Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Shoulder Strap


Stars of David appear on a series of artworks (shoulder straps, medals and ranks) by Israeli artist Drora Weizman who wrote in the caption for her exhibit “March” in Tel Aviv Artists’ House on September 2006 (Treasurer : Daniel Kahana Lewinson):

In the beginning of the summer I collected the obsolescent shoulder straps of my domestic soldiers in order to put on them pencils and colors, in the spirit of the bible verse about swords into plowshares and shoulder straps into pens. I wanted to praise and to adorn, and on the way to let some steam out. I wanted folly, and some fun; I wanted to move the subject from its gloomy source; to end a chapter, to call for another order. To do an act of insurgence, and at the same time to say thank you. Victory Marsh to survivors!

Suddenly, a war broke up in the north (in the south it was all the time on low fire). It was clear that there’s a new need to prepare new shoulder straps and ranks to mark the ups and downs of the national moods.

Zoom in by clicking the ALL SIZES command right above each picture.

Copyright: Drora Weizman 2008

I like the direction Drora points upon. Hence everyone can imagine to himself shoulder straps according to his own personal taste and needs. I, for instance, imagine shoulder straps of the Israeli futuristic army of peace, and on them the word peace without quotation marks in different languages and with psychedelic colors.