ISRAEL: Tel Aviv – Country #95

A large menorah at the Ben Gurion Airport welcomes me to Israel, and I experience the satisfaction of setting foot in my 95th. country. In a little under two months I will arrive in the Maldives, my 100th. country. I gave myself five years to reach this goal, but if all goes well I should make it less than three and a half. My travels will continue at least until the self proclaimed five year point, and very likely well beyond.

ABRAHAM HOSTEL – TEL AVIV – This is a great hostel if you like big, boisterous, party hostels. It has a large bar and a massive stage where they host various musicians. They have a convenient on site tour agency. The dorms are spacious, the beds are good and they keep everything spic and span. If you prefer smaller, low-key hostels this is probably not the place for you.

ABRAHAM – PORTRAIT MUTATIONS

DINING AREA

WHAT INDEED

I think the that the most redeeming feature of this city is the street art. Tel Aviv is one of the premier cities in the world for this medium. That said, it is also a rather shabby city as well, as evidenced by the excessive amount of tagging, crumbling structures and poorly finished storefronts. For all of this urban decay you also pay a premium. Tel Aviv is more expensive than London!

A nice piece of art contrasts a shabby building in the background.

In a place like Tel Aviv it’s nice to have some technology to distract you.

This gnarly dude straps on some bizarre religious apparatus known as tefellin as he prepares to kick some spiritual ass in the name of Moses. He looks a lot like my son in law.

 

 

 

                                CARMEL MARKET

Eighty percent of the items in this market is low quality crap out of China. Foodstuffs are usually the best bet here, but frankly I’d avoid the place altogether. Take your money elsewhere.

Something Useful

DEEP SEA MUD – $3.OO a bag – Finally something cheap, but I have no desire to smear mud on myself, Dead Sea or otherwise.

POO EMOJI UNDERWEAR – For those in need of undergarments to disguise their tenacious skid marks.

MULTI COLORED PALETTE

 

 

                JAFFA OLD CITY TOUR

THE OLD CITY CLOCK – This was built for the townspeople so they would not miss their trains.

PUBLIC FOUNTAIN –

JAFFA OLD CITY ENTRANCE – The archway in this hardscrabble alleyway marks the entrance.

TEL AVIV SKYLINE

Perched next to one another a Christian Bell Tower to the left and the Muslim call to prayer tower to the right.

Fishing in the Mediterranean

UPSCALE ART DISTRICT

Our Tour Guide – Ex New Yorker – 10 years in Tel Aviv

HOUSE OF SIMON THE TANNER

UPSCALE GALLERIES

SUSPENDED ORANGE TREE

 

Egyptian Entrance to City – Replica – Original is in a Museum in Jerusalem

LOW CALIBER STOREFRONTS – POOR MERCHANDISING – CHEAP PRODUCTS

Contemplating the significance of short person behavior in panchromatic resonance and other highly ambient domains.

TYPICAL TEL AVIV BUILDING

 

 

                     GRAFFITI TOUR

EVIATAR – TEL AVIV is the second most major city in the graffiti universe.

MURAL – Three scruffy barefoot figures are famous Palestinian cartoon characters.

SENNA

BAND-AIDS – These serve to symbolically hold together a fragmented and crumbling infrastructure.

Looking Toward a Bright Future

More Band-Aids and clever initials comprising a dog’s face, butt, and fart.

Integrated plants enhance this Face.

MR – This street artist is also a tattoo artist who is booked six months in advance.

DIDI – 2017

MR

This compelling Botox piece is by an awkward, overweight grade schooler who is making a point about the lengths to which people will go to be beautiful.

Message to Tour Guide who allowed tourists to compromise an existing pieced.

BAND-AID SIGN

Nice Stencil Work

SOLOMON SOUZA

GRAFFITI ALLEY – Practice Area

More Practice

SPRAY CAN OCTOPUS

LEAKING ROBOT

This sort of thing is really frowned upon – It won’t last long.

More Techno-Graffiti

PAINT HIGH IF YOU WANT IT TO STAY A WHILE

THE 27 CLUB

Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Artist

MIXED TECHNIQUES

VEGAN GRAFFITI

WEDDING INVITATION GRAFFITI

DIDI – Repurposed Architectural Drawing.

 

 

 

                                      TEL AVIV MUSEUM OF ART

A WORLD CLASS EXPERIENCE

Henry MOORE – Reclining Figure – 1969

LICHTENSTEIN – A big beauty in the grand entry hall.

