To celebrate Harry’s big birthday this weekend, we took a fun-filled family trip to the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo. Aside from the animals - and the joy of introducing Tzofi to them (penguins, elephants and monkeys scored high on the smiles and squeals scale) - I really wanted to see the sculpture park created by French artist Niki de Saint Phalle. I hadn’t been to the zoo in ages and given last week’s amateur public art display at the TASE Global View, I was really in the mood for some fine art French-style.
The 23 animal sculptures created by Niki de Saint Phalle for the Jerusalem Zoo testify to her longstanding fascination with how color and fantasy blended with body and shape. Influenced by her relationship with Jean Tanguely - who she later married - and the Surrealist movement, de Saint Phalle’s creatures are simultaneously identifiable as animals - kangaroo, turtle, lion, camel - and morphed into hyper-colored hybrids. The animals also feature holes, benches and climbing poles as part of their physique so that kids can climb through, jump on and sit inside of them. Nearby, a central ark - as in Noah’s ark - was designed in collaboration by Swiss architect Mario Botta serves as the central play station for kids and their parents and possibly the home for these crazy animals when all the visitors have left . More on the project’s design and execution can be read here and here.
This is not de Saint Phalle’s first public art foray into Jerusalem however. Some of you may recognize a similar fantastical animal in the Kiryat HaYovel neighborhood of Jerusalem: the famous monster slide. The huge black and white, spotted and horned blob is a favorite stop for local children - including myself and my brothers back in the day - to slide down its steep three red tongues.
The monster slide and the zoo creatures were created nearly thirty years apart. It was the longstanding dream of Jerusalem’s favorite mayor and cultural advocate, Teddy Kollek, to invite de Saint Phalle back to Jerusalem to design a larger sculpture park for the city and its children. Although de Saint Phalle passed away shortly after the zoo’s sculpture park opened, her love of fantasy and play will always be an integral part of Jerusalem’s visual and cultural landscape.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Jana // Nov 5, 2007 at 3:24 pm
I, too, love her art, especially the monumental colorful mosaic sculptures. Thank you for sharing your experience and pictures. Too bad she passed away…what other wonders would she have created still….?
The “Noah’s Ark” sculpture park at the Biblical Zoo is a collaboration between Niki and the renowned Swiss archivtect Mario Botta, who designed the Ark itself. Also, Niki’s second husband was Swiss kinetic sculptor Jean Tinguely.
2 nikki // Nov 5, 2007 at 3:56 pm
great! we haven’t been to the zoo in ages — mostly because when we’re “off” so is the rest of the country and the tourists! maybe it’s time for an impromptu family fun day! btw — love the mifletzet!
3 Ziva // Nov 6, 2007 at 7:02 am
Hi Jana,
Thanks for the information which was also posted above. I’ve been a big fan of de Saint Phalle’s work ever since we went to Switzerland. Seeing her ‘people’ floating above in the Zurich train station was a real treat, as was the Jean Tinguely museum.
4 Ziva // Nov 6, 2007 at 7:06 am
I totally agree with you Nikki and we also try to stay far away from the madness of kid vacation time. But I have to say, even though the zoo was crowded, the spaciousness and layout of the place kept it from getting pushy or claustrophobic. And that’s with a lot of kids! Highly recommended for a regular Shabbat or Friday morning/afternoon trip. Passover I’m still not convinced is a good idea though
5 lily // Dec 5, 2007 at 5:46 pm
strange , but cool!!!
Leave a Comment