by Eyal Ben Dov

The long explanations put forth by the organizers: “The face and the body are material and likeness. The face and the body are both real and the presentation of the real or the similar that enables the existence of the self and the other (everyone is both self and other) in various spheres as well as in discourse about the matter. The face and the body can also be addressed in the context of space and time, power interactions, as concepts and perceptions, as a covering and as what is contained within the cover.”

In a word: verisimilitude.


Image by Reuven Kuperman

Speakers include some of Israel’s leading art photographers and videographers, including department head Micha Kirshner, Reuven Kuperman, Simcha Shirman, Miki Kratsman, David Adika, Eyal Ben Dov, and videographer Alona Friedberg.

Click on the links to learn more about some of Israel’s premiere photographers. More information about the conference can be found on the Bezalel website.

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Israeli Hallmark

October 1, 2009 - 11:10 AM by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Art, Business, design, Holidays, Israeliness, Pop Culture 

yaelbarIf 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.

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