Designist Dream

Well, I did and I’m sorry I didn’t get to share info about this event during Passover break or before it closed last Saturday. But I didn’t expect my Passover holiday to be so much fun that I would be too pooped out at the end of the day - mentally and physically, man those 1 year olds are challenging - to post. So apologies again for the absence, folks, but I hope it was a lovely spring break for you all as well and now let’s get back to our regularly scheduled visual programming.

Last week the whole family went to Bat Yam and I’ll just preempt your confusion – I mean, Bat Yam? Not what you first think of for international and Israeli contemporary art. But, as you may remember, I love love love public art. And after checking out their Hebrew and English website, we were convinced. And off to Bat Yam’s first biennale on landscape urbanism we went.

Now the subject of landscape urbanism is slightly new to me I’ll admit, but it’s basically where outdoor garden design and landscaping come together in urban spaces to enhance or engage individual or community interaction. This amazing project was sprawled out across the city with pockets of installations by Israeli and international designers, some even featuring activities like musical performances, lectures and creative workshops for kids. We went during the day and despite the heat wave walked to a few central projects around town. The café/salon/courtyard project photographed (so well) below by Harry (Thanks, Babe) called A Lamppost with a Switch was my favorite. Created by Israeli designers/ urban planners, Shiri Cnaani and Taly Ariely, the setting generated an intimate atmosphere, much like a coffeeshop or living room, within the lawn courtyard of a residential building. At night, the lights strung across the tree and in the lampposts must have lent a really gentle and warm atmosphere to the public space. But during the day, we enjoyed the fire-engine red modern furniture and the fun possibilities of playing around in someone else’s backyard-turned-living room-turned-public garden.

I had a few minor problems with the exhibition though, namely, the signs were not well organized, nor were the events happening when we thought they would. More importantly though I thought too many themes were presented. The site talks about “Urban Action” as the central thesis of the exhibition, while signs and installations reflected ideas of ‘hosting’, home and the interchange between public and private, host and guest. In that sense the scope was too large. The Bat Yam Museum hosted a group of German artists who lived in the museum as part of an installation piece. Although an extension of the theme, I think it overcomplicated the exhibition with too many issues to think about. Having focused on one theme would have perhaps strengthened the experience and focused the individual’s engagement better (ie. thinking about urban space in an aesthetic way or questioning how to allow for private experiences in public space).

But alas the project is not about me or my family, no matter how much we enjoyed it. It’s about and for the residents of Bat Yam. Building up new outdoor spaces for their enjoyment. Renovating the city with a new cultural facelift. And bringing residents out of their private homes and into their shared public spaces with a newfound sense of pride and beauty.

More pictures from the Biennale on flickr.