Choosing a theme for my studies was not easy as there are so many disciplines and so many artist who have been influenced my work over the years, however, I believe that at my age, the major influences have been imprinted into us during our early and teenage years. That lead me to think about everything I have been doing and how my traditions and culture played a part in my life in general and in my work.
Being Jewish and living in Israel means LOADS of important dates and ceremonies. One does not need to be religious in order to absorb cultural influences as it is always in the background. Jewish artist throughout the centuries have been active across the world and developed their style while remaining faithful to their Jewish background.
I started by looking online, questioning everyone I know about their Jewish experience. As most influencing artist are no longer with us, I will have to relay on secondary research when coming to deal with their work. However, there are so many artists who are living and creating, preforming and exhibiting their art, all I have to do is look them up!
I started by arranging a view at the West End Synagogue in London in order to trace back old craft making unique Judaica. I will meet up with the synagogue admin later this week and hopefully come back with insights and good quality photos to use as primary research.
The next thing I did was to contact Bar Ilan University in Israel, and speak to the head of department of Jewish Art. They asked me to email all information, and we are planning to have a conference call later this week to discuss contemporary artists who are influenced by Jewish tradition. I am looking forward to speaking to them and see where it leads me!
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