|
|
Oct. 26, 2007
The spirit of Lillith is freed
B.C. artist paints biblical heroine as a model for modern women.
OLGA LIVSHIN
For years, Liliana Kleiner has been captivated by the legends of
Lilith: a demoness, a goddess and a woman. Kleiner's solo exhibition,
The Song of Lilith, opened on Oct. 18 in the Sidney and Gertrude
Zack Gallery at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver.
Kleiner also published an art book, The Song of Lilith, launched
on the opening night.
According to the book, Lilith was the first wife of Adam, created
from dust like he was. Sassy and wildly sexual, she refused to obey
her husband, declared herself his equal and, finally, flew away
from Eden to build her independent life elsewhere. As a result,
many religions consider Lilith a personification of men's worst
fears of women and their wild nature. In contrast, kabbalah sees
Lilith as a goddess – part woman, part fire. Some sources also
depict Lilith as a night creature, shape shifting into an owl at
will.
"I'm Lilith," said Kleiner, who identifies with her spiritual
heroine. "Lilith is the independent female, the free-spirited
intellectual and sexual woman who demands freedom of expression
and equality," she wrote in her book.
Kleiner was born in Argentina, where she first began painting and
dancing. When she was 12, her parents immigrated to Israel. In Israel,
Kleiner finished high school, served in the army and, later, graduated
from Haifa University with diplomas in fine arts and psychology.
Her soul being deeply rooted in the dual cultures of Argentina and
Israel, she was constantly searching for new inspirations. In order
to express herself fully, she became a feminist and a socialist
and, in 1980, she left Israel to pursue other possible avenues of
artistic and personal development.
Kleiner's road of exploration led her to England and the United
States, as she constantly expanded her artistic palette and her
range of expressions, experimenting as a multidisciplinary artist
and a painter. In 1982, she moved to Montreal to complete her PhD
in psychology. She also went to a film school there and learned
the art of tango dancing as a medium for one of her movies.
In 1995, Kleiner moved to British Columbia. She founded the first
tango school in Victoria and taught there for a while before settling
on Galiano Island, where she has a studio and now paints full time.
"My studio doesn't have electricity or plumbing," she
said. "I want to be as close to nature as I can." Kleiner
spends summers working in her studio and winters in Latin America
and Israel. All three locales deeply affect her paintings.
Kleiner's independence and spirituality imbue her images with a
sense of feminine rebellion against the constraints of patriarchal
society. In her collages, the combination of palm tree leaves, cedar
bark, feathers, fur, straw and bamboo with oil paints, fuses the
natural offerings with the European masters' discipline. Influenced
by folklore and mythology, Kleiner's canvasses are saturated with
bright colors and whimsical lines, representing cultural heritages
of Argentina, Mexico, Israel and the entire world.
"Lilith Portrait – Bat Kol" is the artist's self-portrait.
Its predominant blue feathers and green ferns accentuate Lilith's
strong, proud features. The birds forming a crown above the face
are only there because they had chosen to be. "Free like a
bird," they could always fly away.
The second Kleiner self-portrait, "Lilith Portrait – Sacrifice,"
was inspired by a sunflower. Surrounded by a halo of yellow petals,
the pagan collage of Madonna with the artist's face, pays tribute
to every woman on Earth.
Duality of feminine spirit, sundered but united like Lilith and
Eve, is a recurring theme in Kleiner's exhibition. It appears in
the green apple of "Sacred Knowledge," in the three consecutive
images of "Cycles" and in the womb-like "Lilith Apple."
The prominent place in the exhibition belongs to mandala kites.
A mandala is an image that represents metaphysical cosmos.
Employed in various spiritual teachings, mandalas help practitioners
to enter a trance state and achieve wholeness. Kleiner's mandalas
highlight feminine grace and harmony. "Mandala Kite with Palm
Tree" flaunts its translucent peachy form like a hymn of life.
A serpent of temptation encircles it, watching the pairings of birds
and fish inside.
The red ring of "Mandala Kite with Lilith Song" radiates
sensual energy; its three-leaf motif invites the audience into its
complex, multi-levelled melody. In another self-portrait, "Lilith
Portrait – Transformation," a tired woman gazes at the
world with eyes full of ancient wisdom. An eagle's feather adorns
her hair like a badge of female liberation. Two bigger kites, on
both sides of the portrait, throb with the deep colors of gladness.
Blindingly bright, created by an imaginative, jubilant brush, the
canvasses look like the fantastic floral wings of heaven. One is
called "Joy," another "Birds of Paradise."
Appearing on many woodcuts, the silhouette of Lilith, the artist's
inspiration for the show, rides her heron to freedom, her triumphant
red wings like flames behind her back. Although there are a few
pieces mounted in standard frames, most have organic bamboo frames,
and some are frameless, echoing the borderless essence of Kleiner's
art and the unrestrained spirit of Lilith.
Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer.
^TOP
|
|
