Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Eliezer Sonnenschein (or Zonenschien),
Landscape and Jerusalem,
oil on wood, 2007. Israel Museum, Jeru-
salem, Israel / The Bridgeman Art Library. (Eliezer Sonnenschein / Bridgeman Art Library.)
these are the pages that he holds in his hands. The rest of the pages are hanging down. This is
an effective photograph presenting a sharp message that the Mizrahim have been erased from
the pages of history.
The apocalyptic mood continued into the new century. The visitor entering Sigalit Lan-
dau's October 2002 exhibition
The Country
at Tel Aviv's Alon Segev Gallery experienced a
strong sense of disorientation. Descending into the basement, the visitor entered one of Tel
Aviv's roofs as if excavated by archaeologists. The installation included three fi gures: one pick-
ing fruit, a second carrying fruit, and the third an archivist or observer who looked like an
ancient Egyptian fi gure in the act of writing. The forbidden or poisoned fruits were fashioned
from newspapers; the three fi gures looked like the living dead; their bodies had exposed mus-
cles without fl esh. The basement space was like a representation of hell.
Some contemporary art reveled precisely in its lack of meaning and even embraced escap-
ism. In
Landscape and Jerusalem
(2007), for example, Eliezer Sonnenschein painted a fantastic
landscape combining apocalyptic images of early European painting with the saccharine-sweet
language of posters from the 1970s, together with animation effects.
Such works do not characterize all or most of Israeli art. The 1990s and the early twenty-fi rst
century also brought a new interest in beauty. The kind of magical realism that had become
popular in literature also pervaded art with the use of illusion, spectacular effects, and even the
use of religious ideas.
CUISINE
One of the keys to delicious cuisine is good ingredients. Israel has a wide range of quality pro-
duce available year-round, including fruits, vegetables, dairy products, fi sh, and other items.
