The Want of Matter – A Quality in Israeli Art
The term 'Want of Matter', coined by the exhibition's curator, Sarah Breitberg-Semel, described an artistic trend that emerged in Israeli art during the 1960s and 1970s. Through this concept, Breitberg-Semel sought to identify shared artistic characteristics that together constituted a distinctly local quality: the use of simple, inexpensive, and sometimes ephemeral materials, such as plywood, cardboard, paper, wood, industrial paint, photographs, and texts.
"The 'want of matter' as an ethical and aesthetic choice of language developed in the West for reasons we shall not explore here. The main thrust of my contention is that, for different reasons, that same language has settled into the local scene. There has been an inevitability about Israel's adopting precisely this language for its own use, an adoption so thorough that one might think it was born here. Many significant and widespread trends in art have aroused a slight response here, or have even been rejected outright. Yet the features of this language - including the use of such 'meagre' materials as plywood and others, and/or the intentionally 'poor' look of the work's surface – have been so intensively treated as to have become our sensibility, the Israeli way of depicting the world" (Sara Breitberg-Semel, from the exhibition catalogue).
The exhibition space was divided into two sections corresponding to two artistic approaches: “The Tel Avivians” and “Other Approaches.” Although the artists associated with these groups did not operate as formal groups, Breitberg-Semel identified shared artistic and conceptual characteristics in their work.
The Want of Matter – A Quality in Israeli Art, Installation display, 1986
© Tel Aviv Museum of Art Archive (Photo: Avram Hay)
“The Tel Avivians” group included works of art by Raffi Lavie, Yair Garbuz, Henry Shelesnyak, Yaacov Dorchin, Michael Druks, Menashe Kadishman, Tsibi Geva, Yudith Levin, Nahum Tevet, Michal Na’aman, Tamar Getter, and Nurit David. Their work was characterized by the use of simple, everyday materials, emotional restraint, rational thinking, skepticism, and an avoidance of idealization. These characteristics were also associated with the values of socialist Zionism, including simplicity, modesty, and a rejection of grandeur and ostentation. Many of these artists were locally born and had studied under Raffi Lavie, whom Breitberg-Semel regarded as the father of the group’s aesthetic.
By contrast, the “Other Approaches” group was represented by the following artists: Aviva Uri, Arie Aroch, Itzhak Danziger, Michael Gross, Moshe Kupferman, Micha Ullman, Pinchas Cohen Gan, Moshe Gershuni, and David Reeb. Their work also expressed a sparseness of materials, though in a different way, drawing on sensory experiences rooted in Israel's landscapes, in contrast to Tel Aviv's urban character. Their participation in the exhibition was intended to broaden the discussion of the term Want of Matter to encompass a wider Israeli artistic aesthetic rooted in the figure of the Dispossessed Sabra — the native-born Israeli who had rejected the Zionist myth and its pathos.
The Want of Matter – A Quality in Israeli Art Exhibition, Gallery plan
© Tel Aviv Museum of Art Archive
"Material as a new aesthetics and ethics appeared as early as. the beginning of the twentieth century, first in the Cubist collage, and later in the work of Tatlin, Archipenko, Schwitters, the Dadaists and Surrealists. Following World War Two, new concepts came to the fore - Tapies (Spain), Burri (ltaly) - and later, in the late fifties, the New Realists (France), Rauschenberg and Jones (U.S.A.). At that time, Tamarkin, too, integrated material into the local art for the first time. However, סח the whole, the Israeli concept of material is closer to that of the Italian 'arte povera' concept, also corresponding to it in time" (Marc Scheps, from the exhibition catalogue).
Interview with the exhibition curator Sara Breitberg-Semel >
The Tel Aviv Museum company (later renamed the Tel Aviv Museum of Art) was duly registered in July 1931. During its inaugural year the museum held a single exhibition in the foyer of the old post office building on Lilienblum Street. The official opening of the museum at Dizengoff House followed in April 1932, debuting a permanent exhibition from its collection. This initial display featured works by Marc Chagall, Lesser Uri, Joseph Budko, Amedeo Modigliani, Reuven Rubin, and others. Simultaneously, operating under the auspices of the Tel Aviv Municipality, the museum utilized public venues across the city and a custom-built pavilion adjacent to Dizengoff House to host temporary exhibitions. Over the years, the museum's permanent structure has moved through three locations, from the first museum building in Dizengoff House, to the Helena Rubinstein Pavilion (later the Eyal Ofer Pavilion), to its current location on Shaul Hamelech Boulevard. In 1989, the word "art" was added to the museum's title, in order to distinguish the Tel Aviv Museum and its goals from other museums operating in the area.
The museum is dedicated to documenting its past exhibitions, and making them accessible to the general public for research and study purposes. The content, exhibition name, and quotes on this page are true to spelling in the original archival documents, as such, there might be incompatibility with modern spelling rules; we have tried to locate and complete missing or incorrect information, but if an error is found, we will accept inquiries on the subject. For more information, please contact the Tel-Aviv Museum of Art Archive.
The Want of Matter – A Quality in Israeli Art, Exhibition poster, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, 1986
© Tel Aviv Museum of Art Archive (Photo: Avram Hay)
This exhibition has been made possible by a grant from the British Friends of the Art Museums of Israel, England. The publication of the catalogue was made possible through the generous assistance of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. The Canvas Forest Project by Menashe Kadishman was made possible the contribution of B Jerushalmy & Son Ltd. Manufacturing Dealing of Sport and Camping Equipment.
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