Jerusalem alive in color

OLGA LIVSHIN

On May 17, a juried group exhibition of 19 artists, Celebrating Jerusalem: City of Gold, opened at the Sidney and Gertrude Zack Gallery. In a way, visiting the gallery on that day felt like visiting Jerusalem herself. The musical accompaniment, an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary, provided by saxophonist Saul Berson, guitarist Dave Ivaz and singer Julie Boton-Ivaz, enhanced the mood of a street art fair in the city.

Each exhibit, a painting or a sculpture, allowed only a glimpse into Jerusalem’s mysteries, a small piece of the huge mosaic. Some images emphasized religious aspects, others, architectural, still others, historical or commercial. But Jerusalem unites them all.

I have visited this fabled city several times and, each time, Jerusalem turned a new facet towards me, opened up a new personality. The first time, I saw the Israeli capital as a new immigrant in 1992. The trip was part of our ulpan curriculum, and the teacher showed us official Jerusalem: the Wall, the Knesset, Yad Vashem. Like all her lessons, this one was educational, but it felt impersonal.

A few years later, to satisfy my curiosity, I bought the sightseeing tour Jerusalem Christian. I didn’t have to be Christian, or a religious person, to be deeply affected by the majestic Church of the Holy Sepulchre or by the narrow, charming Via Dolorosa.

The third time, out of sheer surprise, I embarked on an unexpected tour called Gardens of Jerusalem. This time, coming from the lush verdure of British Columbia, I was delighted to discover the green of Jerusalem, in its sparse, subdued way.

The fourth visit, I didn’t join a tour. I went by myself, wandering along the crooked old city streets, enjoying the quaint, museum-like atmosphere. But I still couldn’t grasp the essence of Jerusalem, her evasive but tenacious enchantment.

If I could personify any city in the world, who would Jerusalem be? I imagine Paris as a dazzling belle, singing chansons in Edith Piaf’s throaty voice. Vancouver is a rebellious teenager with a silver ring in her nose, smoking weed to spite her sedate East Coast parents. Both are pretty but mundane, whereas Jerusalem is fluid and spooky, imbued with metaphors and layered with centuries of history. I could almost see her – an indomitable sorceress, ancient but eternally young, evolving constantly but staying the same, soaring above the earth on her glamorous wings of love and strife. She throws the seeds of her allure around and harvests devotion from fertile souls.

Every soul is different, and the current show at the Zack reflects each artist’s own view of the city. Rina Lederer-Vizer’s large panoramic painting “Jerusalem of Above and Below” greets gallery visitors with its hills and temples, and its sepia-toned duality. The artist said: “I like to unveil the drama created when two images meet ... opposing and yet completing each other.... My challenge was to depart from the romantic images of Jerusalem as solely a holy city and confront the polar oppositions – both the light and the dark sides that the city holds.

“I lived in Jerusalem, and now Jerusalem lives within me. I was always moved by the mystical sense that wraps the city. It is absorbed in the past and yet wakes up daily to the controversy and intensity of the present.”

As a contradiction to Lederer-Vizer’s philosophical diptych, Jocelyne Hallé’s tongue-in-cheek photograph “Paprika, Mahane Yehuda” deals with the everyday, tempting viewers to taste the spices.

Beside Hallé’s enticing towers of paprika, two cityscapes hang side by side: the smallest one in the show – Roxsane K. Tiernan’s “City of Gold” – and the tallest one – Lauren Morris’ “Jerusalem I.” While Tiernan’s collage sparkles with gold like a dainty jewel, Morris’ manipulated and painted photograph captures the sharp, contrasting hues of sunset.

Next to Morris’ picture, Sidi Schaffer’s lyrical homage “On the Way to the Wall” reminds us why people not only fight for Jerusalem but live in it. “When in Jerusalem, I feel at home,” Schaffer said. “I love her beauty, her character, her stones, her history.”

It’s impossible to mention every piece of art on display and every artist participating in the show, several of whose works invoke biblical reminiscences. That said, one photo stands apart: Avie M. Estrin’s “The Wailing.” In his artist statement, Estrin wrote, “This haunting image manifests human anguish at its most intimate ... speaks to us on the most visceral level.”

To counteract the unmistakable pain of this photograph, Anina Kunstler’s “Something Small to Carry Home” offers a note of joyful harmony. Delicate and pastel, the painting is veiled by dreamlike mist. It conjures a sense of home and childhood intertwined with the ribbons of fairy tales. According to the artist, it “speaks of the memories and keepsakes that we gather throughout our lives.”

Celebrating Jerusalem: City of Gold is on until June 10. For the gallery’s hours, call 604-257-5111 or visit jccgv.com.

Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at [email protected].

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