Reality Reflected Through Art
Is it right to separate art, which is the heart of CAN magazine, from the bustling and turbulent reality around us? Should we focus solely on displays and exhibitions, on sculptures and paintings, and on creations as they are, without mentioning the environment in which the artists, craftsmen, and creators operate?
Did they not listen to the news, watch television, were horrified by the sirens, feared the rockets, mourned the dead and murdered, worried about the abductees, hurried to the protected areas and shelters?
Are there not among them those who were drafted into reserve duty, who were evacuated from their homes, who lost relatives, whose relatives fought in Gaza and Lebanon, who did not sleep at nights, who needed sedatives?
The creators do not work in a disconnected vacuum. On the contrary. They are influenced, like everyone else, by what is happening around them. And even more so in the current period, obviously an important chapter in the history of Israel. Days in which we are witnessing history in the making.
It is impossible to ignore our surroundings. The thoughts, anxieties, conversations and rumors – all of these affect us consciously or subconsciously.
Everything is also so hectic that it is impossible to predict what tomorrow will bring. The judicial upheaval, mass demonstrations, the October 7th massacre, Hezbollah raining down missiles, beepers exploding, Nasrallah vanishing, the Houthis raising their heads, Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Tehran, Kamala Harris shining for a moment and then fading away, Yoav Galant being fired, the ultra-Orthodox refusing to be drafted to the army, Iran attacking, Israel attacking back, the Iranian nuclear program gaining momentum, Donald Trump elected, Yahya Sinwar returning his soul to the devil, Donald Trump making bombastic declarations, the abductees returning a few each time…
And these are only some of the events that have flooded us in the last two years. History is being written in these times, and we are all taking part in it. Actively or passively.
Reality is reflected, or at least finds expression, in many works of art. It may be overt and direct, like huge graffiti paintings of abductees on walls, and it can be hidden within hints that we must try to guess and perhaps decipher.
And let us not forget the various exhibitions that immortalized the atrocities at the Nova Festival and in the settlements surrounding Gaza, some of which traveled throughout the country and even overseas.
The wave of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment that has swept the world since the terror attack that set the Middle East in flames, has also left its mark. "From the river to the sea," millions of useful idiots chanted, having no clue what river and what sea.
Is the whole world really against us? There is no doubt that the old and new anti-Semites have raised their heads, but the media echoed and amplified their numbers and their strength. It is true that there are neighborhoods and even entire cities in Europe that it is advisable to stay away from, but almost everywhere else Israeli artists are welcome and sought after. Because there is politics and there is reality.
Time will tell if exhibitions and blue-and-white artists will travel to Beirut and Damascus. And if Trump's vision comes true – perhaps even to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Yoram Mark-Reich, Culture Editor
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