 

Yaacov AGAM – Pace of Time – 1970

From the Left

From the Right

 

Georgia O’KEEFE – Bleeding Heart – 1928

Pamela LEVY – Exhibition

Pamela LEVY – Resuscitation – 2004

 

 

Christian MARCLAY – The Clock – 2010

I wish I could have given you the experience of this instillation. Just imagine a collage of film fragments of varied lengths referencing time through clocks, watches or dialogue and synched to local time. It’s so strange to check your watch and have it be the same time referenced on the screen. I checked my watch before leaving the exhibit, and sure enough the clock on the screen read the same as my watch. Art the time I thought it was an amazing coincidence, but after reading the description carefully I realized it was by design. The instillation was captivating as very often familiar films showcased timepieces, and actors checked their watches.

Henri-Edmond CROSS – Hauling the Nets – 1899

Paul CEZANNE – The Drunkards – 1876/77

Paul SIGNAC – Mirabeau Bridge – 1903

Mirabeau Bridge – Detail

Amadeo MODIGLIANI – Gaston Modot with Hat – 1918

Maurice DE VLAMINCK – Still Life with Yellow Book – 1910/11

Fernand LÉGER – Houses Among Trees – 1913

Fernand LÉGER – The Roofs of Paris – 1911

Joan MIRÓ – At the Bottom of the Shell – 1948

Henri MATISSE – Woman with Gladiola – 1922

Vincent VAN GOGH – Sherperdess – 1889

Camille PISSARRO – Afternoon Break, Girl and Young Peasant Woman Resting – 1882

Claude MONET – Water Lily Pond – 1919

Pierre August RENOIR – Algerian Woman – 1882

Paul CÉZANNE – Houses at the Side of the Road – 1881

Camille PISSARRO – The Pink House – 1894

Edgar DEGAS – Pregnant Woman – 1911

I include this Degas sculpture in honor of the birth of my daughter’s second child, Aria. This special event occurred on this very day, March 29. I know DIna’s very happy to no longer be pregnant.

Marc CHAGALL – The Wailing Wall – 1932

Marc CHAGALL – Solitude – 1933

 

Marc CHAGALL – Woman Fish – 1962

Marc CHAGALL – Lovers – 1929

 

Gustav KLIMT – Friederike Maria Beer – 1916

Wassily KANDINSKY – Untitled Improvisation V – 1914

Georges BRAQUE – Still Life with a Pipe – 1911

Alexander ARCHIPENKO – Kneeling Woman – 1916/17

Alexander ARCHIPENKO – Woman in Armchair – 1918

Pablo PICASSO – Child in a Chair – 1939

Kees VAN DONGEN – The Princess of Babylon – 1904

Max ERNST – The Bewildered Planet – 1942

Mark ROTHKO – Untitled – 1947

René MAGRITTE – Seen Through Daylight – 1928

Jackson POLLOCK – Earth Worms – 1946

Alberto BURRI – The Sack – 1951

Micha ULLMAN – Midnight – 1988

 

 

                SCULPTURE GARDEN

Ofer LELLOUCHE – The Atelier – 2001

Lynn CHADWICK – Two Seated Figures – 1973

Menashe KADISHMAN – Scream – 1998

Dov FEIGIN – Animal – 1958

 

 

Disc #1

Disc #2

Disc #3

A BOOTLEGGER’S ROOM

The Soviet X-ray discs were made secretly in workshops. X-ray film was cut into a circle with a hole at its center, sometimes perforated by means of a burning cigarette. The disc was then put on a recording lathe attached to a gramophone or other sound source in order to make a copy. The results would vary according to the quality of the original recording, the machine used, and the skill of the operator. Each recording was made in real time, and each disc sounded and looked different than all the others. The finished records were passed on to dealers for sale to an eager public.

BOOTLEGGED RECORDINGS

 

 

Menasha KADISHMAN – Suspense – 1966

Deganit BEREST – M4 after Roman Opalka – 2005

M4 after Roman Opalka – Detail

Zamir SHATZ – Habibti – A State of all its Citizens – 2014/15

Portrait Detail

 

Although I felt like garbage on this particular day, I don’t think my photography suffered for it. If anything I was determined to get good shots so that I could enjoy the visit at a later date.

 

 

                                     CAESAREA NATIONAL PARK

AMPHITHEATER

AMPHITHEATER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later on back at the ranch, I abandoned an effort to create a graffiti stencil, and decided to try again at a later date.

INSTEAD A SIMPLE CAN BY HAND METHOD WAS EMPLOYED FOR LARGER AND LESS PRECISION RESULTS.

61 YEARS OLD AND STILL A JUVENILE DELINQUENT AT HEART