If ever the municipality of Tel Aviv requires a publicist, I should recommend Ariela for the position. She was tireless in introducing HL and me to her city in all its variety, from its sedate, renovated Art Deco districts to its frenetic markets redolent of dates and spices. So I was glad when A. suggested that we go to the newly expanded Tel Aviv-Yafo City Museum, since she had not yet seen it in its current form. Much as A. appreciated the familiar urban attractions, I wished for her, too, to have the fresh joy of discovery.
The museum occupied the former City Hall. In addition to illustrated descriptions of local history and culture, there were contemporary artworks that expressed the city’s spirit. Among the most imaginative was an installation entitled To the Labor and to the Craft. It was the collaborative creation of two Israeli artists, Itamar Gross and Shahaf Ram, both previously unknown to me. In the center of a room devoted to the work stood a rusted, two-wheeled cart with a video screen set inside it. An animation played constantly on the screen. On the surrounding walls were collages that might have served as story boards, each framed and incorporating a small sketchbook.
Later, we walked through Gan Meir, a park evidently favored by many parents with babies and toddlers on that afternoon. The mature trees provided welcome shade. A tall bookcase stood near a circular pond where water lilies bloomed. The juxtaposition seemed as natural as it was pleasing to contemplate.
Part of the installation To the Labor and to the Craft, by Itamar Gross and Shahaf Ram, 2023
The central part of the multimedia installation, a rusted metal cart containing a video screen
Another part of the Gross/Shahaf installation
Gan Meir, or Meir Garden, a park with a free library as well as ponds and playgrounds
Dinner with Daniela and Ari in Ouzeria, a Greek restaurant in Florentin
A decorative, if anachronistic, mural of Theodore Herzl gazing at modern Tel Aviv
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