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Ultimately, it had to find a way out.
The angst and melancholy simmering in every Israeli’s chest since October 7 has been finding numerous forms of release. While I suspect people have been less productive at work - (I know I have been) – angst has proliferated in the form of art.
Angst-based Comedy
Brave stand-up comedians have been impressive in their portrayal of daily life in the shadow of the Hamas massacre and ongoing terrorist attacks in our cities. Comedians include Israeli Arab Muslims, performing in Hebrew.
Each of these shows manages to beautifully - and in a strange way, comfortably - depict what we are all experiencing. The material includes: vignettes of Arab citizens in a Jewish country under attack by other Arabs; struggles with life in a hotel after fleeing home due to rocket attacks; life as a soldier; the fear felt by tourists when they order a taxi and a car, resembling vehicles used by the murderers in the October attacks, turns up with an Arab driver; and more.
TV comedy shows, such as Eretz Nehederet, have been prominent in this effort. One episode, performed in English, highlighted the blatant anti-Israel agenda inherent in BBC news reports
Amazingly, this was picked up by media analysts overseas and stimulated conversation about BBC impartiality.
Other comedy sketches cover everything from UNRWA's complicity with Hamas, to antisemitism at American University campuses.
Memes
The Internet has been rife with sarcastic cartoons that manifest the craziness of Israel's current affairs. When feeling aggrieved by fake news, posting an image of the type below can be very satisfying.
Trauma in Art
In a previous post, I wrote about an exhibit depicting the Nova music festival massacre.
On display soon after the attack took place, paintings by survivors successfully instilled the intensity of their trauma. (see photos in that post).
A company is now selling yellow signs for your car's rear windshield. The words ‘Baby on Board’ have been replaced with ‘Baby
in Gaza’. While only a small act of defiance against apathy, displaying such a sign is a public declaration that proudly states: I am with you and we are all in this together.
Blogs
Sharing and connectedness are a powerful panacea for anxiety and stress. This probably explains the blooming industry of blogs that allows people to express their thoughts and concerns about the quandaries we are living with today. I guess I'm part of that industry. Writing my blog gives me a sense of purpose and a feeling of contribution, while also leaving, for future reference, a testimony of Jewish and Israeli life today.
Poetry
Poetry is another specialised artistic field that lends itself perfectly to memorialising our current experience. Large billboards posted outside the President's house contain a poem (in three languages), along with photographs, that describe an art gallery in Kibbutz Beeri that was destroyed by the terrorists in their rampage.
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Graffiti is the perfect medium to scream blue murder in a public forum.
In Jerusalem, crude graffiti has turned up on walls cursing Bibi with crass language. This may, of course, all be the work of one individual. Either way, when found, the municipality messily paints over them to render the text illegible.
Painted on a wall in town were the words ‘Bibi=Hamas’. Someone later crossed out the word Hamas and replaced it with ‘King’.
Public Participation
One room at the Center is dedicated to young graffiti artist Inbar Haiman. Known in the art world as 'Pink’, she was kidnapped by Hamas and held captive in Gaza.
Family and friends held a campaign for her release.
Sadly, in late October, her family was notified that Hamas killed her in captivity.
Inbar was an attractive young college student. She was kidnapped as leverage in negotiations with Israel. She was held by Hamas, which is known for its murderous sexual assault of its victims. The fact that Inbar did not survive leads me to wonder whether her value to Hamas as a bargaining chip was lower than as a sexual victim. What did she suffer? My stomach turns.
The words, Rest in Pink, together with an emotional message by another young artist who had never met her, were subsequently added to the exhibit.
The Cookie Monster
When Hamas terrorists barged through the door of 65 year old Rachel Edri and her husband, she knew her only defense against being murdered was time. Unbelievably, Rachel convinced her attackers to let her bake them fresh cookies and take care of them. Somehow, miraculously, her ploy worked for almost 20 hours, during which time she and her husband were held at gunpoint. It gave her policeman son the time to summon an armed team to come and save his parents.
https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/world/story/israel-hamas-war-how-a-65-yr-old-israeli-grandma-tricked-hamas-militants-with-tea-moroccan-cookies-402534-2023-10-19
Daring Droppings
Probably the most poignant display at the art center is that of numerous little twirled plaster statues. I looked at them curiously, At first I thought they looked like ice-cream Sundays. But then again, they could have been piles of feces. Visitors are invited to paint them in a variety of colours. I spoke to the curator who gave me a tour. We arrived at the table of statues.
Among Friends
Rivkah Blok, a highly talented young woman in her early twenties (whom I have known since she was born) epitomised the state of the nation, in an image she crafted so well and shared on social media.
Every time I look at it I feel a sad stillness. A need to take stock. Connection. Responsibility, and perhaps responsibility that has been disappointed. As with the figure in the image, I too feel a need to sit still for a moment and cry.
And that, my friends, is the power of art.
5 comments:
You make the murky. Pain riddled art world come fully alive 🙏🙏🙏
Sh’koyekh! For me m’eyver hayam you bring me into the personal experiential and tragic esthetic from the social, political, and tragic strategic. It’s a vital link. - elye
Thank you Alan for sharing this art of pain and trauma
Wonderful blog post. Thank you...
There is an incredible drive propelling Israeli creators. Thanks for shining a light on the forces that keep us going.
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