The 1970's in Israeli Art: my own body
Within the framework of the six national exhibitions shown in honor of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art has chosen to present the 1970's: 1968-1978. The exhibition focuses on works of art in which the body of the artist himself served as material for the work.
The exhibition consists of two main parts: one concentrates on self-portraits in which artists related primarily to the face as a means for transmitting a message. About thirty artists represent this trend in the show, from artists who were then starting their careers (such as Ra'ana Levy and Asad Azi) through such established artists as Avidgdor Arikha and Igael Tumarkin – each in his own way and style.
The second, more extensive, part of the show focuses on the artist's body, and is anchored, among others, in post-conceptual trends and body art, as well as in various mediums – performance, installation, and video, television and cinematic photography. In these works the artist takes upon himself several new roles: examining criteria in relationship to space (for example, Micha Ullman, Joshua Neustein, Michael Druks, Moshe Ninio); a driving force for action in landscape (like Itzhak Danziger, Avital Geva, Pinchas Cohen Gan, Benni Efrat); presence of a shaman and mender of the world (like Motti Mizarahi, Avraham Ofek, Michael Grobman, Haim Maor); victim's sensitivities and self-exposure to experiences (for example, Yocheved Weinfeld, Yudith Levin, Gideon Gechtman, David Ginton).
Joshua Neustein, The Box - Attitudes and Metaphors, 1973