Four Films and a Museum / A collection of short documentaries
In collaboration with the New Israel Film and Television Fund, produced by Shula and Dana Productions
The Tel Aviv Museum of Art presents a unique film collection. The collection, Four Films and a Museum, brings together voices of cinema creators who chose to look at the museum from different, diverse, and surprising angles.
The four short films are presented for the first time to the general public.
The Tel Aviv Museum of Art was founded in April 1932 in the private residence of the then-mayor Meir Dizengoff. Sixteen years later, on May 14th, 1948, Israel's Declaration of Independence was announced at the same address, a historic moment that has no parallel in the country's history. Israel is the only country in the world that was founded in an art museum.
The story of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art has not been told since its establishment. Now, on the occasion of its 90th anniversary, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, in collaboration with the New Foundation for Cinema and Television, has produced four short documentary films specifically for this event. The films use original and diverse perspectives to reveal the story of the institution, which holds such a central place in Israeli culture.
Duration: approximately 70 minutes.
Language: Hebrew, English. Hebrew and English subtitles.
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The films in the collection:
A Tale which Begins with 3 Rooms | Arnon Goldfinger
In 1933, Dr. Karl Schwartz was invited by the then-mayor of Tel Aviv, Meir Dizengoff, to establish Palestine's first art museum - the Tel Aviv Museum. Dr. Schwartz left the cultural world of Berlin, arrived in Tel Aviv, and was surprised to discover that the museum was located in three small rooms in the private home of the mayor. The film, made up of archival materials and artworks, tells the story of the museum's founding and reveals the chilling connection between the museum's growth and the tragedy that shook European Jewry in the 1930s and 40s.
The Foyer | Michal Houminer, Ron Katznelson
The museum entrance, the grand foyer of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, is the starting point of any visit to the museum. It is a place of gathering and conversation, a meeting point for people, a space for showcasing art and holding events. Each of the artworks hanging on the walls of the foyer is a fascinating chapter in the story of the museum, the people who worked there, and its collective memory. The film follows the artistic changes that have taken place in the entrance hall over the years, and through them, a new way of seeing the evolution of the art institution and the various cultural approaches that have governed it is unveiled.
Nothing But 34 Paintings | Ella Fainaru, Ziv Berkovich
In 1955, a collection of contemporary art was donated to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, which included works by the greatest artists of the time. Thousands flocked to the museum to view the collection, which included abstract and surrealist works. But how did the museum's director at the time, Eugene Kolb, manage to obtain such a groundbreaking collection? What motivated the most famous art collector of her time, Peggy Guggenheim, to respond to his request and make her greatest contribution to a small, then unknown museum in Israel? The film follows the relationship between the two, and through their correspondence, attempts to delve into the depths of these questions.
The Museum Plaza| Noa Amiel Lavie, Noa Ben-Shalom
The outside plaza of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, surrounded on all sides by symbols of power (the courthouse, Beit Ariela library, the city), is a meeting place of art and life. Already at the opening ceremony of the museum, the first demonstration was held there. Since then, the plaza has become a gathering place for artistic activities, protests, and demonstrations. Along the plaza, the camera observes the museum and wanders between the subjects of the world's grandeur and the everyday life.