| Shatz,
Janco, Navon and Gross, the painters and sculptors, stand
at the center of the world of plastic art in Israel.
Zahara Shatz, born in Israel, was the daughter
of Boris Shatz, who founded the Bezalel Academy of Arts
and Design, Jerusalem. After studying at the National School
of Decorative Arts in Paris she rose to great prominence
in Israel and overseas. She exhibited and won prestigious
prizes throughout the world, from the Milan Triennale, where
she won a special award, to the Milane Bienalle, and the
Museum of Modern Art in New York, where she was awarded
a medal for her artistic achievement.
The renowned Marcel Janco, born in Bucharest,
Romania, was one of the founders of the important Dada Movement
(non-artists). Dadaism was established in 1916, at the Cabaret
Voltaire, in Zurich, Switzerland, by a group of exiled poets,
painters and philosophers who were opposed to war, aggression
and the changing world culture. Pablo Picasso who belonged
to the Dadaists Group in Paris, was a contemporary of Janco.
In 1922 Janco returned to Romania, where he gained fame
as a painter and architect. Then, in 1941, fleeing the Nazis,
he moved to Palestine, and became one of the founders of
the New Horizons Group (1948). In 1953 he founded the Ein
Hod Artists Village. The Janco-Dada Museum, founded in 1983
in Ein Hod, is an important source of information about
the Dada Movement and Janco's work.
Aryeh Navon, born in Russia, immigrated to Palestine
with his parents in 1919. He studied here and at the Institut
d'Esthetique Contemporain in Paris and became one of the
first caricaturists in Israel, published daily in the famous
Davar newspaper. In 1948 he started working as a theater
set designer, and became the most prominent artist in that
field in Israel. Recipient of many prizes, in 1975 he was
selected by the International Theater Institute as one of
the thirteen most outstanding theater artists in the world
for the years 1970-1975.
Michael Gross, a sixth generation Israeli,
produced works that are steeped in the Israeli experience
and imbued with the atmosphere of his native Galilee. He
served as a watchman in the Settlements Police during the
British Mandate and took part in the War of Independence.
In his works, imbued with the light and spirit of the Land,
he achieved many breakthroughs, striving toward a minimalism
that was never pure abstraction, but tied to natural form
and laden with feeling. He achieved acclaim in Israel and
abroad, and also became a great teacher, beginning in the
Bezalel Art Academy. Generations of Israeli artists, including
many of the most well known in Israel today, look to him
as their mentor and source of inspiration.
In the realm of literature and songwriting Shimon
Halkin, Haim Hefer and Natan Zach stand out as well.
Shimon Halkin was one of the fathers of
academic teaching of Hebrew literature in Israel, and a
worldwide authority on Hebrew and Yiddish literature. Author
of classic texts in these fields, in use throughout the
world, he was a teacher, a poet, a researcher and a translator.
He was a superb scholar who influenced generations of students.
Likewise, his translations, such as that of Shakespeare's
Shylock into Hebrew, poems from Leaves of Grass, and many
more, stand as classics.
Haim Hefer is another Israeli institution.
The "poet laureate" of the Palmach, he wrote many
of the songs that people the world over associate with the
period surrounding the War of Independence, the spirit of
Israel reborn and of Israeli heroism. He continued to be
a great influence for the next fifty years, writing a column
in the Yediot Achronot newspaper, the words for many of
Israel's best known songs and collaborating in the writing
of the famous movie Kazablan, among others.
Natan Zach was born in Berlin and immigrated
to Haifa as a child. He lectured at Tel Aviv University
and was appointed professor at Haifa University. He is not
only a poet, but also an editor, critic and translator,
and was chairman of the repertoire board of both the Ohel
and Cameri theaters. Rebelling against the previous generation
of Israeli poets he led a group that changed the face of
poetry in the 1950s and 1960s. Breaking with tradition he
aimed for openness and experimentation, using irony and
a colloquial vocabulary. Internationally acclaimed, Zach
has been called "the most articulate and insistent
spokesman of the modernist movement in Hebrew poetry."
Gila Almagor, Gertrude Kraus, and Gavri Banai excelled
in the field of dance, acting and entertainment.
Gila Almagor, an actress and author, was born in
Kefar Saba and moved to Tel Aviv at the early age of 15
dreaming to become an actress.
Almagor, is performing in the Cameri and Habima theaters,
in movies and on TV playes leading roles in many famous
productions. In 1987 she published her book The Summer of
Aviya, based on her personal biography. She also transformed
the book into a movie, which represented Israel at important
film festivals worldwide and won international prizes, as
did her second book, Under the "Domim" Tree. She
also was one of the founders of Ami, Association of Israeli
Artists, a member of the board, Tel Aviv municipality, and
acted as director of art and culture department of the city.
Gertrud Kraus (1901-1977)
Dancer and choreographer, teacher of dance, painter and
sculptor, Israel Prize Laureate for Dance (1968). Born in
Vienna, Austria, studied piano at the Vienna Music Academy
(1915-1920), and dance at the same Academy (1922-1924).
Immigrated to Israel in 1935. Organized dance recitals in
Israel during her visits there in 1931 and 1933. In 1939
appeared in a series of solo performances. From 1940 on
she concentrated on choreography and teaching. In 1942 she
founded a dance company. Gertrud Kraus developed generations
of dancers and established the first ballet company in Israel.
She was the principal teacher of dance in the Rubin Academy
of Music in Jerusalem. In 1975 she agreed to present her
first exhibition of painting and sculpture. She passed away
at the age 76.. In the book about her written by Williger
in Vienna in 1938 he described her well as " a living
example that it is possible to allow reason and intellect
to rule without losing faith.”
Movement design for theaters:
HaOhel, HaBima, Do-Re-Mi, Cameri and others
Choreographic design for performances:
Shabtai Zvi (1936), The White Circle, Herod and Miriam,
Sodom, Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Silk and Bread, Mendel HaHocher,
In Praise of the Lord (1947), Faust (1957), Shulamit the
False Patient, Three Angels (1963), Day and Night, Midsummer
Night’s Dream, Young Love, Barbara Blumberg, The Marriage
of Figaro, Peer Gynt, The blue Bird, Thieves’ Ball,
Emperor Jones, etc.
Gavri Banai, born in Jerusalem, is a member of
the "Hagashash Hahiver" comedy trio, a unique
Israeli institution. Formed in 1963, the trio achieved massive
popularity and influence due to the artistic excellence
of their work and the keenness of their observation of Israeli
society that was reflected in their performances. The "Hagashash"
has been credited with coining many standard phrases in
use in the modern Hebrew language, creating "a new
language which has successfully combined Biblical language
with Israeli slang." With characteristic humility,
though, Gavri Banai commented that this was simply a matter
of observing language that was in everyday use and putting
it on the stage. Some of Israel's greatest authors and playwrights
prepared material for the trio, which appeared on the stage,
in movies, television and army camps throughout the country
and overseas.
Artists working in Ein Hod are fully aware of the illustrious
example of these great artists and scholars, who lived and
are still living among them. The work of these prize-winners
and their lives provide inspiration and the challenge to
emulate the best in each of them. After over fifty years
as a vibrant, creative community Ein Hod faces many challenges,
including the formidable, fundamental task of remaining
an artists village in the face of serious economic and social
pressures. Serious artists, writers, performers and musicians
of all ages and specialties are still working and producing
here.
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