Monday, August 25, 2008

Marc Ash

Star of David, yellow badge and Nazi concentration camp identifying triangles surround a square with the word Dieu (God). The square is a piece of Nazi concentration camp prisoners’ uniform.

Tous Ensemble (All Together) has a barbed wire circlet centered on a patch of striped fabric, like prison uniforms, stenciled with "Dieu ?"("God ?"). Surrounding them are more patches shaped in single triangles or pairs forming Stars of David in colors the Nazis used to identify which category (Jew, homosexual, gypsy, for example) qualified a person for a concentration camp or for extermination. The stenciled numbers 1 through 6 are scattered around, a recurring motif that I take to refer to the six death camps and the estimated 6-million Jews killed.

From: http://www.tampabay.com/features/visualarts/article518349.ece

Palestine Magen David

Star of David drawn on an envelope from 29.1.1937 is courtesy of Dobush from Kfar Aza. This envelope was sent from Palestine, Texas, to Mr. Horowitz. The sender added to the American stamps also two British mandate stamps. Dobush added that Palestine, Texas became known after 1.2.2003 following the crash of space shuttle Columbia, in which was Ilan Ramon. The debris of the space shuttle fell near this city.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Postcards to a Soldier

Star of appears on an art work by Drora Weizman, one of a series of postcards sent to her daughter. Drora wrote to me:

In January 2003 my daughter was recruited to the Israeli Army, and during a year of her studying in a military course, very incommunicado from home, I prepared for her postcards every day, and this was the only art that I could create at that same time, a sort of dialog between art and everyday life. While the words told what happened at home, the imagery discovered contents that were beyond the words.

Size: between 8.5 x 15 cm and 20.5 x 16 cm

Copyright: Drora Weizman 2008

Zoom in

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Chinese Checkers Hexagram

On September 2006 I wrote that I’d like to buy Chinese Checkers for my little private "museum" of star of David stuff. This week my son bought it for me at Chutzot Hayotzer Annual Fair at Jerusalem, Israel.

Friday, August 22, 2008

The Last Road

A yellow badge is attached to many of the figures in Benjamin Pelegs’ The Last Road. The figures are marching to their death (symbolized by the black background) in an endless circle.

Here we see only a small part of the work, but you can see the whole high resolution picture on Flickr, by clicking the command “all sizes” right above the picture. You are invited also to see more holocaust paintings by Benjamin Peleg at

http://flickr.com/photos/zeevveez/sets/72157606720060091/

Copyright: Benjamin Peleg 2008

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Mandala Painting Workshop

Picture of Magen David is from the painting workshop of Israeli Mandala expert Ofira Oriel. Participants were religious women. The workshop was dedicated to learning about the meaning of the Magen David along with creation, and prayer to find inner balance and peace, which are symbolized by the Magen David.

Zoom in by clicking the all sizes command above the picture in Fickr

Copyright: Ofira Oriel 2008

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Decoration for British Mandate Prisoners

The Israeli Decoration for British Mandate Prisoners has a blue Star of David on the background of a jail. Picture is courtesy of Tal Inbar. This decoration is granted to underground anti British Mandate prisoners who spent more than 6 months in jail.