New Members 2016

The Jerusalem Artists’ House has a longstanding tradition of welcoming new members each Fall. This year’s new members are Anne Ben-Or and Doron Altaratz.

Finding a common denominator among the new members is a daunting task. This year it seems almost impossible, and yet, we can examine shared concepts the two artists address, such as memory, worship, ritual, reality, and illusion.

Anne ben-Or’s figures are close and identifiable, creating a circle or network in the private space; however, they do not exhibit a direct gaze, but seem to be in a haze. Anne has stated that through these figures, she enquires about Creation,
one’s inner world, and the attempt to solve the enigma of existence. The exhibited paintings document her subjects’ very private and personal moments, of inner contemplation, intimacy, and memory, though not exposing their dreams
and musings to the viewer.

In contrast, in Doron Altaratz’s Memory Box, the individual has lost his identity. The box, fed by the internet, uses a mechanism based on designated code written especially for the project by Guy Yitzhaki. The technique creates layers of video clips and still photographs depicting the dynamism of light and movement along with human activities at world heritage sites. Altaratz states that his artworks reference collective memory, margins of memory, monuments, rituals, loss of privacy and lack of intimacy.

Motifs of memory, monument, and worship may be associated with other works by Doron. The Angel of History features an organ, projecting images instead of producing sounds, and Visions of Heaven and Hell comprises photographs from Mt.
Herzl, site of national memory, among other images.

Thus, while Anne Ben-Or’s paintings engage in a mysterious gazing inward, Doron Altaratz’s works propose an external or extraterrestrial gaze at the world, humanity, or culture.